The History of CBD

The use of CBD, derived from hemp, has exploded in the past few years in America, but hemp has been around for much, much longer than that. In fact, the cannabis plant has been used medicinally since 2,700 BC.

When hemp came to America in colonial times, it was a cash crop grown for paper, food, fiber, construction materials, clothes, and other products. The crop was especially popular in Virginia and Georgia. For a century after the American Revolution, hemp continued to be widely grown.

WHAT CHANGED?

But at the turn of the 20th century, activists sought to outlaw marijuana, the intoxicating type of cannabis with high THC content. Unfortunately, all hemp production in America eventually became a target, thanks to the lies and propaganda spread by films and the false belief that there is no difference between marijuana and hemp (a misconception that persists today).

This led to hemp’s classification as a Schedule 1 controlled substance, although research on the plant continued. Scientists eventually isolated the CBD compound and its medical benefits, especially in controlling epileptic seizures, leading to revision of hemp as a Schedule V controlled substance in the U.S. so a CBD drug could be sold and more research conducted.

Then, after the success of those research programs, the 2018 Farm Bill fully legalized hemp, leading to the current trend of a wide variety of hemp-based products.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Thankfully, CBD users no longer need to worry about potentially breaking the law. But the CBD industry faces another challenge: Quality has become a key consideration in this new, largely unregulated market.

We’ll teach you what to look for in a superior CBD product in our next lesson.