Introduction
CBD, an abbreviation for ‘cannabidiol’, is mainly extracted from industrial hemp, a Cannabis sativa plant. Here at Calpernia Planters we want you to know all about this magical plant that is the main source for CBD in the world. To get the ball rolling on our blog, here are five facts about industrial hemp and its active ingredient CBD you might not know.
1. What is the origin of the word ‘hemp’?
The origins of the word hemp are thought to have been a development of the word ‘cannabis’ which was known as ‘kannabis’ in Greek before being borrowed by Latin. Its form is thought to have morphed into Germananic and Nordic languages as ‘hanapiz’ which in turn became ‘henep’ in Old English. This evolved to the current ‘hemp’ in modern English although, interestingly, this form is still used for CBD hemp in Dutch.
2. For how long has hemp been used?
Long before your local CBD hemp shop was opened, hemp fibres were spun into cloth 50,000 years 
ago in Asia and the Middle East. Farmers started growing hemp in the east of England hemp from the 1500s, with demand increasing after America was discovered by Christopher Columbus. The plant fibres were used to make rope and oakum essential for the growing British navy that went on to rule over a third of the world.
Industrial hemp continued to grow in popularity during the ninteenth century with Communist Russia being the largest consumer of the raw product. However, new artificial fibres quickly rose up to take hemp’s place as the main raw material for rope and cloth. Hemp was finally made illegal in Western countries in the 1930s, although the global production has remained at around 75,000 metric tonnes a year.
Hemp’s main uses nowadays are paper, rope, clothing, paint, insulation and even a unique type of biodegradable plastic.
3. What do we know about the hemp plant itself?
Cannabis sativa is the only type of the plant that is grown although selective breeding over the years has led to different varieties being developed. Each of them has different qualities, designed to be grown at different latitudes and each offering different cannabinoids like CBD, THC, CBG, etc.
The plants themselves are normally planted alongside each other and can grow to a height of up to five metres. Here at Calpernia Planters, our CBD Hemp is grown in the sunny climes of southern Spain which offers very good conditions for a high quality product.
4. Health benefits
CBD Hemp, in particular, has been found to have a number of health benefits that have started to be revealed as researchers get more legal access to the substance.On a purely nutritive level it
contains vitamins and CBD hemp seeds are a great way to help increase iron intake, essential for our human bodies.
A number of studies are also showing the potential for CBD hemp to have positive effects on chronic health conditions. One of the biggest benefactors has been epilepsy, with drugs now on the market that used CBD Hemp as its most active product. Other drugs are being developed to reduce pain and inflammation, provide relief from chemotherapy and help sufferers of depression and anxiety.
5. What is the legal status of CBD hemp?
Despite being made illegal in the nineteenth century, hemp has gone through a process of being slowly decriminalised especially during the new millennium. This has been pushed my medical research showing the healing properties of CBD, which is slowly filtering through to lawmakers. In the European Union, CBD extracts from industrial hemp are currently considered novel foods as long as their THC content is lower than 0.2%. Different countries have introduced their own legislation on the matter, with some countries in Europe having a total ban and others allowing CBD hemp flower and seeds to be sold freely. Make sure you know the law in your own country before making a purchase!
Thanks largely to a consortium led by the European Industrial Hemp Association, more legal challenges are being pushed through in different countries as well as at EU level. In one of the most recent court successes, judges removed hemp from the EU and German register of narcotics. This latest success will give scientists the chance to experiment with hemp more extensively while making it easier to buy CBD online and over the counter.
Conclusion
CBD Hemp is now being recognised as one of the most useful and readily available substances on the food and health market. As it is slowly legalised across the world, more of its health benefits are being revealed, allowing scientists to harness the properties of the plant to its best advantage.
Considering industrial hemp has been used for millennia to help human beings in their daily lives, it is only natural that this tradition is now being recognised by the international community.
Now you know the key facts, feel free to pop over to our shop.
