CBD, or cannabidiol, is a compound that is found only within the cannabis plant. Within the last few years, the compound has become incredibly popular around the world, but it has gained particular notoriety in the United States, where marijuana users and health nuts are touting its near-miraculous effects.
Yet, despite the fact that it comes from a scheduled substance (at the federal level, anyway) CBD is available almost anywhere. You can find CBD products in drugstores and grocery stores, and in many places, you can order CBD from online stores.
The same can’t be said for THC, the other primary compound within cannabis, which is tightly controlled and only available in licensed dispensaries. Why aren’t CBD and THC treated the same if the come from the same illegal plant?
THC Is Psychoactive, CBD Is Not
Though cannabis has several uses — from a provider of practical fibers to a source of nutritious seeds — the reason it has remained so important to human society is its psychoactive properties. Anthropologists believe that humankind has known about cannabis’s psychoactive properties for at least 2,500 years, thanks to evidence of burnt cannabis material found in Chinese funerary pots. Through the centuries, cannabis has become an integral element of a number of religions, from Hinduism to the spiritual practices of African tribes to Rastafarianism and more. Plus, the psychoactive effects of the plant have been used medicinally to treat a number of health conditions, even into the 20th century.
Yet, in the early 20th century, Latin American immigrants brought the cultural practice of smoking marijuana recreationally to the United States, and white Americans were shocked. Because cannabis use was not associated with a religions rite or medicinal treatment, Americans rejected the practice and deemed it both unhealthy and threatening to the American way of life.
In truth, making the use of psychoactive marijuana illegal was a racist method of controlling immigrant and non-white populations. Drug laws passed throughout the 20th and 21st centuries were used primarily to incarcerate BIPOC and strip them of American rights. Still, the psychoactive nature of THC is what drove the fear in the American public because drug users seem less well-behaved and much more suspicious than the sober (or drunk) population to which the U.S. was accustomed. Thus, cannabis became illegal as a result of the psychoactive effects caused by THC.
THC Can Be Dangerous
For the most part, THC’s effects are innocuous. When THC enters a user’s bloodstream, it binds to receptors of the endocannabinoid system, which is responsible for maintaining proper functionality in systems like thermoregulation, immunity, reproduction, respiration and more. For the most part, THC binds to receptors in the nervous system and digestive system, making users feel high and giving them the munchies.
Unfortunately, it is possible to take in too much THC and cause various bodily systems to go haywire. Too much THC can cause hallucinations and panic, nausea and vomiting, rapid heart rate and low blood pressure. These symptoms alone can encourage trips to the emergency room, but THC overdose isn’t fatal — or at least there are no confirmed cases of death solely from THC. Still, people do die from being high, mostly from accidents like falling down stairs or driving impaired.
We Don’t Know Much About CBD
It is important to remember that even if a drug is natural, psychoactive effects introduce some element of risk. In making comparisons of CBD vs. THC, CBD seems to pose much less risk because it does not manifest psychoactive effects.
However, the truth is that we don’t know all that much about CBD. Despite its discovery before THC and despite aggressive research on the compound, CBD eludes thorough understanding. Initially, researchers believed that, like THC, CBD binds to other endocannabinoid receptors, causing similar but distinct effects in the human body. However, now it seems that CBD does not bind to any receptors at all; instead, the presence of the compound might merely influence systems to behave in different ways — but those ways are not always clear.
Studies suggest that CBD might have some effect on pain experience, inflammation and anxiety, but scientists aren’t yet certain the mechanisms behind these effects. However, what does seem to be clear is that CBD doesn’t actively harm the body, which means it poses no discernable threat to users. As a result, most states permit the legal use of CBD — with some regulations regarding where it can be sold or who can buy it.
THC and CBD are fundamentally different compounds that produce different effects within the human body. Though both derive from cannabis, they have vastly different cultural significances which have resulted in differing legislation.
