One in seven Americans use products containing cannabidiol, the non-psychoactive compound found in cannabis, according to a new survey.
Fourteen percent of U.S. adults use CBD products, with younger people and West Coast residents more likely to use the cannabis-based goods, according to a survey conducted by Gallup this summer.
CBD-infused oils, tinctures, creams, food items and drinks – along with a host of other products – have exploded in popularity since December, when the federal government legalized hemp. CBD can be extracted from hemp, a type of cannabis with low amounts of the psychoactive compound THC. Unlike THC, CBD does not produce a “high.”
Users claim the extract helps with everything from pain relief to anxiety to sleep, and limited research suggests CBD may have therapeutic benefits.
But not all CBD products are in line with federal and state regulations. While different states have alternatively relaxed or restricted CBD rules, the Food and Drug Administration has prohibited the addition of CBD extract to food or drinks introduced in interstate commerce.
The agency says it is reviewing how to best regulate the compound and is exploring the possibility of treating it as a dietary supplement. A CBD-based prescription drug used to treat certain rare seizure disorders was recently approved by the FDA, complicating the regulatory process.
Despite the proliferation of CBD products, 35% of U.S. adults say they are not familiar with it, while another 50% say they are aware of it but do not use it.
Young people are most likely to both use and be aware of CBD products. Of adults aged 18 to 29, 20% use CBD products, compared to 8% of adults over 65.
While the proportion of residents who use CBD in the East, Midwest and South of the country hovers just over 10%, more than 1 in 5 residents in the West do.
[Originally reported by US News and World Report.]
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