How CBD is poised to compete against traditional pharmacology

In an August 2017 study conducted by the market research firm, Brightfield Group, they surveyed the registered 2,400 users of a medical cannabis and advocacy website called Hello MD. They found that 42 percent of the CBD users had given up pharmaceutical drugs to replace them with some form of cannabis for their pain. 80 percent of these CBD users reported that as a treatment, it is very or extremely effective, with 52 percent of the respondents saying it is more effective than pharmaceutical drugs.

CBD, or Cannabidiol, one of the non-psychoactive cannabinoids found in the marijuana plant, is known for its medicinal benefits. The top treated medical conditions that CBD is used for include depression, insomnia, anxiety, and joint pain. Research has found that it works as a strong analgesic and anti-inflammatory. Across the board, the medical and psychiatric disorders that people would typically use pharmacy prescription drugs for, have been found to be treatable with CBD.

Pharmaceutical drugs, although effective for temporary pain relief and suppression of symptoms, comes with many negative side effects. CBD is a non-toxic, non-euphoric, non-psychotropic, and non-habit forming alternative. In addition, it usually tends to be more affordable than the average prescription. It is devoid of any of the harmful side effects that come with taking any pharmaceutical. These serious adverse side effects are innumerable, causing everything from nausea, dizziness, or depression to convulsions, severe birth defects in babies, reduction in the effectiveness of birth control, and even death.

Another comprehensive study released in 2017 was conducted by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM). It spoke to the several positive effects that cannabis and CBD can have on our health. This study supported other studies claims that CBD is useful for treating various common and severe medical issues, such as decreasing chronic pain, treating the symptoms that come from Multiple Sclerosis (MS), and nausea/vomiting brought on by chemotherapy.

Further evidence for this lies in the fact that pharmaceutical companies have recently come out with their own versions of products with CBD in them. However, these pharmaceutical CBD-like prescriptions are not pure CBD, and they are often laced with other dangerous chemicals. These chemicals counteract the positive effects of CBD, making them dangerous. These controversial CBD infused prescriptions are also too expensive and less available for the average patient anyways.

The most commonly prescribed pharmaceutical drug for pain is opioids. Opioids are known to be highly addictive, posing a high risk for a fatal overdose. In 2015, over 33,000 people died from overdosing on their opioid medications. Many of the opioids that are currently accessible to patients are 20 to 50 times more powerful than Heroin.

As just one individual example, a man named Arby Barosso recently started a medicinal CBD company for people struggling with health problems. Before starting his CBD company, Barosso, a football player, had arthritis in his hip. He spent 20 days in the hospital, getting multiple surgeries. When discharged from the hospital, he was given several prescription drugs, including Morphine, Demerol, and Percoset. Barosso says that he eventually became addicted to these prescription drugs.

Tired of his addiction, Barosso states that he was going through a tough time at this point in his life, which pushed him into researching alternative options for managing his pain. After a lot of deep research, he was sure of his decision to move his family out of Colorado and jump into the CBD industry to help himself and others who were suffering. This led to his development of his CBD company, which provides CBD oils, edibles, capsules, and more. Barosso, now off of pharmaceutical drugs, says that switching to CBD has changed his life, noting that he has been dosing with CBD and sober of pharmaceuticals since September 4th, 2013.