CBD has had a long and colorful history. As far back as 4000 years BCE people have been growing hemp and marijuana, both, are from the cannabis family. Hemp is Cannabis Sativa, Marijuana is Cannabis Indica. Like lemons and limes both are fruit from the citrus family, but again are very different! As you will see here in lies the confusion and subsequent problems this misunderstanding created. In the United States, the allowed THC-content for hemp to be classified as legal is 0.3%.
In 1533, scientists and physicians started studying the health benefits of cannabis and King Henry VIII required that for every 60 acres of land, each farmer must set aside ¼ acre for hemp cultivation or otherwise face a fine of three shillings and four pence. In colonial America, it was illegal for farmers to NOT grow hemp. Our founding Father Thomas Jefferson made it law that an “acre of the best ground” be kept to grow hemp. Colonists came to America on ships that used hemp ropes and drafted the Constitution on hemp paper.
Hemp and marijuana continued to spread and grow throughout the world, with both its industrial and psychoactive effects being noted. Although marijuana and hemp have been around for over 6000 years, the legal and medical uses of CBD seen today are a more recent phenomenon.
Although marijuana and hemp have been around for over 6000 years, the legal and medical uses
of CBD seen today are a more recent phenomenon.
In 1937 the Marijuana Tax Act was brought to congress and was passed. This eventually banned its production, sale, & use. Industrial Hemp was dragged down with it. Even though Hemp is not marijuana and there is a clear distinction between the two as we mentioned above.
The history of CBD did not start until 1940 when American organic chemist Roger Adams inadvertently isolated the CBD compound. In the mid-1950s, chemists and scientists began to extract cannabidiol(CBD) and found that CBD was a non-psychoactive component (would not get you high) of the cannabis plant, the study and subsequent legal battle for CBD began.
Later in 1960, Raphael Mechoulam isolated and described the chemical structure of CBD, enabling chemists to confirm that CBD was a nonpsychoactive constituent of cannabis. By the mid-1970s the British Pharmacopoeia was starting to refer to CBD tinctures for medicinal use.
Major landmark events must be noted in the legalization of CBD. On October 7, 2003, the United States government patented the first CBD based patent (used as a neuroprotectant) under U.S. Patent #6,630,507.Then in 2012 the medical effects of CBD were really publicized in America once the story of Charlotte Figi appeared. This 8 year old girl's rare seizure disorder was treated by a CBD potent strain of marijuana with unbelievable results. This child’s ability to overcome the effects of her illness with a strain of marijuana that was very high in CBD and very low in THC caused the policymakers and the government to begin to realize the powerful health benefits of both marijuana and hemp.
Today, CBD from hemp is legal in all 50 States. It has been demonstrated to help reduce stress and anxiety, relieve pain, promote sleep, and encourage a happier and healthier life. Now that the 2018 Farm Bill has been passed by both houses of Congress and is just waiting to be signed by the POTUS it is anticipated that more extensive research, sponsored by the US government, will get underway to reveal the many other health benefits of CBD.