United Kingdom: CBD use has doubled in 1 year

The Cannabis Trade Association (CTA), a trade organization in the United Kingdom that oversees the hemp and cannabidiol (CBD) market, has just published a study which shows that CBD use has doubled in one year in the UK.

250,000 people are now reportedly using CBD oil to treat their health problems, double the number from the previous year. 65% of CBD oil consumers are women, using it for anxiety, epilepsy or back pain.

Visit october 2016, the British government had recognized the medicinal value of CBD, explaining in particular that this cannabinoid had «restorative, corrective or modifying» properties.

This recognition had enabled some distributors to sell CBD by obtaining a specific medical license and following a strict and lengthy process. Others chose to sell CBD as a dietary supplement, which escaped the licensing process.

«We've known about the endocannabinoid system for about 40 years, but it's been ignored to a greater or lesser degree,» explains Mike Harlington, Chairman of the UK CTA.

Indeed, Harlington calls for a better understanding of CBD in the hope that a little education will help eradicate the clichés surrounding cannabis-derived products. «Products like CBD, because of its origin, are stigmatized despite the fact that every mammal has an endocannabinoid system and is designed to use cannabinoids.»

More recently, public debate in the UK has become a little more open, with a cannabis legalization bill before Parliament. On the same day, activists gathered for a « cannabis tea party »In front of Parliament, to demonstrate their right to cannabis.