CBD is one of many compounds known as cannabinoids that interact with these ‘chemical commands’. Cannabinoids most commonly come from the cannabis plant. Unlike it's better-known cousin, THC, CBD is not psychoactive. It does not alter consciousness and it does not alter perception. On the other hand, CBD is known to have a relaxing and pain relieving effect.

CBD appears to help the human body regulate its own cannabinoids and aim them at pain-related responses.

CBD History :

Cannabis extracts can be found as medicinal ingredients throughout the late 19th Century. While the pain relief and stomach-soothing properties of cannabis were known, the action that brought about the relief was not.

The story of CBD begins at Harvard University just before and just after World War II. A Harvard chemist, Dr. Roger Adams, was instrumental in the United States' war efforts in WWI. His expertise was in breaking organic compounds into their individual elements. He identified and showed the relationship between many plant oils. Identifying the exact mechanism that forms ketones, which are acids created when the body burns fats instead of carbs, was another of his discoveries.

In 1940, Roger Adams identified many of the elements found in cannabis, including CBD. He left his discovery on the shelf while he shifted his efforts towards the US government's war effort during WWII.

Another chemist, Dr. Walter S. Loewe, took Dr. Adam's discovery and conducted the first CBD tests on laboratory animals. This was when it was first noted that CBD does not alter a mammals mental state. That same year, Dr. Raphael Mechoulam mapped CBD's structure. He is often credited with being the scientist who discovered CBD. Research continued into the 1960s. British Pharmacopoeia, the official national registry of pharmaceuticals in the UK, records the first CBD oil meant for therapeutic use in the mid-1970s.

From the 1980s through to today more and more research conducted around the world demonstrated CBD's potential as an anti-epileptic, antipsychotic, and analgesic.

The countries that chiefly contributed research during this time were the UK, Brazil, the US, and Australia.

How CBD Works :

CBD is a fascinating and complicated component of cannabis. It travels down several of the body's molecular pathways, targeting over 65 molecules in the brain and body. Moreover, CBD does not bind to the brain's cannabinoid receptors but does effect several non-cannabinoid receptors.

CBD's Many Therapeutic Effects :

Serotonin Receptors :

Serotonin receptors are known to be a factor in anxiety and depression. Many pharmaceutical drugs intended to reduce anxiety target these receptors.

Research in Brazil and the UK has demonstrated that higher concentrations of CBD act on the brain's serotonin receptors, conferring benefits to a number of processes known to be related to anxiety. These receptors send anxiety-related messages to the rest of the body. When feeling anxious, messages suppressing appetite, tightening muscle groups, and enhancing alertness will cascade through the body.

Vanilloid Receptors :

Brain receptors that modulate pain perception, among other things, are named after the vanilla bean. That's because vanilla contains eugenol. Vanilla's known analgesic properties comes from eugenol’s interaction on these receptors. CBD is significantly more potent than vanilla.

Scientists refer to the 'vanilloid receptor' as TRPV1. The TRPV1 receptor is also involved in the transmitting of messages regulating inflammation and body temperature.

GPR55-Orphan Receptors :

CBD functions as a blocking agent, or antagonist, on another receptor, GPR55. The exact effect that CBD has on these receptors is not known. What is known, however, is that the receptors are involved in cancer cell reproduction and the signaling of the processes that facilitate osteoporosis. Some studies in Sweden show that the blocking of the GPR55 signal decreases cancer cell proliferation and slows the osteoporosis process.

Nuclear Receptors :

CBD activates the nuclear receptors, known as PPAR. These receptors stick to the outside of a cell's nucleus. Activation of this receptor may induce tumor regression in lung cancer cell lines.

PPAR is also a factor in Alzheimer's, lipid uptake, and insulin sensitivity.

Our bodies have natural cannabinoids, called endocannabinoids. These endocannabinoids are fatty acids that bind to transport molecules in order to enter cells. CBD competes for access to the transport cells. Research has indicated that the inhibition of endocannabinoid reuptake is one of the mechanisms by which CBD helps prevent seizures. The prevention of reuptake also may explain the anti-inflammatory effect of CBD. CBD prevents the reuptake of adenosine as well, a chemical that plays a part in inflammatory responses.