The dangers of CBD

CBD’s ubiquity cannot be denied, it is growing across different industries and sectors and is becoming an increasingly popular and common product.CBD shops are appearing on high streets everywhere and online stores and steadily multiplying. At Reakiro, we have always maintained the idea that the consumer’s health is the first priority. If consuming CBD could present any kind of danger or health issue, it would be our responsibility to inform our customers. This is why we stay up to date with the latest scientific reports and studies about the dangers of CBD. If there are any dangers associated with taking CBD we will always be transparent.

The beneficial effects of CBD for health and well-being are increasingly highlighted by the growing number of users and also the growing number of scientific studies, the question remains - are there any dangers associated with CBD? Particular areas of interest are possible addiction and side effects. In this article we will explore this question and answer, are there any dangers associated with CBD?

The legal status of CBD is a key deciding factor for any potential consumer who is concerned about the possible dangers of CBD. Laws regarding the use or exposure of any product are made to protect consumers, and if a product is prohibited it will have been decided that it poses a risk. Thanks to a recent change of attitude (and legislation), in most countries, especially European countries, the legislation concerning CBD is generally favourable. Prior to this, CBD has long been penalised due to the fact that the molecule cannabidiol is extracted from the Cannabis Sativa L plant, i.e. the cannabis plant. However, in some strains, this plant contains an abundance of a molecule called THC, or delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, which due to its psychoactive effects, is considered a drug in many countries.

Reakiro products are firmly in line with all the legal standards, whether CBD Reakiro oils, in drops or capsules, CBD Reakiro products for athletes, or CBD Reakiro balms and creams. It is important to note that the Reakiro brand wishes to always be completely transparent on this subject. All of our products are independently tested in third-party laboratories and we publish all the results on our website.

This is absolutely not the case when it comes to CBD, cannabidiol, which does not act on the same receptors in the body as the THC molecule.

Again, when we talk about addiction, we must emphasize the difference between the THC molecule and the CBD molecule. THC causes certain habituation, or tolerance, this is to say that over time you need to take a higher and higher dose in order to feel the same effects. This state of addiction is much lower than other psychotropics, such as synthetic drugs or certain medications, but it is no less a reality. Additionally, the consumption of THC is addictive, which gives it its drug status and why the term ‘soft drug’ is sometimes used to describe it.

This is not the case for CBD. No serious study to date has reported any kind of addiction or dependence from taking CBD.

Addictogenic products - products which cause addiction or dependence - such as nicotine, alcohol, cocaine and many other drugs, are substances which flood the brain with neurotransmitters causing a significant surge of pleasant sensations. One of these neurotransmitters is dopamine, sometimes called the ‘pleasure hormone’, which accumulates in the hypothalamus. Dopamine and this region of the brain play an essential role in the phenomenon of addiction. While the production of dopamine does not imply addiction, everything depends on the way in which the substance is applied, which influences the speed and intensity with which dopamine is accumulated.

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines addiction as a set of behavioural phenomena in which the use of a category of psychoactive substance or of a specific psychoactive substance causes a progressive withdrawal from other activities. It also distinguishes between the cognitive aspects and the physiological aspects of addiction. 

A study published in 2019 by the National Library of Medicine focussed specifically on the use of CBD to facilitate people who were suffering from opioid withdrawal. The study found that if CBD is administered from the onset of withdrawal, withdrawal symptoms are significantly reduced, particularly with regard to cravings and withdrawal anxiety. This study also included a placebo aspect, but participants who received the placebo did not experience a comparable response. Researchers also found real physiological changes in states induced by opioids, including a reduction in heart rate and a decrease in salivary cortisol levels. The study did not find any serious adverse effects during the treatment.

While it’s too early to make broad generalisations, it looks quite possible that CBD could be instrumental in helping people recovering from an addiction, such as those who want to quit smoking, alcohol addiction, or cannabis use - this could also include reducing the risk of relapse.

For those concerned about the possible dangers of CBD, there very well may also be concern over the side effects of CBD. Generally, the term ‘side effect’ is only associated with substances taken for medical reasons, so why is the term used when it comes to CBD?

Before discussing the dangers of CBD in terms of side effects, it is very important to understand Reakiro’s clear position on the use of Reakiro CBD products. We do not wish to dismiss the possibilities of Reakiro CBD products being used therapeutically for certain conditions, and if our customers wish to utilise our products in this way they are free to do so. We also maintain a constant and regular information watch so that we can inform our customers as much as possible about the latest scientific developments on this subject. But we would also like to emphasize the comprehensive, holistic approach to health that has guided Reakiro since the beginning.

Above all, Reakiro CBD products should be considered as products that are part of a healthy, harmonious and balanced lifestyle, as a part of the search for overall well-being. We passionately advocate a healthy lifestyle, stress reduction, a well-balanced diet, and a sufficient quantity of nutrients necessary for metabolism. It is all this that contributes to the general state of health and well-being that makes it possible for CBD Reakiro products to help strengthen the natural immune defences.

If you plan to use CBD Reakiro products to meet more specific personal needs, such as CBD Reakiro oils or CBD Reakiro capsules for better quality sleep, creams and Reakiro CBD balms for better muscle and joint relaxation after exercising, or even to relieve joint pain related to osteoarthritis, nothing is preventing you from adopting this approach. But in this case, we must insist on the fact that this approach should be accompanied by the authorised opinions of health professionals.

When it comes to the therapeutic use of CBD, we remind you that this is an area where there is ongoing research but currently there is no definitive answer in terms of effectiveness. Nevertheless, the conditions for which the use of CBD is currently considered are quite numerous: chronic pain, arthritis, osteoarthritis or joint pain, anxiety and depression, lung conditions, sleep disorders, headaches and migraines, post-traumatic stress syndrome, nausea, allergies or asthma, epilepsy and other seizure related conditions, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease. The data is still quite sparse when it comes to research on these conditions, but it seems at this point it seems that the use of CBD is most promising in disorders which affect the nervous system.

Studies that look at the potential dangers of CBD focus solely on the effects of cannabidiol. However, there are many low-quality CBD products on the market that contain other much more dangerous molecules, including pesticides and other chemicals. Scientific studies on the use of CBD and the potential danger of CBD assume that the product is of the highest, purest quality - a factor which is essential when a study is administering it to subjects participating in the therapeutic evaluation. But when it comes to the danger of CBD, the central point is the quality of the product.

The more time we devote to examining and understanding the scientific studies and literature concerning the possible dangers of CBD, the more we see a clear and logical conclusion emerging: everything is a matter of product quality. The potential danger of CBD is in fact not related to the cannabidiol molecule, but to other molecules which can be present in CBD products that are either average or low quality. At Reakiro, we are aware that the production chain of CBD products involves a number of processes, from sowing the hemp seeds to the final packaging, and each of these processes requires extremely strict quality control.

For the best CBD products please ensure that your supplier applies transparency when it comes to the origin and the method of production of the final products. This is of course the case for Reakiro’s CBD products, which only use facilities that are equipped and maintained to the highest industry standards. You can verify that Reakiro CBD products are 100% natural and are not derived from plants grown using chemical fertilisers or pesticides, nor are they derived from genetically modified plants. All analysis of our products is carried out by independent third party laboratories and published on our website.

Reakiro CBD products are made from the highest quality industrial hemp, grown in the European Union and tested by independent laboratories. We guarantee the highest level of quality thanks to our extremely strict internal quality control procedure; each product must undergo a series of laboratory tests to obtain our highly-regarded Certificate of Analysis (COA). It is only on this condition that a Reakiro product can be put up for sale.