Artisanal Hemp; The Soothing Path of Craft-CBD

“Why do farmers farm, given their economic adversities on top of the many frustrations and difficulties normal to farming? And always the answer is: "Love. They must do it for love." 
~ Wendell Berry

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​Say Hello To The Cannabis Plant

Robin Chadwell, Luce Farm

Hemp, it turns out grows very well in Vermont. Fifty years of hemp prohibition ended with the 2018 Farm Bill and CBD is on the rise. All good news. Seems like the right time to meet some of the farms, the businesses, and the cannabis compound superstar of Vermont’s craft-hemp movement.

Hemp, a common name for Cannabis sativa L. is a legal but regulated agricultural commodity and the source of 1000s of food, fiber, medicinal, and "industrial" products. CBD or cannabidiol is a non-intoxicating compound found in all varieties of the cannabis plant. CBD may be the latest hemp revelation, and it won't be the last.

Cannabis sativa goes by lots of unscientific names, with hemp and marijuana being the most common. Both have CBD but what legally sets them apart is the amount of euphoria-producing THC or tetrahydrocannabinol in each variety. By current legal definition, hemp can contain no more than 0.3 percent THC by dry weight (a trace amount). This is an arbitrary quantity of THC that legally distinguishes hemp from marijuana, which is cannabis that measures over 0.3 percent THC.

No matter the source, CBD itself will not make you high. Period. And yes, it is legal in all fifty states. According to the World Health Organization, cannabidiol presents no risk of toxicity or dependence. Other research on CBD points to its excellent safety profile.

With hemp’s new legal status, we can expect to see considerably more clinical and human trials delving into CBD’s effectiveness. So far, the dozens of peer-reviewed studies I’ve evaluated (see below) point to CBD’s benefits as an anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anti-anxiety, and antipsychotic compound. Cannabidiol alone, or acting synergistically with hundreds of other active compounds in hemp is shown to have potential medical benefits in the treatment of addiction, anxiety, arthritis, cancer, cognitive decline, depression, diabetes, epilepsy, nausea, pain, and PTSD.

​Just Google “CBD” and you'll get 190,000,000 hits. That’s a lot of CBD. According to one recent report, 22 million Americans, or an estimated 7% of the US population are using it. How could this be? Quite simply, they're finding relief.

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