Narrator: With all the
weed trucks and imagery
all over New York these days,
you might think to yourself,
"Hey, is marijuana legal now?"
Not quite.
What these companies are selling
is actually something called CBD.
It's found in everything
from lollipops to lattes.
And business is booming.
CBD products are part of
what is estimated to be
a roughly one billion dollar
industry in the United States.
And it's perfectly legal.
So, what does CBD have
that marijuana doesn't?
Martin Lee: The fact of the matter is
we're kind of in the midst
of a CBD craze right now.
Narrator: Martin Lee is the
director of Project CBD,
an educational platform that focuses
on cannabis science and therapeutics.
Lee: CBD stands for cannabidiol.
That's a component of the cannabis plant
that has significant
therapeutic properties,
but it's not intoxicating.
It doesn't get you high like THC.
Narrator: As it happens,
not all cannabis plants are created equal.
Take a look at these two varieties.
One is marijuana, the other is hemp.
One gets you high, the other doesn't.
The key difference is
what's on the inside.
Lee: THC and CBD are the main components
of the cannabis plant.
Narrator: THC is what makes you feel high,
and marijuana plants are loaded with it.
Dave Chappelle: I don't know about y'all,
but I can't even move.
Narrator: Hemp, on the other hand,
has hardly any THC at all.
But what it lacks in THC it makes up for
with higher amounts of CBD.
Now, CBD won't get you high,
but it does have a redeeming
quality: it's legal.
And at least according to the marketing,
it has a relaxing effect.
So since this stuff is all the rage,
let's see how it's made.
So, once you have a cannabis
plant, one simple way
to make extract can be
done in your own kitchen.
Lee: As simple as using
olive oil or butter
and heating the trim from the plant
or a little bit of the green
material from the plant.
Obviously that's not very useful
for mass industrial production,
to be cooking up something
in your kitchen with butter and cannabis.
Narrator: But the more common way
involves a specialized, complex machine.
Lee: One very widespread way is using
what's called a
supercritical CO2 extraction.
It's ground up to have the texture
initially of like a coffee grind.
And it's poured into vessels, literally,
of a supercritical CO2 machine.
It will stay in that machine
for upwards to 24 hours
under different pressures and temperatures
at different times of
the extraction process.
And ultimately you'll end up with a thick,
golden oil that's very waxy in texture.
Narrator: You can also extract it
using ethanol and hydrocarbons.
You can find this oil in a number
of different products these days.
Lee: It can be administered
in various different forms.
It might be ingested, it
might be applied topically.
Narrator: They even have CBD
oil products for your pets.
I stopped by a cafe in New York
which sells all sorts
of CBD-infused products.
I tried a CBD matcha
latte and a CBD macaroon.
These snacks tasted great,
and I felt a little more relaxed after,
but it was hard to tell if the CBD
was actually doing anything for me
or if it was all in my head.
Scientists are actually
still trying to figure out
exactly how CBD affects the body.
Lee: So, there really
is a scientific basis
for understanding why CBD can work,
but we're still really a long
way of mastering the hows.
Narrator: Still, CBD
may have more benefits
than just a relaxing afternoon.
Some initial studies have
shown that CBD can help
with a number of different
medical conditions.
In fact, in June 2018, the FDA
approved the first CBD drug,
Epidiolex, which is
used to treat epilepsy.
So, who knows?
Perhaps we'll be seeing CBD in more places
than just cannabis-decorated
vans in the future.
