They’re there, front-and-centre, on the shelves at Boots under a sign saying ‘sleep and relaxation’ – little bottles of tincture, capsules, tablets and creams, all containing the same ‘wonder’ ingredient, cannabis extract CBD.
Perhaps you’d like some Green Stem Seville Orange Flavoured CBD Oil – at £35 for a 30ml bottle? Or some Vitality CBD Muscle Balm, which costs £30 for a 50ml pot?
If that’s too pricey, try the Vitality CBD Oral Spray, at just £14.99.
Online you can get CBD ‘gummies’ – Boots stocks the CBDfx range, which comes in a variety of flavours and cost £37.50 for 60 sweets, along with an astonishing 88 other CBD products, including CBD bath salts and CBD moisturising balm (‘harnessing the power of nature’, apparently).
There are also CBD teas, CBD-infused toothpicks and CBD intimate Lubricant. You may even find a CBD-impregnated mask (the CBD inner layers apparently make the mask less irritating for the skin).
You might wonder why you would want these items. You might ask yourself this question and it’s difficult to answer.
Today, CBD is estimated to be a £690 million-a-year industry, outselling all other vitamin supplements combined (Pictured: Claudia Winkleman posing with a CBD product from the company Cannaray, for which she is an ambassador)
One in ten Britons used CBD products regularly, according to a YouGov 2019 survey. One in six Britons use CBD oil today (file image of CBD oil).
Until recently, CBD – short for cannabidiol – was a niche natural health product.
It is derived from the cannabis sativa plant but with none of the tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, which is the psychoactive element that has a narcotic effect, and its advocates claim it can do everything from treating insomnia, anxiety and joint pain to helping with serious conditions such as high blood pressure and even the eye disease glaucoma.
However, it’s been gaining popularity in Britain in recent years.
Today, CBD is estimated to be a £690 million-a-year industry, outselling all other vitamin supplements combined. (The UK vitamin market is said to be worth an annual £500 million, according to analyst Mintel.)
According to some, demand has risen during the pandemic. In 2019, a YouGov survey found that 1 in 10 Britons use CBD-rich products. Today it is one in six.
However, chemists won’t have any clue what products are supposed to be doing if they look at the labels. There are instructions for usage – ‘take one drop of oil, under the tongue before bed’, or ‘two tablets, once a day,’ that sort of thing – but no solid claims as to the health benefits.
What is the reason? The reason?
In the US, small studies were conducted to examine the impact of CBD use on anxiety, insomnia and cannabis addiction.
However, Dr Amir Englund of King’s College London is a cannabis expert who says they do not have sufficient data to be able to conclude the CBD benefits.
“The majority of the studies were either on animals, or with small groups of people that are difficult to prove scientifically. Participants in many trials have reported that CBD, such as CBD, has improved their sleep.
“But, when they take sugar pills or placebos during trial periods, many people report that their health has also improved.”
However, this doesn’t necessarily mean CBD isn’t useful. Evidence suggests that CBD may have a beneficial effect on certain illnesses.
After studies that showed CBD can reduce seizures by up to 40% in children with severe epilepsy, Epidyolex was approved by the NHS. It contains CBD.
This, however, is Dr Englund’s only exception.
He says that CBD is much more effective than over-the-counter CBD for epilepsy.
The epilepsy trials patients were prescribed 1,000mg CBD daily.
CBD gummies contain approximately 5mg of CBD per gummy.
Oil drops contain 1mg per serving.
Dr Englund states that 1mg would feel like paracetamol to relieve headaches, but the recommended dose of 500mg is 2 tablets.
You could get roughly 1000mg CBD if you consumed two 30-ml Green Stem CBD oils or 500 chewables.
Experts warn that this could make you sick and cause problems with your digestive system.
The lack of scientific evidence to support CBD over-the-counter has led UK regulators to classify it as a food and not as a medication.
Companies are limited in what they can claim their product does.
However, this has not stopped companies from creating ambitious marketing campaigns to promote their products.
Cannaray CBD was the first British company to advertise marijuana products last August.
The advertisement was a 30-second long and featured Claudia Winkleman as TV personality. Although Claudia does not explain CBD’s effects, she encourages people to try it.
Winkleman is the brand ambassador for the company. She has stated in interviews that CBD helps her to sleep better and keeps her calm.
Alexej Pikovsky is the chief executive officer of Alphagreen. The online CBD marketplace allows customers to shop for products and offers them the ability to find creative ways to avoid advertising restrictions.
“The most common tactic is to recruit social-media experts to help promote your product. You don’t have to tell the influencer anything about CBD. It’s possible to find a celebrity who is known for speaking about menopause. This could suggest that CBD can help with menopause.
Big companies such as Nestlé, pharmaceutical firm GSK and tobacco giant Philip Morris have invested substantial sums into developing CBD products. Are they making a profit by selling CBD products that have no scientific support?
Hertfordshire-based doctor Dr Leon Barron thinks CBD can have a role in modern medicine.
“I treat patients up to 70 years old with CBD. A lot of people are in a place where they feel they have to deal with their pains. CBD appears to be able to address some of these issues.
Barron is a member the Primary Care Cannabis Network. This group of doctors supports the NHS’s adoption of cannabis-based medicine. He believes that CBD has the potential to treat conditions such as chronic pain, insomnia, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
“There’s a lot of research being done.” It has been only recently that doctors were legally permitted to study cannabis. They also received the financial support to do so. So it is no surprise that there have not yet been any definitive conclusions.
Dr Barron said that CBD was not licensed as a medicine and that he could not recommend it.
“If patients ask me for my opinion, I will only be able to say that CBD might help, as it can have a variety of different effects on their bodies. However, I cannot guarantee that it will work for specific conditions.
The body’s effects of CBD are still unknown to scientists. One theory suggests that CBD may interact with the cannabinoid-receptors within your body, which control bodily sensations including hunger, pain and fatigue.
However, Dr Englund states: “Many people do not believe that small amounts of CBD contained in gummies can have an impact on their system.
The London Pain Clinic’s Dr Attam Singh says that although he has a background in anesthesia, there are still some anaesthetics used during surgery. He doesn’t yet know the exact mechanism.
CBD could be used as an alternative to the addictive opioids.
According to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), approximately seven million people take high-strength prescription medication such as codeine or tramadol.
Dr Singh – who prescribes CBD as well as medical cannabis, which private clinics have been legally allowed to do since 2018 – said: ‘We need to reduce the level of opioid use in this country. CBD could be an alternative.
Hertfordshire-based doctor Dr Leon Barron thinks CBD is a good option for modern medicine. File photo of CBD oil products
Many people believe CBD helped them. Rhiannon McKeown is a 29-year-old woman from Southport on Merseyside who used opioids to relieve chronic pain for ten year.
Rhiannon is suffering from Ehlers Danlos syndrome. It’s a rare condition in which the tissue between her bones becomes fragile.
She was in constant pain, suffered from migraines and had heart rhythm problems. Her doctors prescribed her a combination of medications.
“I was 15 years old when I started taking codeine, tramadol, and liquid morphine. Because of how the drug effects on my brain, it was difficult for me to maintain a job when I got older.
Rhiannon lost her carer job and was eventually forced to leave. She then asked her doctors to let her go off the drugs.
“I did not believe they were helping me.” Although I was allowed to quit by my doctors, I still wonder what my life would be like without the pain medication.
Around that same time, a friend started a CBD store in Southport. She suggested she give it a try. “Oh my god, it’s illegal,” was my first reaction. My friend then explained that the oil was legal. She gave me an oil bottle and instructed me to use it every morning in my coffee.
Rhiannon who lives with Chelsea says that the effects were felt quickly. It felt as if my pain was going away. I was used to feeling constant back pain, but suddenly that went away.
Her digestion problems have subsided, she says. “I suddenly ate almost full meals, for the first-time in years.” It was so easy to feel less pain and discomfort.
Rhiannon continues to take CBD, but she says that her dosage has been gradually increased. Now she takes 70mg. Her joints also ache when she uses CBD cream. Do you find it annoying that the scientific evidence does not support her daily CBD treatment? ‘Not really, no. This has helped me to live a more fulfilling life. This is all I need to be convinced.