Weeding Out

The relaxing of laws in a range of countries (notably parts of the US and Canada) have reportedly led to an explosion of applications (e.g. energy drinks, cookies, beer, massage creams et cetera) more usually associated with herbal remedies than mainstream medicine (although there has been a lot of publicity about the ability of cannabidiol to reduce the incidence of fits in some epileptic children). An examination of the current state of affairs suggests that the effects of cannabis are complex with some of its ingredients (cannabidiol) suppressing psychoses whereas others (such as tetrahydrocannabidiol) have the opposite effect (https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/may/05/cbd-a-marijuana-miracle-or-another-health-fad-cannabidiol-anxiety-epilepsy). It seems that much more examination of this complex plant product is required (without getting carried away by untested claims). After all, plants largely produce psychoactive compounds to protect themselves from animals, so their actions are likely to be complex.