CBD belongs to a class of chemicals called cannabinoids, dozens of which have been identified in cannabis and hemp plants, and just a couple of years ago, it was virtually unknown in the U.S. Americans spent last year trying to answer the same questions my parents asked me after Christmas Eve dinner, three days before my airport encounter: What is CBD, why is it everywhere now, and what does it do?
That last question can’t be reliably answered—the research just isn’t there yet. But the knowledge gap hasn’t done much to dampen consumer interest in CBD.
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Cannabinoids, and particularly CBD, are marketed to fit into the deepening cracks in the American health-care system. The things their purveyors claim they address—from pain, anxiety, and nausea, to inflammatory diseases, multiple sclerosis, and cancer—are chronic problems with few accessible, safe treatments, and often no cure.
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And even if the FDA does crack down on the CBD gold rush, it’s just the beginning. Marketers and manufacturers can simply move on to the next emerging substance in a game of regulatory Whack-a-Mole.
Read full, original post: America Loves Its Unregulated Wellness Chemicals