CBD 101 (Newbie Guide) Everything You Need To Know About CBD

CBD Cannabidiol

Welcome to CBD 101, the newbies guide to Cannabidiol!

With all the buzz surrounding CBD and all the amazing benefits being discovered you might be wondering what it is and what all the fuss is about.

Well you’ve come to the right page.

Here’s what you’re going to learn in todays CBD 101 class!

Until recently, CBD has been marginally overlooked for it’s medical benefits because of its relation to Marijuana.

Many countries still have laws in place that classify Marijuana as a controlled substance meaning the use, possession or procurement of it can come with a hefty punishment.

Thankfully though, the times are changing – so we’re going to give you a overview of everything you need to know about CBD.

What Is CBD?

Let’s start off with the basics!

CBD is short for Cannabidiol.

It’s a Cannabinoid that comes from the Sativa strain of cannabis.

There’s 2 types of Cannabis called Sativa and Indica.

  • Sativa: High in CBD
  • Indica: High in THC

CBD comes from the Sativa plant.

CBD From Sativa Indica

You may be wondering if CBD will get you high because it comes from Cannabis right?

Well, the answer is no.

It’s the THC from Marijuana that gets you high and that mainly comes from the Indica strain of Cannabis.

CBD contains less THC and the rest is removed in the extraction process so you won’t get high when you consume CBD products.

No THC, no high or mind altering effects.

How Does CBD Work?

Your body has what’s called an Endocannabinoid system which contains cannabinoid receptors.

There are 2 main cannabinoid receptors in your body called CBD-1 and CBD-2.

  • CBD-1 Receptors: Found in the brain and central nervous system.
  • CBD-2 Receptors: Found in the rest of the body, organs and even the immune system.

The Endocannabinoid System

The cannabinoids found in CBD almost perfectly match those in your body, so they easily interact with your CBD receptors to reduce inflammation and provide some amazing benefits.

Your body literally has an entire system setup to process CBD!

What Are The Benefits Of Using CBD?

When you consume CBD your body literally sucks it all up and delivers some amazing benefits.

We’re learning more about CBD every day but here are some of the benefits that CBD can provide:

  • Pain Relief: CBD may have an anti-inflammatory effect on your central nervous system helping to soothe pain.

Chase says that CBD helped relieve her chronic nerve pain in less than 10 minutes!

  • Anti-Depressant: CBD helps to boost serotonin which is what anti-depressants do but without the side effects.

  • Anti-Anxiety: This study reported that CBD can help to reduce anxiety and even help PTSD sufferers forget traumatic events.

Thanks to CBD Tosha is off her meds!

Learn more about using CBD for anxiety here.

  • Anti-Cancer: Anti Cancer research found that combining CBD with conventional chemotherapy can lead to enhanced cancer cell death.

They also found that CBD helped to reduce tumor size in 92% of patients with breast cancer.

CBD can also help deal with some of the pain, anxiety and stress that comes with battling cancer.

  • CBD Relieves Arthritis + Joint Pain: One study showed that CBD helps to suppress your body’s inflammatory response and relieve joint pains.

You can learn more about using CBD for Arthritis here.

“Scientists think the CBD quiets the excessive electrical and chemical activity in the brain that causes seizures.”

  • CBD Relieves Migrained & Headaches: One study on using Cannabis for migraines found that out of 121 participants 85% reported fewer migraines per month.

CBD helped get rid of Kaci’s neck pain and migraine completely!

You can learn more about using CBD for migraines and headaches here.

CBD Benefits

Those are just some of the many amazing benefits of using CBD that we know about right now. You can read more about the benefits of using CBD here!

The History Of CBD

History of CBD

Although CBD has only become popular over that last couple of years the therapeutic uses of CBD and cannabis have been recognized for centuries across the globe.

Records dating all the way back to ancient Greece indicate the philosopher Hippocrates noted how the use of marijuana helped to ease seizures.

Although continually used through the years, it would be quite some time before the resurgence of research on medical marijuana, as we had to wait for science and technology to advance.

Then In 1940, an American chemist isolated the CBD compound in his lab, but was unable to identify exactly what it was that he had discovered.

It would not be until the 1960’s before an Israeli chemist was able to re-identify and give a name to CBD.

The next big leap happened in 2009, in California, when a large group of CBD dominant strains of cannabis were uncovered and the flood gates for research in to medical marijuana opened.

CBD really hit mainstream news in 2013 when the Stanley brothers created a high CBD low THC strain of cannabis that helped completely get rid the seizures of a 3 year old girl called Charlotte.

We’ve been learning about CBD and its benefits ever since.

Finding Your Ratio

When you purchase CBD in any form, the package will have a breakdown of what exactly you are getting.

Depending on what you are hoping to treat with CBD, you will need a particular CBD to THC ratio, that works best for you.

In a broad sense, there are three main groupings of cannabis – each with a particular range of CBD to THC ratios which result in different effects and benefits.

Allow me to explain:

  • CBD Dominant: (1:0 or higher) This has no THC and does not cause a high. These mixtures are best for treating conditions such as PTSD, psychosis, depression, as well as neurodegenerative diseases.
  • CBD : THC (1:1) These products will have a pretty well balanced mix of both psychoactive and medicinal properties. Depending on what you are seeking relief from, the ratio can be tweaked. It is recommended that those with gastrointestinal issues use a 2:1 ratio, while those with autoimmune deficiencies would better results with a 3:1 ratio, or higher.
  • THC Dominant: (0:1 or higher) Although these mixtures have their own host of therapeutic purposes, you are no longer really dealing with CBD. These are all the different strains of colloquial marijuana you are used to, you know- ones with the funny names! There may be trace amounts of CBD in these strains, but the effects will definitely be cerebral.

As I just mentioned above, some places have legal limits to the amount of THC that is allowed to be in CBD products – without them being considered marijuana.

In the U.S, this amount is less than 0.3%. In the UK and many other countries, it is <0.02%.

If you happen to live where marijuana is not yet legal then be careful to keep these numbers in mind if you purchase your products off the internet to not get in trouble.

Reputable companies will not ship to states where their product is illegal.

How To Consume CBD

CBD Products

As CBD continues to gain popularity, more ways of consuming it are being introduced to the market.

There are 5 main methods for taking CBD, each with seemingly endless brand options to choose from!

  • CBD Oil: An easy way to start out using CBD oil is by dropping it right under your tongue. This allows it to be absorbed in to your bloodstream quickly. Checkout the best CBD oils for sale here.
  • CBD Vape: If quick relief is what you’re after, then vaping is the way to go! Inhalation allows for the CBD to be absorbed by the tissue of your lungs, rapidly delivering it to your blood stream so that it can circulate through out your body and start working its magic! Vaping eliquids also come in a variety of flavors.
  • CBD Edibles: Eating your CBD means a little slower of an activation time than the last two methods, but it is no less potent! CBD infused gummies, candies and drinks also allow for discretion if you need relief while somewhere that vaping or dropping oil in your mouth may not be appropriate. Just be careful if you’re diabetic or trying to lose weight because CBD gummies may contain a lot of sugar.
  • CBD Tincture: The best of two worlds! This is basically combining CBD with whatever you eat regularly. Drop a little in your smoothie, juice, yogurt, tea, salad dressing, even your morning cup of coffee. It is super simple to make your own at-home CBD infusions!
  • CBD Topicals: This is any CBD product that you put on your skin, such as a lotion, salve or balm. Topicals, or transdermals, work by being absorbed in to your skin and are great for localized pain, such as a sore muscle or achy joint!
  • CBD Pills: CBD pills are good because you can keep track of exactly how much CBD you’re taken as the label should tell you how much CBD is in each pill and they contain no sugar!

Checkout This Post For Some Ideas On How To Consume CBD: 5 Fun & Tasty Ways To Consume CBD!

How Much CBD To Take?

How Much CBD To Take

Because saide effects are rare when it comes to CBD it’s ok to experiment to find the right dose for you.

Most studies done on CBD have users take between 20 to 1,500 milligrams per day.

CBD has a half life of 1-2 days meaning that you will get the benefits for half a day to 1 full day before it starts to exit your system.

I would recommend:

  • Start off at 20mg per day.
  • Keep a diary and write down how you feel after taking your CBD.
  • Every few days increase your dose by 5mg until you feel the benefits of using it.
  • You can even split your dose up throughout the day and have some for breakfast, noon and dinner.

Whatever product you buy should clearly tell you on the label how much CBD is in it so you can keep track of how much you’re consuming.

And don’t be afraid to increase the dose when experimenting. This study concluded that very high doses up to 1,500mg or more per day were well tolerated in humans.

It’s better to start off with a lower dose and work your way up to find your own sweet spot so make sure to keep a CBD diary and write down how much you took and how you felt that day.

Don’t be discouraged if you don’t feel much at first, you might just not have used the right amount yet.

The Cost Of CBD – How Much?

CBD Cost

So how much is all this CBD stuff going to cost?

Well it all depends on how much you use per day.

A good quality 300mg bottle of CBD oil will cost around $30.

So if you use 20mg per day then that bottle will last 15 days costing around $2/day.

Warning: It’s important to buy good quality CBD from a reputable seller. In 2018 according to the CDC 52 people from Utah had bad reactions to cheap CBD because it contained low quality synthetic CBD. So only buy from reputable sellers who can show proof that their CBD is pure and has been independantly tested.

Of course if you need to use more CBD per day to cure your ailment then it will cost more but you’ll often find that companies give big discounts if you buy larger quantities.

For example our top rated CBD supplier ‘Plants Not Pills CBD’ sells a 300mg bottle of CBD for $32.99 so you’d think that a bottle that’s 4x larger at 1,200mg would cost 4x more and be $131.96 right?

Wrong! They sell a 1,200mg bottle for just $64.99 essentially giving you a $66.97 discount!

You can checkout our top rated CBD oil products here!

Can I Give CBD To My Dog?

CBD For Dogs

Yes! CBD works for dogs in the same way it works for humans.

More and more people are now giving their dogs CBD to help with their health problems too.

Is your dog elderly and suffers from arthritis or seizures? Then maybe some CBD will help soothe their pain and get them moving again!

It’s safe and you can now get pet treats infused with CBD and they’ll love it!

Katherine says that CBD is helping with her dog Maggie’s anxiety.

APG3 says CBD is helping with his dogs arthritis:

Stephanie says that CBD is helping with her dogs pain and anxiety:

So yes CBD can help your dog and many companies now sell CBD products with well formulated doses specifically for pets.

CBD Frequently Asked Questions

CBD FAQs

  • Is CBD Legal?

Yes, CBD is legal but many countries and states require the THC to be below a certain limit for it to be legal.

In the UK CBD is legal as long as the THC content of the product is below 0.02%.

In the US it depends on your states Marijuana laws. In most states CBD is legal as long as the THC content is below 0.3%.

  • Does CBD Get You High?

No. CBD does not have any psychoactive properties, like THC. It can be relaxing, but does not cause any changes in the way you think or feeling of euphoria.

If you buy a CBD product that contains THC then yes, that may get you high but it will clearly say on the label whether it contains THC or not.

  • Does CBD Have Any Negative Side-Effects?

Well, none really. As long as you’re buying pure CBD and not synthetic CBD then for the average CBD oil user, there are no reported negative side-effects even with high doses.

  • Is CBD Addictive?

No, in fact something little known about (or understood) is the effectiveness of CBD at treating symptoms associated with both addiction and withdrawl.

In the U.S. a new scientific light is being shone on CBD as a tool to help reduce the number of cigarette smokers and potentially address the Opioid epidemic.

These are just a few of the questions we’ve answered in our CBD Answers section!

CBD Reviews & Testimonials

So hopefully that’s given you a good understanding of what CBD is all about but now it’s time to hear from some people who’ve been using it and are getting life changing results!

Ana says that CBD is working miracles for her anxiety:

Dave’s been using it for his arthritis!

Danni says her anxiety and pain are gone!

Freddy uses CBD to help him get to sleep (he probably uses CBD mixed with Melatonin)

On day 1 of using CBD Mike found his low chronic pain was gone and his anxiety and depression fade away!

These are just a few of the thousands of positive reviews and testimonials coming out in support of CBD.

This CBD stuff is really changing lives for a lot of people!

You may want to read about the amazing benefits of using CBD or checkout our post on the best CBD oils if you’re ready to buy.

If you enjoyed the CBD 101 class or have any questions then leave a comment below!

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