CBD or Cannabidiol is one of the 113 cannabinoids in cannabis plants. It is used in many ways which have both benefits as well as harms of its own.
Jared Auclair, an associate teaching professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Northeastern University says, “There’s not much research or data that says adding CBD has any clinical effect—it’s all anecdota. This is a research opportunity for our students to apply what they learn to a scientific question that happens to focus around cannabis.”
Many of the daily use products we use may have infused CBD and are easily available for purchase in the market, like burgers, coffee, beer, toothpaste, etc. There are many pain and anxiety relief oils and creams available in the market that also contains CBD in them. However, with that, the question of its benefits and harms for the human body arises.
In 2018, WHO (World Health Organisation) released a report that said that CBD is not associated with any public health problem and generally seems to be safe.
“Cannabis is legal in all of Canada and Loyalist is an active player in researching CBD, THC, and other aspects of cannabis,” says Auclair.
After Canada recreationally legalised marijuana in 2018, researchers are studying cannabis with the approval of the country. Loyalist College became the first in Canada to launch a certificate post-graduate program in cannabis applied sciences in 2018. “This has provided support for us, as an academic institution, to work with industries that are focused on the scientific basis for their product development,” says Kari Kramp, who is the principal investigator for Loyalist’s Applied Research Centre for Natural Products and Medical Cannabis.
After the U.S. Congress passed a bill that reclassified Hemp as a plant that contains a high amount of CBD, its production quadrupled. And now, students from both Northeastern and Loyalist College are trying to find some concrete answers for the questions around cannabis and also to provide some solid evidence for future regulations.
Disha Mazumder