The Solari Wellness Series: CBD or not CBD – An Interview with Dr. Robban Sica

By Brigitte Mouchet

CBD, or cannabidiol, is one of over 400 chemical compounds derived from Cannabis Sativa, interestingly enough, one of the first plants cultivated by humans. As early as 4,000 B.C. in China, cannabis was cultivated for its fibers to manufacture strings, ropes, textiles, and even paper. In India, the medical use of cannabis probably started around 1000 years B.C. In the Western world, the discovery of cannabinoid receptors in the brain, and of the Endocannabinoid System in the 1990’s brought it to the forefront of the scientific research scene.

Today, its surge in popularity comes from the fact that it offers significant medical benefits, without making people feel high. And those benefits are quite extraordinary: from thinking clearly to preventing most diseases. In spite of this, most health care practitioners don’t know much about CBD or hemp oil—hemp being a cannabis variety cultivated for its high CBD content and extremely low THC. Although CBD’s legal and regulatory status is still ambiguous, hemp-derived CBD products can be purchased in the US, which is still not the case with marijuana-derived CBD products.

My interview with Dr. Robban Sica, an expert in Integrative Medicine, provides an overview of the health and wellness benefits of hemp oil as well as recommendations on how to choose a hemp oil product safely and for maximum efficiency. Join me for an enlightening discussion that could possibly change your life!

Our hero for this week is Dr. Raphael Mechoulam, an Israeli organic chemist and professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel. Mechoulam is best known for his work (together with Y. Gaoni) in the isolation, structure elucidation and total synthesis of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol, the main active principle of cannabis and for the isolation and the identification of the endogenous cannabinoids anandamide from the brain and 2-arachidonoyl glycerol (2-AG) from peripheral organs together with his students, postdocs and collaborators.

This week in Let’s Go to the Movies we recommend “The Scientist” a documentary that traces the story of Dr. Raphael Mechoulam from his early days as a child of the Holocaust in Bulgaria, through his immigration to Israel, and his career as the chief investigator into the chemistry and biology of the world’s most misunderstood plant: cannabis.

As this is the last week of the month, there is no Money & Markets commentary. Post your questions for Catherine at Subscriber Input or at the commentary for her Money & Markets on February 7, 2019.

Talk to you Thursday!

Related Websites:

Healoha: Your Wellness Network

The Solari Wellness Series

Project CBD: This website is useful if you want to stay on top of the latest news, science and research about CBD.

Where to find high-quality hemp oil products:

CTFO

Dr. Sica and I both recommend the 10x pure product from CTFO, which I recently tried. I did feel a big difference compared to other hemp oil products from CTFO that I had been using. Everybody is different though and therefore will have a different experience with hemp oil products. You will need to experiment to see how it works for you.

Additional reading:

1. CBD Nature’s Supplement: This document discusses the main benefits of CBD.

2. The Emperor Wears No Clothes (by Weedshop): Everything you’ve always wanted to know about the history and use of Cannabis over the years.

3. Introduction to the Endocannabinoid System by Dr. Dustin Sulak, DO