With the legalization of hemp in the United States, this is one of the most common questions on everyone’s mind. Part of the problem lies in the fact that far too many people still associate smokable hemp with marijuana. With this, the automatic assumption is that those who smoke hemp (cannabis Sativa L.) will experience the same psychoactive effects as smoking marijuana causes. While you can certainly smoke this form of cannabis, it contains only trace amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). With less than 0.3% THC, your chances of getting high when you smoke hemp buds are virtually nil.
What You Should Know About Smokable Hemp
1. Smokable Hemp has Many Ingredients
You can ingest hemp or CBD orally or by smoking it. In fact, the hemp/CBD industry is a multi-billion-dollar business. Much of this business focus on CBD oil, pills, capsules, and topicals. Each of these products does have its uses. Millions obtain the relief they seek using these products.
Yet, these hemp products typically contain only CBD, leaving out many of the other valuable cannabinoids found in hemp. When you smoke hemp, you inhale not only CBD, but also CBC (cannabichromene), CBDV (cannabidivarin), CBN (cannabinol), and CBG (cannabigerol). Each of these cannabinoids interacts with the endocannabinoid receptors in the human body and helps it to maintain homeostasis.
2. Smoking Hemp Offers Faster Results
Consuming hemp via a pill, powder, or capsule means the valuable cannabinoids must be digested before they can enter the bloodstream. Although this can still be an effective method of consumption, it takes time for the results to occur.
Smoking hemp, on the other hand, allows cannabinoids like CBD to enter the bloodstream more directly. As a result of this, the relief those who smoke hemp will enjoy the relief they seek far more quickly.
3. You Cannot Get High
There is an underlying myth about what happens when you smoke hemp. The idea that you can get high by smoking hemp is a leftover from the days of movies like “Reefer Madness.” The US Government put out this propaganda movie to scare teens away from the “Devil’s Lettuce.” Unfortunately, it became a cult classic whose message seems to have been lost in translation.
What the movie did not point out is the difference between smokable hemp and marijuana. As a result of this, people began to associate the two and in time, mistakenly see them as the same thing. However, the cannabis Sativa L. plant farmers grow for hemp contains less than 0.3% THC. What this means in simple terms, is that no matter how much hemp you smoke, you are not going to get “high.”
4. What Are the Benefits of Smoking Hemp?
Hemp contains high levels of CBD and other cannabinoids that have been found over the years to offer a wide variety of benefits. These cannabinoids interact with the body’s own endocannabinoid receptors. Whether you choose to smoke hemp or ingest it orally, studies have shown CBD to have a range of therapeutic effects (the FDA does not allow CBD to be advertised as having medicinal or therapeutic properties).
Among the many properties are:
- Reduction of inflammation
- Reduction of pain
- Reduction of nausea that often comes with cancer
- Reduction of seizures with certain types of childhood epilepsy
- Depression relief
- Anxiety relief
- Sleep disorder relief
- Many others
5. Are There Any Dangers to Smoking Hemp?
While there are many benefits to smoking hemp, it is not without risk. According to the medical community, smoking anything can be bad for your health. Unlike tobacco products, hemp doesn’t contain nicotine. This means it doesn’t have the same addiction problem. In fact, many recommend smokable hemp as a way to end a cigarette addiction.
Also worth noting is the fact that cigarettes contain hundreds of compounds that have been proven to cause cancer. Scientists say that the only real risk when you smoke hemp is the possibility of the CBD interacting with other medications you may be taking. Be sure you talk to your doctor before you start using smokable hemp.
6. What You Should Know About Buying Hemp
If you are thinking about smoking hemp, there are a few things you should know before going shopping. First, you need to make sure it is legal in your state. Currently, there are only three states where CBD is still completely illegal. These are Idaho, South Dakota, and Nebraska. There are 14 states where hemp and CBD are legal but with certain restrictions. This includes Alabama, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Indiana, Iowa, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
Before you smoke hemp, you need to make sure it’s legal in your state, and if so, what the laws covering it are. While it might be legal at the federal level, individual states retain the right to make their own decisions regarding hemp.
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