As I am writing this, I am receiving an average of one 4\/20-related pitch every three minutes.<\/p>\n
The barrage of emails and mailings started about a month ago from publicists hopeful for a mention tied to the upcoming \u201cnational holiday.\u201d My desk is cluttered with products like \u201cStay Sharp \u2026 For Daily Brain Function\u201d CBD capsules, \u201cAwareness and Vitality\u201d CBD tincture, a tube of peppermint CBD sublingual spray and a tin of CBD pastilles stamped with the words \u201cinspired, wakeful, and confident.\u201d<\/p>\n
I\u2019m distracted. And all I want to do is smoke a joint.<\/p>\n
Observed annually on April 20, the essence of 4\/20\u2019s counterculture conception has been co-opted and why it\u2019s celebrated has gone way astray. Before I begin, here\u2019s its little-known history:<\/p>\n
The term was born in 1971 in Northern California when a group of five San Rafael High School students had heard about an abandoned cannabis crop nearby. Based on a treasure map they discovered along with the rumor, they decided to meet at 4:20 p.m. on campus, share a spliff and set out on their search.<\/p>\n
Many failed attempts ensued and they gave up, but continued to convene every day in the same spot for after-school sessions. Known as \u201cThe Waldos,\u201d the gang of friends also frequented the Grateful Dead\u2019s early shows in the Bay Area where their meet-up codeword for smoking pot caught on with the audience underground. As the band started touring around the globe, the term \u201c420\u201d spread like fire.<\/p>\n
The literal meaning of \u201c420\u201d is to get high. But have you heard about CBD? It\u2019s just CBD! It doesn\u2019t get you high!<\/p>\n
Most commonly known and misconceived as the \u201cnon-psychoactive\u201d sister compound to THC, CBD is overcrowding and overshadowing the entire cannabis industry. And with the floodgates to hemp cultivation now open from the passage of the U.S. Farm Bill in December, the CBD segment of the market is positioned for exponential expansion. Even the likes of Walgreens, CVS and Rite Aid are cashing in on cannabis with plans to carry CBD products on shelf in select stores in 2019.<\/p>\n
As with any new wellness fad, a media storm of misinformation about CBD has made its way onto everyone\u2019s newsfeeds. But only recently is research emerging shining a light on the fact that CBD is actually psychoactive.<\/p>\n
In \u201cWhy CBD Works Better With a Little THC (Even If You Don\u2019t Want to Get High),\u201d<\/a> veteran cannabis journalist David Bienenstock writes for Leafly, \u201cThe best available science makes clear that whole-plant cannabis preparations are quantifiably superior to single compounds because the plant\u2019s complex mix of cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids interact synergistically to create an \u2018entourage effect\u2019 that enhances each other\u2019s therapeutic effects.\u201d<\/p>\n And a 2016 Project CBD report<\/a> states, \u201cResearchers have demonstrated that CBD confers antipsychotic, anxiolytic (anxiety-reducing), and antidepressant effects. If CBD can relieve anxiety or depression or psychosis, then obviously cannabidiol is a profound mood-altering substance, even if it doesn\u2019t deliver much by way of euphoria. Perhaps it would be better to say that CBD is \u201cnot psychoactive like THC,\u201d rather than repeating the familiar and somewhat misleading refrain that \u201cCBD is not psychoactive.\u201d<\/p>\n Guilty and noted.<\/p>\n As the cannabis industry continues to evolve, it now seems to only be about not getting high. Is our society so desperate for a way to cope during such tumultuous times? Of course! As another 4\/20 arrives, let\u2019s not forget about the power of the whole plant, plus the decades of prohibition, discrimination, injustice and activism that got us here.<\/p>\n CBD is just a PC conduit for the mainstream to say it\u2019s OK with marijuana. It\u2019s why you can buy a CBD-infused granola bar at Bonnie\u2019s on Aspen Mountain, but not take a puff on the patio.<\/p>\n Sure, you can pour CBD oil on your entire life. But unless you\u2019re open to trying THC, too, it\u2019s never going to be the Goop-coated cure-all it\u2019s claimed to be.<\/p>\n Katie Shapiro can be reached at katie@katieshapiromedia.com<\/a> or followed on Twitter @bykatieshapiro.<\/em><\/p>\n