Monday, November 25, 2019

CBD - A Skeptic's Story


If you’ve been conscious over the last year or so, you’ve probably seen ads or info on Cannabidiol Oil, or “CBD.” This is not to be confused with the CDB, or “Charlie Daniels Band,” who I used to follow in The 80s, before ol’ Charlie became the elderly, country version of Ted Nugent.

CBD is a hemp extract that’s supposed to have a plethora of constructive uses, none of which are “getting you high.” Promoters of this additive claim it provides pain relief, treatment for insomnia, weight control, arthritis, mood and calmness enhancement, stress management, and more. The legality of CBD varies by state.

I found this flyer on my windshield last week.

I saw an ad for it on Groupon a month or so ago and decided to give it a try, just to see what happens. I was hopeful it could help Sweetpea, who sometimes has trouble falling asleep when there’s too much on her mind. And I figured I’d give it a go as well, because who doesn’t want a better night’s sleep? So, I ordered a jar of sour gummies with 750 mg of CBD.

Maryland is a medical marijuana state but it’s highly regulated. They still frown on recreational use so we’re not exactly Colorado on the Chesapeake. But CBD is legal.

I’ve never been a pothead. In fact, you could count on your fingers the number of times I’ve taken a hit and still have some fingers left over. It was never really my thing. I was always much more content with a couple of drinks or some cold beers. I think the biggest reason I shunned pot, besides the illegality was that I never liked smoking… anything. I didn’t see much fun in hacking my guts out after a toke. And then you have the Ashtray Mouth the next morning. Who needs it?

I may be falling apart with age, but my lungs are in great shape.

If Maryland ever went “full Colorado,” I’d love to try some edibles; that would be more my speed. I have it on good authority from a senior relative living in a medical marijuana state, that the edibles and oils really do the trick. This relative, who was once completely anti-pot, has found now that it is a great help with pain relief, which allows him to fall asleep easily and stay asleep.

He tried various methods of ingestion, snacks, inhalers, and such, but found the best results from a couple drops of oil extract on a pizzelle, right before bed. He was so happy he found something that worked, without the risk of pulling an opiate addiction.

I asked if it got him high too and he said, “Oh yeah!”

Ah, the Golden Years…

So, my gummies finally came and Sweetpea and I gave them a try. After a brief trial period, I found that taking two gummies had positive noticeable effect. (I later began ordering 1500 mg gummies instead. I’ve seen them as high as 3000 mg as well.)

I haven’t noticed any mood enhancement or pain relief, but I can tell you I’m getting much better sleep. And because I wear a Fitbit to bed, I get nightly sleep measurements. I’ve been getting about double the REM sleep than I was, and more deep sleep as well. When I do wake up to roll over at night, I almost always fall back to sleep immediately.

According to Fitbit, the benefits of REM (or dream) sleep include mood regulation, learning, and memory, as our brains process and consolidate information from the previous day, so that it can be stored in long-term memory.

Deep sleep promotes physical recovery and aspects of memory and learning. It also supports the immune system.

I’m usually in bed for around seven hours a night. If I was lucky, I was getting maybe 45 minutes to an hour of REM and maybe 20 minutes of deep sleep. Now I get almost two hours of REM and 30 minutes to an hour of deep sleep. (Although a little less deep sleep if I’ve had a few drinks.)

Here’s a typical night’s sleep record for me.

The time awake is exaggerated though. I wake up a bit when Sweetpea gets up or has to tend to the dog (who only seems to want to go out to poop when we’re asleep,) but I’m back out almost immediately. I presume it takes a little time for my vitals to reflect that.

As for Sweetpea, it helps her stay asleep and return to sleep quickly after waking, but it’s still hard for her to go to sleep initially, if she’s got a lot of work stuff on her mind.

So, as far as I can see, CBD is no panacea or cure-all, but it helps get you a good night’s sleep. For this purpose, CBD gets the Darwinfish2 Stamp of Approval.

I should probably warn you though, if you’re prone to nightmares, this may not be the supplement for you. The dreams can be quite prolonged and vivid.

I had one two weeks ago where I realized I’d been shot somewhere in Baltimore and was going to die in the ensuing moments. Surprisingly, I was quite calm about it. Somehow, I found myself at our old house in NW Ohio, where we had The Barn and all our Barn Parties. I was concerned that I’d be leaving all my junk with my parents, who I felt didn’t need the hassle of dealing with all of it. I suggested to my Mom that she have some of the neighbors over to go through my LP and CD collections and take whatever they wanted.

That’s what I was worried about. #Priorities

I just hope when the time comes when I’m facing my imminent mortality, I’m as calm and serene about it as I was in the dream. In real life, I think there would be a lot more cursing and wailing. I definitely see some dramatic hand gestures.

And I’m pretty sure the LPs will be going right in the dumper.

8 comments:

Infidel753 said...

pain relief, treatment for insomnia, weight control, arthritis, mood and calmness enhancement, stress management

This is interesting to me since I suffer from every single one of these problems, as well as inflammations (mentioned in the flyer). I'll have to do some checking and find out whether CBD is legal in Oregon, and whether it causes positive results on drug tests -- I just started a new job, and the company seems pretty laid-back in general, but it's a potential concern.

Recreational marijuana was made fully legal here several years ago. I tried some edibles, since I don't like the idea of smoking either -- they weren't actually selling edibles then, but you could buy the raw marijuana and make your own using a standard brownie recipe. They didn't do much for me high-wise, though, so I stopped using -- that stuff is expensive.

Margaret (Peggy or Peg too) said...

Wow, I know it makes you calm but that is some calm ass dream buddy!
I quit smoking pot in 1980 because it made me paranoid. That sucks beyond belief. Then I had rotator cuff surgery in 2007 and I couldn't take Vicodin or percocets. I hallucinated on percocets. It was bad. So a friend who was dealing with far bigger issues of breast cancer told me to smoke some pot. I said I don't have pot. So she gave me her medical pot. I would take 2 hits and the pain would subside and no side effect except far less pain. It was like shards of glass that had been filed down. Pain was there but it became discomfort instead. It was wonderful! Ever since then even with out pain I do enjoy it and I am not going to lie. Prefer a glass of dry red wine, but a hit or two will only make me even happier. But I don't live in a state where it's legal, medically or otherwise so I am breaking the law. Then of course the drug testing in my corporate career would never allow it. But now I'm self employed and I won't fire me or take disciplinary action against my self so whoo-hoo. As for CBD's I will only buy from a very reputable place like Charlottes web etc. No one doing this out of their home for extra money is getting a tested quality product. We take them for arthritis pain and they are damn helpful. Maybe we should give some to the orange beast to calm him the F down. :-)Maybe tweet less. Ya think?

bluzdude said...

If marijuana is legal in Oregon, CBD should be too. There's far less controversy about CBD than pot, mostly because it doesn't get you high.

From what I heard, it takes a bit of trial and error to come up with an effective dose and method for MM. Definitely expensive, I know. I'm sure the state takes a huge bite in taxes.

bluzdude said...

Virginia just went blue... hang on, they may legalize marijuana after all, if they can get around the tobacco lobby.

Infidel753 said...

The tobacco lobby! It figures they wouldn't want the competition.

bluzdude said...

The tobacco lobby will either kill the competition or weasel their way into dominating the market. It's up to the state as to whether they want to keep the big guys out and let small businesses flourish, or let the fox into the hen house.

RO said...

I used to get bombarded with emails to try CBD oils like crazy, and I deleted them all.(lol) Meanwhile my cousin in DC suffers from some severe pain, and she's allergic to most narcotics, so there are some days she can barely get out of bed. Meanwhile, her sister lives in Colorado and started sending her CBD stuff and she's now pain free, and she now sleeps better too. The only problem is that it's super expensive. I wish I could stay in bed longer, but I get about 5 hours of sleep, and am up promptly between 4am - 4:30am. I also don't use an alarm clock, and can only attribute that to being in the military back in the day. I get everything done early in the day and am totally useless after noon. (lol) RO

bluzdude said...

Even with only 5 hours of sleep, CBD could help increase the quality of your sleep. The gummies I got from Groupon weren't expensive... around $23-$26 for the jars we got. But I'll bet the stuff that comes from Colorado is better quality (hence the expensive price).