Short for cannabidiol, CBD is a phytocannabinoid which interacts with the human body’s endocannabinoid system (ECS), by enhancing the activity of naturally occurring signaling molecules called endocannabinoids. 

CBD IS NOT Medical Marijuana. 

CBD is a non-psychoactive compound. Millions of users claim that CBD has many various benefits but none of this will likely make sense until you understand the role of the ECS in human homeostasis.

The ECS has evolved in all mammals for more than 650 million years, but only over the past 4 decades has humanity discovered that this system regulates nearly every aspect of health. The 2 main endocannabinoids, 2-AG and Anandamide, activate or inhibit the ECS at receptor sites that outnumber every other type of human receptor combined. The influence of the endocannabinoids on the ECS is involved in a variety of systemic physiological processes including: inflammation, mood, memory, metabolism, immune response, sleep, and homeostasis itself.

The ECS regulates human homeostasis via perpetual tonal activity at CB1 and CB2 receptor sites, by the endogenous cannabinoids mentioned above. This regulation happens at the cellular level millions of times every minute. 

CBD upregulates and downregulates the endocannabinoids to bring the system back to stable levels when they are not in balance.

It wasn’t discovered until the 1990s and it may not be fully understood for years to come. There is a massive amount of research going on across the globe today,  but in 2017 only 13% of U.S. Medical schools even mentioned it in their curriculums. That percentage is even lower in U.S. Pharmacy schools.

That depends. CBD is legal federally if it is derived from industrial hemp which contains no more than 0.3% THC. However, each state as well as each State Board of Pharmacy has rulings, statements, and laws that can be confusing and are often in conflict with federal law.

Yes. Epidiolex® was approved in June of 2018 for two rare pediatric seizure disorders; Lennox Gastaut syndrome, and Dravet syndrome.

No other dosage form of CBD currently enjoys formal FDA approval.

Watch the webinars we have produced, check out the articles that we link to, read our content about “What Pharmacists Need To Know” regarding CBD, and always feel free to call our experts at 1-800-338-3688.

It’s likely that many of your customers are already purchasing CBD elsewhere! You should educate yourself regarding all things CBD, so that you can be involved in your customers’ health decisions regarding CBD, as you are with all their other prescription and over-the-counter drug needs.

It goes without saying that your patients should be coming to you for CBD, rather than their gas station clerk. Just as polypharmacy is a concern we face in pharmacy with prescription and OTC medications, if your customers are taking CBD and you don’t know about it, you won’t know how it may be affecting their other medications.

There is currently no published or widely-accepted “recommended dose” because CBD is used off label for so many different conditions. A general rule of thumb in the industry for dosing has been to “start low and go slow.”

Call our experts for more information regarding dosage forms and amounts.

CBD is CBD, no matter the origin. The CBD molecule can be chemically derived in a laboratory, but it is much more abundantly produced and extracted from industrial hemp plants.

There is no difference in the potency of CBD as a chemical compound from one source or another; the only difference comes from the concentration of CBD in its final dosage form, whether that is raw plant material, CBD oil, or some other CBD-infused product.

It depends on the intended effect. 

For a target of the skin, muscles, or joints, topical CBD products typically have the best effects.

For systemic administration, sublingual CBD products typically produce the best results.

Oral CBD products are subject to extensive first-pass metabolism, but several cutting-edge manufacturers, including two that we work with, have pioneered liposomal and emulsified dosage forms that have been effective for increasing the bioavailability of many legend lipophilic drugs. It is presumed that they would have the same results with CBD, which is also a lipophilic compound.

Terpenes, in the context of CBD, help to increase the perceived effects of CBD, by altering the background activity of the endocannabinoid system and making it more receptive to its endogenous as well as exogenous activators.

Terpenes are aromatic hydrocarbons that are ubiquitous throughout the plant and animal kingdoms. In fact, the cannabinoids themselves represent a class of terpenoids. Almost all terpenes – like humulene, β-caryophylene, and myrcene – have subtle biological activity, like allosteric receptor modulation, which increases the effects of primary receptor ligands, like endocannabinoids and other neurotransmitters like GABA and glutamate.

It’s the notion that a spectrum of cannabinoids is more beneficial than one cannabinoid alone.

The “entourage effect” is the phenomenon that a combination of cannabinoids is more effective than a single cannabinoid.  This is evidenced by the fact that the bell shaped dose response curve of isolated CBD turns into a plateau in the presence of even two or three other trace cannabinoids and terpenes, like CBG or myrcene.

No. 

THC causes a high because it acts as an agonist at CB1 receptors.

CBD acts as a partial antagonist – a negative allosteric modulator – which reduces the activity of that receptor, rather than increasing it like THC.

Because CBD produces no psychoactive effects, it is non-addictive, both psychologically and physically.

Liposomal drug delivery is a method of drug administration that involves the use of liposomes – spheres consisting of a phospholipid bilayer with an open space in its center. Through the use of an instrument known as a “sonicactor,” a drug can be introduced into the liposome, which protects the drug and allows it to pass through the digestive tract and into the bloodstream with minimal first-pass metabolism or breakdown in the stomach.

Both the outer and inner surfaces of a liposome are hydrophilic, while the membrane itself is lipophilic – just like cell walls. Lipophilic drugs – like CBD – migrate to membrane itself, while hydrophilic drugs migrate to the center of the liposome.

Liposomal delivery is costly and requires a specific physical process in order to be achieved, but it allows for greatly increased bioavailability. Liposomal delivery of hydrophobic drugs attains about 80% bioavailability, regardless of the bioavailability of the active ingredient under ordinary – non-liposomal – administration.

PRS and NCPA have extensively screened and analyzed each producer, their methods, and their products and ingredients. Two of the companies are owned and operated by Pharmacists and the other two have Pharmacists and Physicians at the management and production levels.

In addition to third-party lab analysis for purity and potency obtained by the manufacturers themselves, we also conducted initial lab analysis of every manufacturer prior to including them on this marketplace, as well as conducting ongoing random screening of products to ensure that the same level of quality and purity is attained into the future.