Today, with 31 states legalizing the use of medical marijuana and nine others allowing recreational use, marijuana is much more mainstream than it once was.
In states where marijuana isn’t legal in some form, hemp based treatments are exploding in popularity. Users and studies attribute alleviation of medical issues, from chronic pain to anxiety, to cannabidiol (CBD), the primary compound found in hemp.
A study using an animal model from the European Journal of Pain showed CBD applied on the skin could help ease pain and inflammation from conditions such as arthritis, joint paint and Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
While some are convinced, others are left wondering – Does hemp really live up to the hype?
Unlike marijuana, hemp contains high levels of cannabidiol (CBD) and minuscule amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the substance that makes marijuana psychoactive.
The low amount of THC allows for byproducts of the hemp plant to be sold in states where medical marijuana isn’t legal.
The growing popularity of CBD as an alternative medicine can even be seen in places as small as Martin.
Last year, Hub City Hemp opened a new location on University Street, offering a variety of CBD-infused products that range from bath bombs to dog treats.
Mallory Clarke, an employee of Hub City Hemp, said she personally uses CBD to treat her Crohn’s Disease and that she has seen several lives changed since she started working at Hub City Hemp.
“We have a lot of people that come in that have been on hydros, percocet or morphine for 10 years and now they’re completely off of it, and they’ve been wanting to get off it for a long time,” Clarke said.
When asked if she thought hemp was an alternative to medical marijuana, Clarke replied, “It’s something they can take to get the same medical effects without breaking the law.”
Based off of all this, it’s hard to disprove CBD’s effectiveness as a medical treatment.
