{"id":54647,"date":"2018-12-11T13:37:22","date_gmt":"2018-12-11T19:37:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ministryofhemp.com\/?p=54647"},"modified":"2019-04-24T17:10:54","modified_gmt":"2019-04-24T22:10:54","slug":"research-cbd-oil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ministryofhemp.com\/research-cbd-oil\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Research CBD Oil: Discovering CBD After An Injury"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor’s Note:<\/strong> In the second part of our series of first-person accounts about CBD oil, author Haddayr Copley-Woods explains how she learned to research CBD oil. In the previous installment, Annalise Mabe told us about using CBD for Crohn’s disease<\/a>. -KO<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve turned into a filthy hippy,\u201d my son told me as I drove him to school yesterday morning. \u201cYou think weed cures everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think it cures everything<\/em>,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd,\u201d I added with the enormous dignity appropriate to my age and station in life (48, crippled, insane, living paycheck-to-paycheck), \u201cI\u2019m too young to be a hippy. Also, it\u2019s not weed. It\u2019s hemp.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the same plant,\u201d he said with obnoxious adolescent assurance.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, it isn\u2019t,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a different strain, but the same plant,\u201d he said, rolling his eyes. Moms don\u2019t know anything.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, it isn\u2019t — infinity plus one,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n

\"A
When Haddayr Copley-Woods injured herself cycling, she began to research CBD in order to understand how it could help her chronic pain and anxiety.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cOkay,\u201d he said, getting out of the car, \u201cbut there is no such thing as infinity plus one. And maybe look it up. Ya damned hippy.\u201d<\/p>\n

HOW TO RESEARCH CBD WHEN YOU DON’T LIKE MARIJUANA<\/h2>\n

So that\u2019s how I wound up writing YOU WERE RIGHT I WAS WRONG on the Facebook page he only keeps to humor me a few days later.<\/p>\n

Same species: “cannabis sativa<\/a>,” different strain.<\/p>\n

Because I\u2019m now using CBD oil<\/a> regularly, it was SO important to me that it not be the same. Because, you see, my mom was actually<\/em> a hippy. And years ago, when a traitorous sister told her that I\u2019d tried pot, she called me on the pay phone at my college dorm, weeping with joy. \u201cYou know,\u201d she said. \u201cNow you understand.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI was stoned,\u201d I said. \u201cI understand that I was stoned.\u201d<\/p>\n

And I hung up on her.<\/p>\n

See, my mom likes to feel altered. While pot is what she thought made me Deep and understand the Mysteries of the Universe, she mainly prefers alcohol.<\/p>\n

Related: I have complex PTSD from a rough childhood. And I HATE feeling out of control in any way. When your childhood feels like one big mess you\u2019re endlessly failing to clean up, and the adults are so out of control that you feel that you have to create order yourself (but you have no skills to do it), when you experience gaslighting so thorough that you can\u2019t even trust your own instincts or memories — you sometimes become a control freak.<\/p>\n

Well, I did, at any rate.<\/p>\n

The feeling I got the first time I tried pot: that I couldn\u2019t control the hysterical laughter, like I couldn\u2019t trust my eyes or my thoughts or my sensations — it was far too familiar of a feeling.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t want to feel that way ever again.<\/p>\n

Not a hippy. Not by a long shot.<\/p>\n

WHY I NEEDED CBD: HOW I GOT MYSELF INTO THIS<\/h2>\n

The accident happened so slowly that I was able to think: \u201cI\u2019ll bet this is going to be fun to watch,\u201d before I fell.<\/p>\n

\"A
A cycling accident left Haddayr Copley-Woods hurting, and started her on a journey towards discovering CBD oil’s benefits.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I was biking illegally on US Bank Plaza in downtown Minneapolis, like you do, looking around for an address which wound up being (duh) the US Bank Building. I was biking so slowly I could barely stay upright, keeping my eyes peeled for pedestrians and craning my neck at addresses, which is why I missed the very short yet very solid concrete driving barrier directly in front of me.<\/p>\n

\u201cHuh,\u201d I thought. \u201cI\u2019m going to crash. Maybe I should put down my foot or brake or something.\u201d<\/p>\n

Instead, I hit the barrier with a delicate bump that could hardly be called a crash and then verrrrryyyyy \u00a0\u00a0slooooooooow w w w w lyyyyy fell to the ground, twisting so that I fell on my back.<\/p>\n

I lay there for a while, contemplating my folly and looking up at the beautiful blue sky with perfect puffy cartoon clouds framed by skyscrapers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWow,\u201d I said aloud. \u201cWow. Even for me, that was impressive. Wow wow wow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Very soon, a small group of people surrounded me, asking if I were all right.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you have some liniment.\u201d I quoted from the classic science fiction novel “A Wrinkle in Time” as I scrambled out from under the bicycle and onto my feet, then continued, \u201cI\u2019ll put it on my dignity. I think it’s sprained.\u201d<\/p>\n

I have this quote well in-hand not only because I am a giant nerd but also because I fall down in public a LOT. In addition to PTSD, I have a mobility disorder, and I love to bike, and I apparently make bad decisions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell,\u201d said a man whose outstretched hand I\u2019d declined as I rose, \u201cIt was a very graceful fall!\u201d<\/p>\n

See? I told you. Fun to watch.<\/p>\n

HOW LINGERING PAIN LEAD ME TO RESEARCH CBD<\/h2>\n

I could tell I had a very minor concussion (my Very Storied Past has made me a connoisseur of concussions) based on the sort of pixelated overly-bright world around me. My butt hurt.<\/p>\n

After sitting down on a hard plastic chair for three hours of instruction, I requested a standing desk at work.<\/p>\n

After a while, I was rocking and letting out teeny tiny moans much like I had years ago when in the early stages of labor.<\/p>\n

So I took some Advil and Tylenol, which are the drugs I used to combat my post-C-section pain sixteen years ago because I hated the experience of Vicodin so much. Anyway, they were enough. I am not macho about this; I just have a very high pain tolerance. Usually, they take care of anything life can throw at me.<\/p>\n

This time, they didn\u2019t even make a dent in my pain.<\/p>\n

“I\u2019m friends with a lot of potheads, and they love me very much and want to help.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

My doctor, who is excellent, told me to ice it, referred me to physical therapy, and sent me home. (We had already rejected opiates — she knows my background and my need to feel alert at all times. Hypervigilance, they call it.)<\/p>\n

So I asked friends for pain control advice.<\/p>\n

DANG I\u2019m friends with a lot of potheads, and they love me very much and want to help.<\/p>\n

I turned them down for the reasons outlined above, and I was very skeptical when some suggested hemp oil. But after several people suggested CBD oil<\/a> for my pain and<\/em> my anxiety<\/a>, I started to google.<\/p>\n

\"A
Although CBD is widely recognized as safe, many medical professionals are still reluctant to recommend it. Patients are often forced to research CBD for themselves.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cDo your research!\u201d Everything I read told me.<\/p>\n

So, first I turned to the experts.<\/p>\n

WHAT MEDICAL EXPERTS SAY ABOUT CBD OIL<\/h2>\n

Does CBD oil help anxiety?<\/h3>\n

Cincinnati-area psychiatrist Andrew Nachum Klafter, MD, HATES pot.<\/p>\n

\u201cMarijuana is a terrible drug for your brain,\u201d he says. \u201cAbsolutely awful. It saps all your motivation. It\u2019s incredibly addictive. It messes up your brain really badly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Except he didn\u2019t say \u2018messes.\u2019<\/p>\n

While I\u2019m not quoting him as stating a fact (studies<\/a> are conflicted<\/a> on this one), I wanted you, Dear Reader, to understand that he hates pot even more than I do.<\/p>\n

“It’s figuring out what’s going to work for you<\/em>. When it comes to ways to helping people feel better, why wouldn\u2019t we want to do that?”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And yet, Klafter feels differently about CBD oil. Some patients tell him that it helps with anxiety. \u201cThere aren\u2019t good studies on efficacy,\u201d he says, \u201cbut the studies I have seen have convinced me that CBD oil, assuming that\u2019s what they are buying, is probably relatively safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

St. Louis Park-based Kathleen Mathews, LICSW, is also concerned about her patient\u2019s safety, and has found online research bewildering.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat said, I\u2019ve seen enough anecdotal evidence that it’s something that I probably will suggest to some people with sleep issues, PTSD, and anxiety,\u201d says Mathews.<\/p>\n

She is quick to say she doesn\u2019t believe it\u2019s a miracle cure.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know it doesn\u2019t work for everyone. But (psychiatric) meds don’t work for everybody. It’s figuring out what’s going to work for you<\/em>. When it comes to ways to helping people feel better, why wouldn\u2019t we want to do that?\u201d<\/p>\n

Does CBD Oil help pain?<\/h3>\n

Since my primary concern at first was pain, I turned to a family practice doc to talk about that.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have heard from patients that the use of cannabidiol is somewhat effective for pain relief and anxiety,\u201d says Minneapolis doctor Jared Frandson, MD, \u201cso I have suggested that patients could seek this out as an alternative to medical cannabis from a dispensary … which is very expensive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Outside of this specific application, Frandson is not so sure about recommending it to clients. \u201cThere are few large randomized trials on cannabidiol and the ones that I’ve seen are relatively small and have mixed results,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

How much CBD Oil should I take?<\/h3>\n

Because the supplement industry is not regulated by the FDA, Frandson also doesn\u2019t know where to tell his patients to get quality CBD oil or how much they should take — although one interesting study<\/a> suggests that a middling dose rather than a very high or very low one is best for anxiety.<\/p>\n

Why aren\u2019t there large studies on CBD oil?<\/h3>\n

\u201cI think the larger barrier is the fact that it’s still considered a Schedule I <\/a>controlled substance,\u201d says Frandson.<\/p>\n

Outside of one very narrow and recent exception to this rule<\/a>, this designation places hemp and CBD in the same category as drugs such as heroin and meth, and puts a near halt to most studies in the U.S. Applying for permission has been extremely cumbersome if not impossible over the past decades.<\/p>\n

\"A
Scientists are reluctant to research CBD due to legal and regulatory barriers, but that’s beginning to change.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Part of Frandson and Klafter\u2019s worries are about whether or not their patients are getting actual CBD oil. \u201cI would want to have some reassurance that the product itself is what it says it is and that it is pure,\u201d says Frandson.<\/p>\n

MEDICAL EXPERTS ON THE FUTURE OF CBD<\/h2>\n

Andrew Klafter can see a future for CBD oil-derived pharmaceuticals for anxiety and PTSD.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m confident that sometime in the next ten years we will see FDA-approved medications,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

There are a few reasons for that.<\/p>\n

First, the DEA has attempted to smooth its application process<\/a> for large research institutions seeking to study Schedule I Drugs as of January of this year. Due to the popularity of CBD oil and explosion of the industry, it\u2019s hard to imagine Big Pharma won\u2019t salivate over that market.<\/p>\n

Second, the DEA\u2019s exception-to-the-rule approval of a CBD-based medication<\/a> has opened the door to more companies getting this exception. Knowing that it\u2019s possible to make a profit is going to be enticing.<\/p>\n

Third, America is just getting fed up with the illegalization of cannabis. State after state is flouting the federal law, and it seems only a matter of time before the ban is lifted completely.<\/p>\n

So if you prefer your medicines to be pharmaceutical, in ten years you just might be in luck.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the thing, though: I don\u2019t<\/em> prefer my medicines to be pharmaceutical. While I think there is a time and a place for the Medicine Industrial Complex (namely: emergency care, birth control, antibiotics, and vaccinations), a lot of this distillation and studying and patenting and distributing sounds a lot like barring me from what will help me NOW.<\/p>\n

And even Frandson and Klafter, both MDs who are heavily invested in Western Medicine, suggest that people try CBD now, because they are both convinced at the very least that it is safe.<\/p>\n

I get acupuncture for tendonitis and depression and I take goldenseal tincture to prevent colds, I use slippery elm bark for sore throats and dandelion root for bloating. I figured all of this stuff out without help from drug companies, and I found I could research CBD oil and safely try it without them, too.<\/p>\n

In addition, the pharmaceuticalization of a plant could threaten existing growers and distributors, many of whom prefer to sell the whole plant (I will get into that later). There are reasons people search for healing on their own.<\/p>\n

One of those reasons is cost: the oil I wound up buying is around $50-75 a month for what I needed. When this plant is ground down and separated and synthesized and someone puts a patent on it, you can bet your sore butt it will be many, many times that cost.<\/p>\n

Yes — all the talk about how impossible it is to know what you\u2019re really getting is intimidating. But it\u2019s not really true<\/em>.<\/p>\n

HOW TO RESEARCH CBD OIL FOR YOURSELF<\/h2>\n

1. Search for scientific studies online<\/h3>\n

First, I googled the obvious: \u201cCBD oil and pain studies,\u201d \u201cCBD oil and anxiety studies,\u201d \u201cCBD oil and PTSD studies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Particularly when it came to pain, it was impossible for me to separate CBD oil from marijuana, such as in this British study: Cannabinoids in the management of difficult to treat pain.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"A
One way to research CBD for yourself is by searching online for studies and articles about using CBD oil to treat your symptoms or conditions.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Nearly everything else I found was exactly what the MDs had told me: relatively small studies, mainly outside of the US, that were not double-blind or long enough to satisfy my science brain. Still, it was hopeful enough to make me want to try it anyway, because my butt HURT, man.<\/p>\n

So I knew I wanted to do this.<\/p>\n

2. Learn more about CBD oil<\/h3>\n

This wonderful article about finding the correct CBD oil helped me to understand the basic bones of the product: Top 5 Ways to Identify High Quality CBD Oil<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I knew I wanted:<\/p>\n