CBD & cannabinoids
CBD, also called cannabidiol, is one of more than a hundred organic substances found in cannabis Sativa and cannabis Indica. These substances are also called cannabinoids.
The most well-known substance is probably THC, or delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol. People who use weed or hash mainly do so for the 'high' or 'stoned' effect it gives. THC is the substance that provides this effect, CBD does not provide this effect.
Industrial hemp plants for CBD production
Many cannabis seeds are developed with THC and associated psychoactive effects in mind. In commercial cannabis (coffee shop weed), CBD is only found in small percentages, but there are also cannabis plants that have a high CBD content.
For the development of CBD oil industrial hemp plants are therefore used. These contain very little THC, but a lot of CBD.
Phytocannabinoids
To explain how CBD can affect the body, we must first look at the cannabis plant where the CBD comes from. The female buds of a cannabis plant contain resin. This resin contains various substances that are also called phyto-cannabinoids (phyto=vegetable) or phyto cannabinoids. These phyto-cannabinoids protect the cannabis plant. This phyto cannabinoid system protects the plant against UV radiation, pests and diseases, among other things.
The human body & CBD
The human body responds to CBD because we also have our own and natural version of CBD in our bodies. The human body has a similar cannabinoid system of proteins known as cannabinoid receptors. This is called the endocannabinoid (endo=in the body) system.
Endo-cannabinoid system
These proteins can be seen as cannabinoid receptors that are responsible for processing the body's own cannabinoids such as adrenaline, serotonin and melatonin, but also for processing cannabinoids such as THC and CBD . The body is actually already designed to process these substances effectively.