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In the world of all-natural wellness and health, cannabis has …
Lars 
January 6, 2021 In the world of all-natural wellness and health, cannabis has powerfully taken the USA by storm recently. Cannabidiol, commonly referred to as CBD, is the non-psychoactive ingredient found in the cannabis plant. Cannabis is becoming increasingly available and easily accessible through online retail markets, with claims of reducing inflammation and pain. As it’s growth in popularity continues, so does the support behind this natural remedy to help with a whole slew of medical conditions and ailments, including headaches and migraines.
While pain medications and conventional remedies may temporarily alleviate your signs and symptoms of headaches and migraines, you may be wondering about those potential side effects that may be lurking around the corner. This is where cannabidiol (CBD) comes into play.
In efforts to understand the benefits and potential risks of using CBD oil for headaches and migraines, we’ll swan dive into all there is to know about it below.
In today’s article, we’ll talk about the cannabis plant that is so often misunderstood. We hope to share with you just how beneficial the cannabis plant can be! We’ll be discussing the science behind this wonderful plant, what the current scientific research is telling us, how CBD works, the amazing benefits of it, the potential side effects, as well as how cannabidiol oil can help with your headaches and migraines.
Let’s get started!
Cannabidiol (CBD) is just one of many cannabinoids, which are the molecules produced by the cannabis plant. This amazing cannabinoid has been making major moves in the health and wellness realms in terms of just how beneficial this wonderful herb can be for our overall health. Unlike tetrahydrocannabinol (THC, the primary psychoactive component in the cannabis plant), cannabidiol is non-psychoactive. Thus, it does not cause the “high” feeling associated with marijuana.
Cannabidiol can be derived from either: A) hemp plant, B) marijuana plant, or C) sometimes both, but CBD is predominantly from the hemp plant.
Believe it or not, the hemp plant is probably part of your daily life already, whether you realize it or not. Hemp is used in various products, including fabrics, clothing materials, food sources, and fuel. You may even find hemp lotion at your local organic grocery store. When cannabidiol is derived from the hemp plant, it is considered legal- in all 50 states of the US. However, on the other hand, when it is derived from the marijuana plant, it is only considered legal in the states that marijuana is legal. Thus, CBD products are available for everyone to purchase, consume, and benefit from! Score.
Negative ghost rider. Nope. Nada. No. Nah.
CBD that is derived from hemp has less than 0.3% THC – meaning that it’s virtually impossible for you to experience a “high” from any amount of dosage.
Again, unlike THC, CBD does not “get you high.” Even when cannabidiol is derived from the marijuana plant, it has extremely low THC levels (and possibly even no THC at all).
Well, there are virtually no side effects to CBD. Read that sentence again. Some individuals have reported having a dry mouth or slight drowsiness. However, commonly, it works to ease any issue or illness you may be enduring without any additional side effects or feelings.
Marijuana and hemp plants fall under the same species of plant: Cannabis Sativa L. While the two plants are closely related, there are some key differences that need distinguishing. For example, think of THC and CBD as being students (THC and CBD) in the classroom (cannabis plant) with two different teachers (hemp and marijuana plants). They’re both in the same classroom but have very different teachers. Simple right?
The teacher hemp plant is responsible for the student CBD (remember, cannabinoids can be derived from the marijuana plant too).
The teacher marijuana plant is responsible for classmate THC.
THC is the psychoactive component of cannabis. Cannabidiol is the non-psychoactive component of cannabis. THC is derived from the stalks, seeds, and flowers of the marijuana plant. Cannabinoids are derived from the terpenes of the hemp plant.
Have a throbbing sensation behind your eyes? Feel a sharp, piercing pain when bright lights are on? Wanting to hide away in a dark, quiet room? Most likely, you’re experiencing a headache. According to the Mayo Clinic, a headache is when an individual experiences pain in any region of the head. They can occur on one or both sides of the head, be isolated to a specific region, and can radiate from one side to the other. Ouch.
Don’t freak yet, headaches are actually super common. You’re not alone in this!
Headache disorders are the 3rd leading cause of disability in the world. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it has been estimated that almost half of the adult population has experienced a headache at least once in the last year. Do you recall having one in 2019? You’d probably answer, yes.
Whether you think you feel something coming on or not, here are some common signs and symptoms of headaches:
Endocannabinoid receptors in the endocannabinoid system (ECS) are located in the brain’s pain and inflammatory processing areas. While there are no clinical trial studies done yet analyzing the efficacy of CBD oil as a treatment for headaches, researchers are discussing the potentials of it.
Review articles looking at cannabidiol oil as a potential therapeutic target highlights the importance of ECS and modulation. The British Journal of Pharmacology published a foundational CBD study in 2014, observing the efficacy of cannabidiol in reducing neuropathic pain. By targeting specific receptors within the ECS, cannabidiol was shown to reduce neuropathic pain.
Experts have reported that headaches have been underestimated, under-treated, and under-recognized worldwide. This is where CBD comes in!
The scientific and medical literature regarding cannabis and headaches treatment has been extremely scarce, but recent studies are beginning to show promise for human intervention and CBD.
Of the 100+ cannabinoids present in cannabis, cannabidiol and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) are the most commonly active found in human research applications.
In 2004, a medicinal extract of cannabis for chronic pain study was completed in the United Kingdom. Researchers concluded that a combination of THC and CBD was shown to have a significant reduction in pain when individuals had headaches.
Since there are not yet any clinical trials on headaches and cannabidiol-treatments, prospective trials are coming out of the woodworks. One prospective trial done in Amsterdam in 2017 aimed to target acute headaches and migraines using cannabidiol and THC. Researchers found that subjects treated with a combination of THC and CBD provided a 43.5% decrease in subjective pain intensity.
Major benefits? It’s not driven by the pharmaceutical industry. CBD doesn’t have a whole slew of potential adverse side effects.
Frontiers in Neurology published an article in 2018 suggesting that cannabidiol has more than just a few powerful healing properties. Researchers described CBD as an antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, antipsychotic, and neuroprotective compound. They described it as safe, having no negative alternation effects on heart rate, blood pressure, or psychological and psychomotor functions.
Many people who experience acute and chronic headaches feel secure about trying cannabinoid oil to help alleviate their headaches.
According to the Global Burden of Disease Study, migraines alone were the 6th highest cause of years lost due to disability across the world in 2013. In 2015 migraines were shown to affect more than 10% of the population, that’s 700 million people worldwide. To think that 700 million people around the world experience migraines is seriously astounding.
A migraine can last for as little as a couple of hours to days on end, with pain so severe that it can interfere with your daily duties. Ouch. Usually, on one side of the head only, a migraine can cause severe pulsing pain or a throbbing sensation.
Migraines often begin in one’s childhood, teenage years, or early adulthood and can eventually (+ unfortunately) progress. Migraine progression can include prodrome, aura, an attack, and or post-drome. You may not experience all stages or in that order, but you may still experience some type of migraine.
The first and best place to start on our migraine-health journey? The ECS. The endocannabinoid system encompasses the central and peripheral nervous systems in our body. Not only does our ECS help with pain and inflammatory responses, but it also helps regulate processes throughout various organ systems.
The ECS works by binding molecular targets within major pain circuits in the body. Because the ECS modulates the inhibitory pathways, the treatment of chronic neuropathic pain is partially attributed to the efficacy of cannabinoids, such as CBD.
Think of the ECS has a UPS store – taking in entering packages, modifying the entering packages by labeling them with proper shipping labels, and sending them back out into the world as the original package with modified UPS details. Makes sense, right? Cool.
As I’m sure you’re wondering, what is being done to approach these 700 million “migraineurs”?
Well, there is scientific research being done currently analyzing the therapeutic effects and benefits of CBD, specifically in the treatment of pain, which may also coincide with the management and treatment of migraines.
So how does CBD work to help with migraines? Here’s how.
A study recently published in Current Opinion Neurology in 2019 approached the migraine epidemic with CBD oil. Researchers discovered that CBD oil might not only help alleviate pain associated with migraines but may also reduce inflammatory and neuropathic pain through modulation.
In 2015, a systematic review of the effectiveness of CBD in pain management was published in The Journal of Oral & Facial Pain and Headache. From the 13 research articles included in this systematic review, researchers concluded that many traditional conventional medications used to treat chronic pain provide little to no therapeutic value and have potentially harmful side effects.
Frontiers in Pharmacology discussed the importance of the ECS in migraines. In summary, the researchers suggested that cannabinoids present a promising argument in the treatment of migraine pain. CBD may help with migraine pain due to its anti-inflammatory effects.
Again, one of the favorite benefits of CBD is that it is not pharmaceutically driven. No long laundry list of side effects either, if I do say so myself.
A recent September 2019 guide to cannabidiol and hemp oils was published in PlumX Metrics, targeting the medical clinician population. The guide suggested that preclinical evidence on cannabinoids has shown to “produce antinociceptive effects in inflammatory and neuropathic rodent pain models.”
Furthermore, CBD has begun looking like an attractive option for pain treatment because of its suggested efficacy, diverse use potential, and safety profile.
When all is said and done, CBD oil is here to stay. Whether you are experiencing neuropathic pain, headaches, or migraines, cannabidiol oil is showing great promise in helping alleviate your pain. With virtually no side effects, CBD oil may just be what you’re looking for to help.
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