CBD Oil & Hemp Play 3 Big Roles In World Health Day

Happy World Health Day, everybody! In honor of World Health Day, we’re diving into the history of World Health day and CBD oil lovers’ favorite plant: hemp!

Right now, we’re all hyper-focused on the state of our planetary health world. Meaning, a global outbreak makes it pretty easy for world health concerns to go … well … viral. But that, of course, wasn’t always the case. This is why, back in 1948, the doctors and health care workers who gathered at the First World Health Assembly decided to establish “World Health Day.” Two years later, in 1950 and every year since then, April 7 became our official World Health Day.

On World Health Day, the World Health Organization (WHO) launches a new wellness initiative or highlights a specific global health issue. (Any guesses what this year’s focus is going to be?) We aren’t the WHO, obvs. But we are a health-focused botanical science company. So, we’ve devoted today’s blog to the healing history of our friend the hemp plant. Dig in with us, won’t you? You just might learn something new and insightful about CBD oil.

Hemp Role #1: CBD Oil as Ancient Medicine

Hemp plants have an 8000-year history (at least), according to anthropologists. Ancient evidence shows the hemp plant was used for paper, pottery, and so much more. Then, around 2700 BCE, people discovered CBD Oil’s healing power. And from there, hemp plant use exploded across numerous ancient healing rituals.

Emperors used CBD oil and hemp plant tea for pain relief and in the place of an anesthetic. They even used CBD oil to help with hair loss, although we can’t endorse the efficacy of that particular usage.

Later, the Romans got more specific about pain relief from hemp plants. They loved targeting ear pain, burns, and stomach problems with this powerful little plant and its CBD oil.

In the ancient Middle East, medicine-men (or doctors of the time) discovered that hemp plants could prevent vomiting and inflammation. CBD was also a favored diuretic for these historic doctors, as well as a powerful anti-inflammatory. And these ancient medical professionals were some of the first to embrace CBD oil as an epilepsy treatment.

 

Hemp Role #2: Hemp as a Mental Health Aid

Hemp plants arrived in North America in the early 1600s, and the colonists fell hard and fast. Virginia, Massachusetts, and Connecticut all passed laws mandating hemp plant growth. And hemp plants were used as money in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. CBD coins, anyone?

Now, in this North American golden age of the hemp plant, mental health got a boost from CBD use. Robert Burton, a clergyman devoted to treating ‘Melancholy’ (the Renaissance term for any number of mental health issues), suggested using the hemp plant to treat mental health problems.

By the 1700s, surgeon W.B. O’Shaughnessy highlighted CBD for its power to relax your muscles. Because of this, he used hemp plants to treat his patients with everything from inflammation and rheumatoid arthritis to cholera — in the 1700’s! Finally, by the publishing of the U.S. Pharmacopeia, 3rd edition (just before the Civil War) hemp was used to improve sleep and fight depression. It was also an effective treatment for convulsions and tics, not to mention asthma, migraines, and many other ailments.

In short, many people throughout history turned to hemp and it’s extracts for their many medicinal properties. However, quickly after, the medical community fell for more powerful medicinal plants, such as opiates. And as these new options came into favor, despite their addictive properties, doctors seemingly forgot about hemp’s rich medicinal history. Quickly, the government stepped in, filling the space left by the medical community.

As early as 1906, the Pure Food and Drug Act placed restrictions on hemp plant trade. In 1913, California entirely restricted the use of cannabis, effectively banning hemp use, too. (Just a quick refresher here. Both marijuana and CBD are derived from the Cannabis Sativa L. plant. Today, we distinguish cannabis and industrial hemp plants. What’s the main difference? Industrial hemp is a Cannabis Sativa L. varietal bred to have a THC concentration below 0.3%. This means high-quality hemp plant extracts won’t produce a euphoric high, unlike marijuana plant extracts, which have a higher THC concentration. And now, back to your regularly scheduled reading!)

By 1937, no one could legally distinguish between the two plants – the government passed the Marijuana Tax Act and lumped hemp and marijuana in the exact same boat. (Guess they could have used Tanasi’s handy guide to understand the differences between the two!) From then on, no one could use these plants for medicinal or recreational purposes. However, you could still grow Cannabis Sativa L. plants — until 1970, that is, when the Controlled Substances Act also banned hemp plant cultivation.

These harsh new restrictions put a major kink in hemp’s ability to help world healing. Thankfully, however, the last few years have seen hemp and CBD come back into (legal) and medicinal favor. And so, with the help of continually emerging research, we’ve been able to harness the hemp plant for new roles in world health.

Hemp Role #3: Fueling the Future of Medicine

But (thankfully) hemp’s story doesn’t stop there! The 2014 Farm Bill paved the way for cultivating industrial hemp. And some institutions, like our Tanasi parent company, began investing in hemp plant research right away. Then, in 2018, the next Farm Bill legalized CBD oil use all across the country. So that’s why we’re in a new era of CBD.

Today, plenty of people (perhaps, yourself?) enjoy our high-quality CBD products. In doing so, you’re able to tap into the many effects CBD oil can have on the human body. And guess what? You’re not alone in this venture.

With CBD’s legalization, scientists and medical professionals can finally reconnect with — and begin to advance — the healing power of hemp plants. Already, the FDA has approved a CBD-based drug to treat a severe form of childhood epilepsy. Called Epidioliex, this medicine gives relief to children suffering from this rare disease form, which didn’t respond to other medical treatments.

Right now, the FDA approved just one CBD-based medication. But, we’re guessing this situation won’t last for long. Why? Well, here’s the story. We’ve known for centuries that hemp plants are synonymous with healing. So, it’s not surprising that numerous scientists are currently researching new medical uses for CBD.

Already, studies show that CBD has a powerful effect on anxiety and PTSD, inflammation, and insomnia. And we’re exploring CBD uses for so much more. Current CBD studies are focusing on the power of the hemp plant to treat conditions like fibromyalgia, arthritis, cancer, Crohn’s disease, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, strokes, and Multiple Sclerosis (M.S.). Scientists also explore CBD as a treatment for cancerous tumors, spinal cord injury pain, neuropathy (when you have pain or tingling in your extremities due to nerve damage), and so much more.

At Tanasi, we are so excited about CBD’s new and emerging health roles. (That’s probably pretty obvious, given the nature of this blog post.) It’s why we focus tons of energy on hemp plant science, while we also focus on producing high-quality CBD for our online CBD store. It’s also why we’ve partnered with a team of University scientists, who research hemp, hemp extracts, and benefits to human cells.

The University research fuels our business actions, and products, so you get an optimal dose of bioavailable CBD oil in every Tanasi product. (Bioavailability refers to the number of active ingredients your body can use and absorb in a particular amount of plant extracts.) But it also fuels exciting new discoveries. We fully expect that botanical science companies like Tanasi will help pave the way for the hemp plant to reclaim its title as medical super-ingredient. And we’re hoping it will happen sooner than later!

Having said all that, let’s circle back to World Health Day for just a minute. Unfortunately, this April 7, the globe is dealing with an extremely pressing current health concern: the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. We’d like to thank all of the nurses and midwives, doctors and volunteers working on the frontlines in the name of world health. You are the real heroes and heroines of today! While we cannot solve this pandemic ourselves, we can invite you to explore our high-quality CBD products. And hopefully, your sampling can make an impact on the way you experience our current quarantined reality. If that’s not an initiative worthy of a World Health Day launch, we don’t know what is!