Why Science Says You Should Use CBD Post-COVID
The COVID-19 pandemic stopped the world more thoroughly than any event since World War II. It takes a while to recover from something like that, but business as usual is resuming everywhere you look.
Science still hasn’t definitively determined if CBD is useful for viruses like COVID-19, but hemp is just as pleasant and rewarding to use now as it ever was. The only difference is that a brand new world has been born in the wake of the pandemic — a world you’ve never seen before.
You’re free again
Everywhere, a sense of celebration is breaking out. We haven’t forgotten the horrific results that misguided responses to the pandemic wrought, but we’re collectively ready to see what the world has left for us to explore and rebuild.
You might be celebrating with friends and family you haven’t seen for more than a year. If that’s too far on the horizon, your local community is starting to feel the spread of a thaw that’s progressing throughout the country.
CBD is something you can share or enjoy on your own. It helped you get through the pandemic, and it’s here now that things are nearly back to normal — better and easier to buy than ever before.
The world is there to explore
Are you ready to hit the road? You and everyone else in America — for Memorial Day weekend 2021, AAA predicted that 60% more travelers would go road tripping than last year, promising a year of extra-congested rural highways and immensely relaxed, relieved families.
All that relaxation could be so much deeper with CBD. Pack it with you, or have it shipped to your vacation destination — reputable hemp suppliers ship to all 50 states. National parks, scenic byways, sunsets out the passenger window: It’s all there for the taking again, and CBD will make sure the inherent stresses of hitting the road feel a little more distant and the joys much nearer for it.
CBD has only gotten better
While you’re out there enjoying CBD, take a moment to notice how the industry has evolved. Have you checked out the sudden plethora of CBG, CBN, and delta 8 products that are suddenly available? It seemed to happen overnight, but hemp isn’t just about CBD anymore.
Maybe you kept track of your favorite CBD brands throughout the pandemic. If you naturally retreated from all aspects of life, however, and you’re just now catching up, let it sink in that your options have widened considerably.
Individual cannabinoids are one thing, but it’s how they interact that’s really amazing. Over time, you’ll start to see the evolution of multi-cannabinoid masterpieces that put even today’s best full-spectrum CBD extracts to shame.
Online CBD is exploding
It has never been easier to source CBD, and the diversity of available hemp products is rapidly increasing and deepening. We’re seeing a fusion of the hemp and conventional wellness industries that has only accelerated as pandemic fears fueled an increased interest in natural remedies.
Platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce have made it unbelievably simple for mom-and-pop hemp companies to sell their wares online, and despite crackdowns by PayPal and other payment processors, hemp eCommerce continues to gain steam in a big way. At Secret Nature, we sidestep payment confusion entirely by accepting Bitcoin at checkout — to our knowledge, we’re the only CBD company to take this step.
These days, you can choose between a lineup of trustworthy hemp brands that all offer fast shipping times and have thousands of reviews. That’s a big change from even a year or two ago — COVID may have slowed things down in general, but it only sped up the sale of CBD online.
There are tons of new cannabinoids to try
Remember those new cannabinoids we mentioned earlier? Under the shadow of COVID, new cannabinoids entered the market — let’s take a look at each in a bit more detail:
— Cannabigerol (CBG) —
- Researched for neurological, digestive, and antimicrobial benefits
- Involved in the development of other cannabinoids
- Non-intoxicating like CBD
- Has notably different effects, though
- Best CBG product: Secret Nature Super Spectrum (contains close to 50% CBG flower)
— Cannabinol (CBN) —
- Researched for sedative, neuroprotective, and antimicrobial effects
- Obtained by oxidizing THC or converting CBD
- Mostly non-intoxicating
- Mild psychoactive effects
- Best CBN product: REM CBN Dream Capsules (w/ CBD & dragonfruit)
— Cannabichromene (CBC) —
- Researched for pain and mood benefits
- Usually converted from CBG
- Not notably intoxicating
- Commonly used for focus
- Best CBC product: Secret Nature Delta 8 - CBC Vape (delta 8 + CBC)
— ∆8-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta 8) —
- Close cousin of delta 9 THC
- Chemically distinct from a regulatory perspective
- Slightly different effects than normal THC
- Cannot be defined as non-intoxicating
- Best delta 8 product: Secret Nature Super 8 Vape (85%+ delta 8!)
As you can see, the cannabinoid playing field is widening rapidly, and there’s a lot more to explore than there was pre-pandemic. Combine the benefits of all the cannabinoids now available to get an idea of what using hemp will be like in the not-so-distant future.
New research on cannabinoids and immunity
Everyone is starting to get back to business-as-usual, but no one is feeling quite relaxed. After realizing how fragile our world really is, we’re all waiting for the next blow, and many of us are taking measures to prepare.
The international scientific community has certainly sniffed a chance to score grants and snag prizes at symposiums in the emerging field of cannabinoid immunity research. It turns out that many cannabinoids interact significantly with the human immune system — in exactly which ways, we’re still not quite sure.
Research into cannabinoids and immunity has undeniably sped up, though, and it shows no signs of slowing down. In 2021 alone, more than a dozen papers on hemp compounds and human immunity have been published in peer-reviewed journals around the world — here are three highlights:
This study had to do with the immune balancing act that’s necessary during pregnancy to prevent the body from identifying the baby as foreign tissue. Nonetheless, it touches on important areas of how cannabinoids interact with the immune system in general, paving the way for future pandemic-related research.
Here, researchers sought to determine how CBD might impact the unnatural, uncontrolled autophagy that occurs as a result of Alzheimer’s disease. “Enhancing immune system response,” as the researchers describe it, is the goal of treatments designed to reduce this neurological harm. Stay posted for more research on this potential immune-related CBD benefit.
It’s not a virus, but multiple sclerosis (MS) is also mainly an immune system issue. A new 2021 review of the available evidence sought to find out of CBD is useful for MS on an immune level. The researchers weren’t able to reach any firm conclusions, but they did call for higher-dose studies into the subject.
Hemp is gaining traction worldwide
Lots of things ended during COVID. Movie theaters, for instance, may never really see a comeback, and many restaurants are shuttered for good.
Cannabinoids, however, aren’t going anywhere. Citizens and governments around the world have been forced to recognize the real, undeniable benefits of the Cannabis sativa plant, and things are changing for the better everywhere.
We still wouldn’t recommend trying to smuggle a fat doobie into Dubai. You’ll see if you decide to travel abroad this year, though, that everyone is seeing cannabis in a new light.
The change has been coming for a while, and now it’s finally here. It won’t happen overnight, but soon it will be the whole world — not just America — that truly believes in hemp and its power to change lives.
Cannabinoids are the anti-COVID
No, we aren’t claiming that hemp is the cure to COVID-19. We never are, and we never will — we respect your intelligence more than that, and your trust is more important than making a quick sale.
What we’re saying is far more subtle and wide-reaching than that. As COVID took away so much that we loved, it only brought hemp closer to us. Interestingly, the pandemic seemingly strengthened the foothold hemp and cannabis have throughout the world, so now it’s time to pay back the favor.
Take your health into your own hands. Seek the remedies that actually work, and decide for yourself what’s right and safe. Use hemp as a weapon to cut through the blanket of fear COVID once laid over the world, and use it as an open hand to share the pleasure of breathing easy once more.
