If that’s not mainstream, I don’t know what is.

Whether or not marijuana is legal in your state, medically or recreationally matters not, because CBD is the non-psychoactive component of this controversial plant. These days, that means that the nationwide Bed Bath & Beyond can capitalize on all the “all natural” attention getting virtues of marijuana, which include CBD, a cure-all for many wellness related issues such as inflammation.

To be clear, the CBD that is being sold in these retail, over-the-counter, far-from-pharmaceutical outlets typically comes in the form factor of essential oils, or tincture to be used topically. Some people, as I discovered when reading the product reviews on the BB&Beyond website, are electing to ingest these oils. I suppose, anything goes?

Like the vitamin market, CBD offers plenty of evidence not tested by the FDA that claims to help things like inflammation, insomnia or anxiety. Consumer Reports explains: “Because the Food and Drug Administration doesn’t verify that (Vitamin) supplements contain what they say they do or whether they’re contaminated with heavy metals, bacteria, or pesticides before they are sold, some third-party groups have taken on the role.“ In the cannabis/marijuana industry “green rush” those third party labs are not regulated nor consistent yet in their ratings. In fact, they vary state by state and may even have conflicts of interest in testing their own product offerings. Just a few weeks ago the National Institute for Standards and Technology just launched a program to help rectify, or at least improve the reliability of labs. It’s high time, pardon the pun.

Most of those writing about the benefits of CBD are hawking it, in some form or another. Personally, I’ve not needed any relief from inflammation. Insomnia and Anxiety, yes – at times, but I’ve relied on cannabis in it’s natural flower format, with THC and CBD uniquely (and naturally, by god) formulated in the bud that I toke in a pipe or a joint. The CBD sold in stores right now has zero THC. Again, the common thinking being the THC is the component that gives you a “head high- or psychedelic trip” in effect, while the CBD is supposedly concentrated more in the body, but I gotta caveat that with a “they say.” We haven’t even addressed the terepines, and there are plenty of aficionados that track how that compound, another elusive part of the marijuana plant, affects users.

What this means, supposedly, is that the benefits offered can be isolated – that you can have the inflammatory pain relief, without the psychedelic high. But whether or not this is verifiably true, is really hard to say. Does more THC mean more high and more CBD more health? That’s what the common belief is today.

For the cannabis curious who want to give it a try, I strongly recommend this primer from Consumer Reports. Oh, and for safety’s sake, tell someone close to you, (perhaps your doctor but for sure or at least a spouse or best friend,) what you’re trying. It’s just good common sense, which is what you want happening out in the mainstream.