CBD — cannabidiol — is the best-known non-intoxicating cannabinoid in Cannabis sativa. Unlike THC, it does not produce a high, and it is the compound behind most of the hemp wellness market: oils, capsules, drinks and cosmetics.
In 2018 the World Health Organization's Expert Committee on Drug Dependence carried out a critical review of pure CBD. It concluded that CBD is generally well tolerated, shows no potential for abuse or dependence, and recommended that pure cannabidiol not be placed under international drug control. That assessment helped separate CBD's regulatory fate from cannabis as a whole.
Pharmacologically, CBD does not strongly activate the CB1 receptor the way THC does, which is why it is not psychoactive; its effects are thought to run through other pathways. One approved CBD medicine for rare epilepsies exists — which is also why food regulators treat added CBD cautiously (see CBD in food and novel food). The molecule itself is legal in most places, but the products built on it sit on shifting regulatory ground.
- WHO — Cannabidiol (CBD) Critical Review Report, ECDD 40th meeting (2018)
- WHO — Q&A: Expert Committee on Drug Dependence review of cannabis (pure CBD not under international control)
