Where Does CBD Come From?

The cannabis plant itself has a long history, with earliest recorded use appearing to be in ancient China, sometime around 6000 B.C. But CBD as we know it was not discovered until 1940, by an American chemist named Roger Adams – a descendent of John Adams, the second president of the United States! Roger Adams was the first person to isolate and identify CBD.

Unfortunately, in 1970 came the Controlled Substances Act, which made the possession of cannabis illegal and threw all forms of cannabis, including the hemp plant, into the same category. It wasn’t until the ‘90s that some progress toward legalizing cannabis for medicinal purposes was finally made. California was the first state to legalize medical cannabis. Massive progress has been made since then, with medical cannabis now legal in 36 states, while recreational cannabis is legal in 18 states, and public opinion continues to grow in favor of both.

Partially due to the groundswell of support for medical cannabis, CBD has become more and more popular. This is largely due due to the fact that it may be able to provide many medical benefits without the psychoactive components of THC.

Now, a plethora of research into CBD’s ability to help with pain is ongoing, with many studies showing promising results. A short list of studies includes a 2006 article which describes that preclinical and clinical studies have suggested that CBD may be useful in treating diverse diseases, including those related with acute or chronic pain; 2019 study that found application of CBD cream for pain twice a day to provide pain relief for a group of people suffering from a particular kind of jaw pain; a 2020 study about nerve pain in which many participants experienced reduced pain levels with the use of topical CBD oil; and a 2020 review of CBD formulations in pre-clinical studies found to have diverse medicinal properties, including anti-nausea, anti-emetic, anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, anti-depressant, antipsychotic, and anti-anxiolytic.

Hemp vs. Marijuana

A quick lesson on hemp vs. marijuana: they are both botanical classes of the Cannabis Sativa plant, but tend to be grown for different reasons, resulting in different uses. Marijuana tends to have higher concentrations of THC and is typically grown for recreational, entheogenic, and medicinal purposes. Hemp is grown specifically for industrial and medicinal use, has naturally lower concentrations of THC, and higher concentrations of CBD. We’ll get into the modern legality in the next section, but another way to distinguish hemp is by its federally legal definition: cannabis and cannabis derivatives with extremely low (no more than 0.3%) amounts of THC.

Is CBD Legal?

Yes! H.R. 2: The Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018, also known as the Farm Bill of 2018, legalized the use of non-THC cannabinoids from the hemp plant grown according to the specifications laid out by the legislation. Put simply, CBD is legal!

Hemp is defined as cannabis and cannabis derivatives with extremely low (no more than 0.3%) amounts of THC. The Farm Bill declassified hemp from the definition of marijuana in the Controlled Substances Act, allowing it to play a larger role in the agricultural industry.

Some states have their own hemp laws that do not mirror the Farm Bill. This handy chart from Leafly includes each state and explains the restrictions. Alaska, for example, has bans on CBD-infused food and beverages, while in Delaware all hemp growers must be affiliated with Delaware State University. The only states which have their own restrictions against CBD are Idaho, Iowa, and South Dakota, but federally, CBD is legal everywhere.

Facebook parent Meta updates hemp, CBD ad rules, but curbs remain

Social media giant Meta Platforms, the company behind Facebook and Instagram, updated its advertising policy for hemp and CBD products, although ads for CBD products remain heavily restricted.

The new policy does permit “the promotion of legally permissible, non-ingestible CBD in the U.S., with some restrictions,” according to Meta’s July 11 announcement.

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However, Meta still outright bans ads that “promote or offer the sale of THC products or cannabis products containing related psychoactive components,” according to the full policy.

Without written permission, Meta advertisers can promote or offer to sell hemp products “that don’t contain CBD or >0.3% THC (e.g. hemp seed and hemp fiber) in Canada, Mexico and the United States, provided they comply with all applicable local laws, required or established industry codes, guidelines and licenses.”

However, Meta continues to ban advertisements promoting, or offering to sell, CBD “or similar cannabinoid products,” with a notable – but limited – exception.

Specifically, Meta advises in a help document that U.S. advertisers can promote or offer to sell, “legally permissible CBD products” only if they are certified by LegitScript and receive Meta’s written permission.

LegitScript currently certifies only “non-ingestible CBD products,” according to the document.

“You’re allowed to educate, advocate or give public service announcements related to CBD and related products as long as your ads don’t promote or offer any prohibited products for sale,” Meta’s help document added.

Ads related to “social issues, elections, or politics” will require a disclaimer, however.

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Meta also warned that ads for CBD or hemp products may not include “any claims to treat, cure, prevent, mitigate, or diagnose a disease or medical condition in humans or animals.”

For example, a statement that “our CBD products treat anxiety” is out of bounds.

Images depicting cannabis flower or cannabis oil are also forbidden, according to Meta’s help document.

A separate advertising policy applies to prescription drugs.

Meta’s latest hemp and CBD policy comes after competing social media company Twitter eased its cannabis industry advertising rules earlier this year.

Unlike Meta, Twitter does allow ads promoting THC products under certain circumstances.

Google has also relaxed its advertising restrictions on hemp and CBD advertisements.

Solomon Israel can be reached at www.boozivape.com