An increasing number of people are using CBD oil for fibromyalgia pain. But does it work? Is it legal? Where can you purchase it?
If you’ve spent much time in the fibromyalgia community lately, then you know there’s quite a bit of interest in the benefits CBD oil might hold for alleviating fibromyalgia pain.
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And it’s not hard to understand why. So many haven’t been able to find relief from pharmaceuticals, either because they just don’t work or because of the long-term side effects.
Over the past year or so, more and more people with fibromyalgia are exploring the possibilities of CBD. If you are new to the cannabinoid, perhaps you may have some concerns. After all, it comes from the same species as potent marijuana, isn’t that cause enough for concern?
There’s a lot of misinformation on the Web about what CBD oil is, what it’s used for and its legality. So, this post addresses some of those concerns. By the end, you should have a better understanding of the benefits CBD might hold to manage fibromyalgia pain. Let’s get started.
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The facts about using CBD oil for fibromyalgia …
1. Part of the Cannabinoid Family
CBD, or cannabidiol, is one of more than hundreds of cannabinoids that make up the cannabis plant. Most people are familiar with CBD’s close family member, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the cannabinoid that gives marijuana users a psychoactive high when they smoke it. [1]
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2. The Psychoactivity
Unlike THC, CBD won’t get you high. Some tout it as an excellent alternative for people who are seeking the medicinal benefits of cannabis, but who gave up smoking pot because of the unwanted side effects.
3. Miraculous Claims
You’ll read claims online that CBD cures epilepsy, cancer, MS and any number of other diseases. These statements are mostly anecdotal and unproven by science. Although the research is coming along at a nice clip, there just isn’t the clinical studies to back up the claims (yet).
4. Helping Epilepsy
There are anecdotal accounts of CBD-rich products helping to control epilepsy, especially in children, as well as stories of others who feel CBD has improved their particular condition, but there are few actual CBD-only clinical trials to back up these claims.
5. Change is Coming
In 2015, Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute of Drug Abuse, testified before U.S. senators, calling for more research into CBD and its potential benefits. There have been studies on the benefits of using THC/CBD combination products to treat certain conditions, and those results look promising. But more research is needed to figure out how CBD works and how it might be used to treat these conditions. [2]
6. The Preparations
Today, you can find CBD sold in many forms; most commonly as an oil or tincture. There also are CBD-rich strains of marijuana that can be smoked or vaped, as well as CBD-rich ointments, salves, and other topical preparations.
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7. The Source of CBD Oils
There are two varieties of CBD oil for fibromyalgia: the kind that comes from CBD-rich marijuana strains and the kind that comes from industrial hemp. There are big differences between the two. CBD oil derived from CBD-rich marijuana strains is usually sold by regulated dispensaries in legalized states. Rightfully or not, marijuana remains a Schedule I drug, illegal for all applications. Industrial hemp, on the other hand, the other source of CBD oil is legal in all 50 states.
8. Industrial Hemp CBD Oil
Industrial hemp CBD oil for fibromyalgia and many other alternative therapies is sold online as well as in stores across the country. Because hemp-derived CBD products contain less than 0.3% of THC, they are 100% legal. When buying CBD products, make sure that the hemp is grown organically and the company tests their oil for mold and heavy metals.
9. Quality is Essential
Hemp is a “bio-accumulator,” meaning it easily sucks up toxins from soil. (It’s been planted at Chernobyl to help with radiation cleanup.) Since hemp CBD is not regulated, disreputable sources of CBD hemp oil have sprung up. Taking the time to source high quality, organic CBD Oil for symptoms of fibromyalgia is essential. [3]
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10. Some Hemp CBD Sellers Ripping Off Customers
Some unscrupulous hemp CBD sellers are ripping off customers. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently tested several brands of hemp CBD oil. They found little to no CBD in some bottles. That is why you should NEVER buy CBD products from companies that do not show their lab tests publicly.
11. Is It Legal?
Now for the issue of CBD oil for fibromyalgia and it’s legality. Is it legal or not? At the time of this post, 32 states and the District of Columbia have passed some form of marijuana legalization. Nineteen other states have passed laws enabling access to CBD products. But in the federal government, these state laws aren’t legitimate.
As mentioned, U.S. federal government lists cannabis as a Schedule I Drug, equivalent to cocaine, heroin and other highly addictive and destructive drugs. Because of this, all CBD oil, derived from CBD-rich marijuana is illegal in the U.S., at least federally. Honestly, the question of hemp products is still a grey zone - one federal department says one thing, while another federal department says another. Does that mean CBD oil for fibromyalgia pain management is out of the question? Not necessarily. [4]
According to the 2014 Farm Bill, growing, processing and selling hemp and hemp produces like CBD oil, is legal as long as it used for research purposes and with the proper approvals. The Farm Bill classified hemp as cannabis containing less than 0.3 percent THC. [5]
An important point to note is that the FDA recently issued warning letters to some online CBD oil companies, not because they were selling an illegal substance, but because they were making false medical claims. It seems they are more focused on cracking down on companies selling false promises, but not the substance itself.
12. Legal On an International Scale?
For any international readers - according to media sources, CBD oil is now legal in the UK and Canada (from producers licensed by Health Canada’s medical marijuana program). Australia still has challenging access to CBD, but with the countries new medical marijuana law, that allows cannabis use for certain conditions, it might be easing up.[6][7]
There is movement in the U.S. to change cannabis’ drug scheduling. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is currently studying the available medical research on CBD, and it could order the DEA to reclassify cannabis to a lesser scheduling category. That opens the door for more and better cannabis-related research and CBD oil products to eventually be legalized, at least in some form. This would help solidify the status of CBD and fibromyalgia in the eyes of the American people and the American legal system.
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My Personal Experience with CBD And Fibromyalgia...
Here at SOLCBD, we have a close associate who has struggled with fibromyalgia and the related pain for years. Here is her story about CBD and fibromyalgia….
Recently she started battling horrible leg pain, and general overall body aches. Not much relieved her pain other than knocking herself out at bedtime with a sleep aid. She realized that she didn’t (and shouldn’t) live life in a drugged stupor, so during the day, she would have to suck it up and live with it.
She eventually read about hemp CBD oil for fibromyalgia in a Facebook group and decided to try it. When she first received the CBD oil, she used it sublingually (about six drops of the tincture under her tongue) every 6-8 hours. Our close friend was surprised by what happened over the next 24 hours.
After only her third dose of CBD oil, she reported that her pain in my lower extremities was greatly reduced. She continued putting the drops under her tongue for the next week until her sample bottle was empty. She told us this little bottle relieved the majority of her pain, and she has been told by other fibro friends that they have seen similar results.
Quality hemp CBD oil for fibromyalgia is not cheap, and she felt that she could find a better value through another online retailer (neither her first or second order was SOLCBD). After ordering a second, much larger bottle for about the same price of the first one from another online shop. Like all of us often do, she was thinking she was a smart shopper.
That was a big mistake.
The new product required her to take much, much more CBD oil, and even then, she did not feel the same effect. It didn’t relieve her pain. She had no way of knowing, of course, but she told us she doubted there was very much CBD in that particular product. At the end of this experiment, she ended up tossing the bottle in the garbage. She had wasted her money.
What our friend has expressed to us, is that after trying our CBD oil, she sees the most relief when she sticks with it, every-single-day. Spot treatments are only mildly effective, but daily use seems to have much more profound, long-term relief.
She’s also expressed to us how thankful she is to be able to buy CBD from the comfort of her own home and read amazingly educational articles we publish daily. Without it, she would still be suffering through an ongoing cycle of sleep aids and daily pain. Her future seems much brighter thanks to her trust in the little-known cannabinoid, CBD.
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Sources:
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4740396/
[3] https://agriorbit.com/world-scrambling-grow-hemp/
[4] http://www.ncsl.org/research/health/state-medical-marijuana-laws.aspx
[5] https://ac.els-cdn.com/S1525505016305856/1-s2.0-S1525505016305856-main.pdf?_tid=3f36476d-ab26-473f-9464-448b3f88c1fd&acdnat=1521421575_087899d3e61ee684eee6ff846e9f1b2e
[6] https://uk.news.yahoo.com/uk-first-legal-charlotte-cannabis-140142048.html#f1TlcQ5