Many pet owners are excited to try CBD oil but are still reluctant to because of its association with marijuana and all the surrounding confusion. So today, we are going to look at CBD’s origins. We’ll look at different plants CBD can be derived from, how CBD became so popular in the first place, and so on. After reading this article, you’ll be rushing to give CBD oil to your pets.
How Did CBD Oil Get Its Name?
Each of the four questions we are looking at today all have mass amounts of confusion tied to them. In large part, this is due to terminology. So let’s start with why “CBD oil” is a bad term and why we even called it that.
The vast majority of CBD oil has more than just cannabidiol or CBD in it — this is great as you’ll soon see. CBD is 1 of 113+ phytocannabinoids that comes from cannabis plants, which includes both hemp and marijuana varieties. Not only that, but the terpenes (essential oils that produce cannabis’ aroma) are also in CBD oil and provide beneficial health properties similar to the phytocannabinoids.
When we coined the term CBD oil, we didn’t understand the importance of the other phytocannabinoids and terpenes. It wasn’t until later when CBD was isolated that we saw people struggling to feel it working in the same way as full spectrum CBD.
CBD is the most abundant and therapeutic phytocannabinoid in hemp so we thought you could remove lesser therapeutic molecules because they were “diluting” the oil. But we weren’t looking close enough. Think of CBD as the leader of the other phytocannabinoids; it provides the most therapeutic properties, but without its team, it’s pretty ineffective and has a difficult time even getting absorbed into the bloodstream
This is why most CBD products on the market are full spectrum and not isolate — all pet CBD is full spectrum. You can expect to see CBD oil’s name change in the next couple of years. In fact, this change is already happening, especially when it comes to how we label these products for pets. When looking for these products, instead of looking for “CBD treats”, it’s easier to look for full spectrum dog treats or phytocannabinoid-rich (PCR) oil.
What Plants Does CBD Oil Come From?
Now that we know the difference between CBD and CBD oil let’s talk the plants these products come from. Cannabis is the genus of plants that both varieties of hemp and marijuana belong to. Hemp is the variety of cannabis plants known as Cannabis Sativa L. and originates from Europe where its stalks and seeds were cultivated for fiber and food. These plants are naturally low in THC, which is the phytocannabinoid that protects certain varieties from being eaten by animals by causing a high.
I bet you can guess which cannabis varieties have a lot of THC in them? If you guessed marijuana, you’re right! Marijuana technical name is Cannabis Indica L. — all marijuana strains are technically indica. These varieties of plants hail from India and Afghanistan where the stalks, seeds, and flowers were used to produce fiber, foods, and hashish.
CBD products from hemp plants can’t get you or your pet high since it’s missing notable amounts of THC.
What Parts Of The Plant Does CBD OIl Come From
Cannabis plants are well-known for the sticky and sparkling resin that coats its flowers and leaves. These are called trichomes and holds most of the terpenes, flavonoids, and phytocannabinoids. Trichomes are so sparkly and reflective that police helicopters can easily spot marijuana growing illegally in even the heaviest of vegetation.
Phytocannabinoids can be found in small concentrations in the plant’s stalks as well, but it takes a lot of stalks to create just one CBD product. But sometimes what needs to be done will be done.
You see, for a CBD product to not be considered marijuana and therefore illegal federally, CBD and the other cannabinoids have to be taken from the mature stalks of hemp plants as the Control Substances Act does not include them in the definition.
Now the vast majority of states have passed their own individual laws stating that CBD products collected from the resin of both flowers and stalks are fine as long as it doesn’t contain more than a certain amount of THC.
Where Did CBD’s Popularity Come From?
CBD oil has only been around since 2011, but even then it wasn’t the CBD oil we’re familiar with — it had higher levels of THC than current CBD oil, and it was derived by crossing marijuana plants with hemp plants to lower the THC content.
Originally, this was called “Hippie’s Disappointment” and created by the Stanley Brothers. But you probably know this specific CBD oil by its real name, Charlotte’s Web, which was named after Charlotte Figi.
Charlotte suffered from a rare form of epilepsy known as Dravet Syndrome which caused her to have untreatable seizures before she was even a year old. Well, there was one thing that could help treat Charlotte’s epilepsy, and that was cannabis.
Because of regulations, most anticonvulsants on the market are structurally very similar — so much so, that when one doesn’t work, it’s likely the others won’t work as well. There are rare forms of epilepsy in humans that only cannabis is known to treats. But you can’t be getting children high, so the goal was to remove as much THC as possible while still producing an effective treatment.
When Charlotte was 6, she was on the brink of death and having seizures every day, so her parents finally gave in and tried this low-THC marijuana/hemp extract only for it to stop her seizures for a week. Cannabis is the reason Charlotte is still alive, and not only that, it’s giving her a chance to enjoy life.
This story was featured in the famous 2013 CNN documentary on medical marijuana which saw the doc’s host Dr. Sanjay Gupta change his stance on medical marijuana after seeing Charlotte’s story and others like her.
This documentary, Charlotte’s story, and cannabis ability to treat epilepsy, was the perfect trinity of things cannabis needed to become accepted in the public’s eyes. Even the most hardened opponents of marijuana have a difficult time arguing that cannabis should be taken away from people whose lives it’s saving.
