What Is CBD?

When people think of cannabis, they most often think of its psychoactive properties, made possible primarily through the THC compounds. But there are many other compounds (over 400) that make cannabis useful – and that includes CBD. 

CBD (short for “cannabidiol”) is a group of non-psychoactive compounds that have the incredible property of interacting with the human body’s extremely extensive endocannabinoid system. Amazingly, the endocannabinoid system even plays a starring role in young infants, who obtain natural CBD from mother’s milk. You could say we grew up, individually and collectively, in close connection with these vital nutrients.

Even as we mature, the endocannabinoid system remains highly functional. Research into the effects of CBD on the body continually finds reasons to appreciate CBD’s healing and self-regulating properties. CBD has been found to have fantastic mitigating effects on diseases and inflammation cycles, making it perfect from a natural-medicine perspective. 

blüm offers the best CBD options in California. Read on to learn more – and of course, feel free to contact us for more CBD information or with any questions. 

How Is Cannabidiol Different From Marijuana, Cannabis, and Hemp?

Many people use the three terms interchangeably, but there are differences between them, depending on whether one relies on legal or biological distinctions. We’ll start from a biological perspective.

Before multiple species of the plant were discovered, the word hemp was most commonly used to describe the plant at the “family” level (just as “plant” is to “kingdom”). Today, it is mainly used in reference to the fibrous parts of the plant. Under the hemp family of plants, cannabis mainly refers to the genus – but the word can also refer to species within the genus, including C. sativa and C. indica (as well as the lesser-known species C. rederalis). It’s the genus cannabis that carries psychoactive and healing substances, while more broadly, hemp does not.

The original classification of cannabis occurred without awareness that there were multiple cannabis species, much less the many strains that exist now. Therefore, it can be confusing to see that hemp and cannabis were used interchangeably. Today, hemp can describe cannabis (just as the broader term canine includes dogs and wolves); however, hemp usually refers to the plant from which cannabis derives.

Before the discovery of the healing properties of cannabidiol, the term marijuana – a derivative of the Spanish name “Maria Juana” – was used to describe cannabis with high-inducing compounds. Today, the term marijuana as it’s commonly used extends to cannabis containing CBD as well, as in “medical marijuana.”

Compounding the matter, though, is the fact that the legal definitions, according to US attorneys, consider the term cannabis refers to the plant itself. At the same time, they use the terms hemp and marijuana to describe different parts of the plant. Accordingly:

  • Hemp refers to the stems, stalks, roots, and sterilized seeds.
  • Marijuana refers to the leaves, flowers, and viable seeds.

You can decide which term suits you and when! All in all, the context is what matters. For medicinal purposes, the cannabidiol (CBD) compounds differentiate more medical from recreational strains (but note that psychoactive THC and terpene compounds of cannabis have some health-promoting effects of their own).

How Can CBD Be Taken?

Like more THC-dominant strains, there are a wide variety of ways to take CBD – even more! It can be smoked or vaped just as usual, but CBD products also come in a wide variety of more discrete forms, such as topicals for location-specific treatments for arthritis or muscle soreness. You can also ingest CBD extracts, which are extremely helpful if you’d like to take it sublingually – hold it under your tongue for a short while, and the CBD will pass most quickly into your bloodstream. If you’d like a little comfort food with your medicine, there are also a host of CBD-infused cookies, drinks, and other medicinal treats.

About Our CBD Products

blüm goes to great lengths to discover and stock a wide selection of CBD products. We carry an extensive range of CBD products in a variety of forms, such as:

  • Flower
  • Pre-rolls
  • Concentrates
  • Tinctures
  • Edibles
  • Topicals

blüm offers the best CBD options in California. We also carry all the accessories you need – and check out our great specials, as they’re constantly changing.

Shop CBD Products at blüm

We take medical cannabis seriously because we know how many people use it for comfort and other reasons. Whether you need CBD or any of the other significant healing compounds in cannabis (like CBG or CBC) for relief or other purposes, we’re here to help. You can stop by any of our locations in California or shop our Santa Ana, Oakland, or San Leandro menus at your leisure to receive superior natural remedies.

 

Image credit: Bukhta Yurii/ShutterStock