Bills seeking to legalize hemp production and CBD oil sales in Texas and Iowa cleared significant hurdles on Tuesday as they passed through the states’ Houses.
There was no opposition to HB 1235 in Texas and it now heads to the Senate for another round of debate. A similar bill in Iowa passed through the House by a vote of 95-3 and Rep. Chris Hall said failure to pass the legislation would see the state miss out on important economic opportunities.
There is some confusion around the legality of CBD oil after President Donald Trump signed the Farm Bill into law at the tail end of 2018. Hemp-derived CBD containing less than 0.3mg of THC is now theoretically legal at a federal level, yet some states have their own laws on CBD, just like they do when it comes to cannabis.
This can make it difficult to obtain, it puts some people in fear of breaking the law, and it has prevented production and distribution in some states. Sponsors in Texas hope that HB 1235 will pass into law and clear up any confusion.
CBD is one of the trendiest health and wellness ingredients in the world and it is the key component in medicinal marijuana, used by many to treat a growing range of conditions, including multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, chronic pain, stress, and anxiety.
New research from University College London also suggests it can protect the brain from any harmful effects of THC, the psychoactive compound found in cannabis. The greatest health risk from THC is that of psychosis, according to the team.
Researchers monitored brain activity at rest in 17 people after they used different strains of cannabis. They found that high-CBD strains ensured minimal disruption to the brain’s default mode and salience levels, suggesting that the CBD counteracts some of THC’s harmful effects.
“We have now found that CBD appears to buffer the user against some of the acute effects of THC on the brain,” said lead author Dr. Matt Wall.
The researchers now claim that CBD could be used to treat brain disorders such as psychosis and addiction.
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