Could CBD be the Legalisation Gateway to a Drug Utopia?
First CBD, next LSD…
Since the 2018 Farm Bill in the United States, CBD, short for cannabidiol - the chemical compound from the cannabis plant - became federally legal.
In the UK, a market typically hardened to any form of weed associated legalisation, made CBD legal for medical purposes from November 1st 2018.
That meant that all medical conditions in the UK could now be considered for cannabis-based treatment and doctors would no longer need to seek approval from an expert panel in order to prescribe CBD medicines.
For those not in the know, CBD is a naturally occurring substance that’s used in products like oils and edibles to impart a feeling of relaxation and calm.
Unlike its cousin tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), it’s not psychoactive and doesn’t incur a feeling of being high.
THC, which is also slowly gaining legalisation in some parts of the US and Europe, is the chemical in weed that makes you stoned and basically gives you the munchies…
So, yes, CBD is like weed but not as strong and usually used to treat mild pain, or anxiety.
It’s also used recreationally in vape pens (a market that is seeing particularly fast growth) and edible brownies.
dosist, an American cannabaloid vaping company, with a mission status to deliver health and happiness, has grown to $500million in valuation after only 5 years — this is an indicator of the sheer scale CBD is now trading at.
CBD is a wellness buzzword and is now spanning wider and deeper into a variety of categories and industries.
The National Restaurant Association recently released a report finding that almost 77% of chefs surveyed chose drinks and food infused with cannabis and cannabidiol (CBD) as the top two trends in the industry for 2019.
So, yes, CBD is taking over food too.
But there will be hundreds of articles floating around about CBD and it’s impact in the wellness sector and beyond.
It’s a cemented component of modern culture and the use of CBD in every day life like coffee and medicine is only accelerating.
But in this piece I’d like to use CBD as a springboard to a wider thought, a broader pontification.
As the benefits of chemicals like CBD become normalised and the dial begins to shift towards a more relaxed public discourse on drugs, we can begin to consider CBD as the gateway to more drugs being legalised.
It took a lengthy process of lobbying and persistence but the health benefits of CBD are now so obvious that medical researchers and pharmaceutical giants will now be on the look out for other currently illegal substances that are on the periphery of consumer culture.
Party enhancers are obviously rife amongst the younger generations -and the old school ravers- but perhaps a world where monitored and regulated narcotics and hallucinogenics isn’t completely unrealistic.
Perhaps it was time that local and federal authorities recognised the simultaneous danger and insistence of young people taking ‘party pills’ and decided to legalise a select and regulated few.
Plenty of research has also been gathered around the health benefits of monitored and regulated doses of Ketamin and LSD, in some rare cases a controlled amount has been known to reduce depression and anxiety by incrementally lifting a patients mood over time.
The point here is that all drugs were potentially dangerous at one time — that can certainly be said for CBD and THC — but whats interesting is the slide towards normalisation that we’re currently experiencing.
I’m not saying that we should all be taking magic mushrooms for breakfast but the legalisation of certain lifestyle drugs can only be positively progressive as we look for new ways, and new substances, to boost health and wellness.
Peace. RH.
