Across the country, medical marijuana is gradually becoming accepted as a valid form of aid for people who are struggling with diseases like cancer and AIDS. However, it's understandable that some people who can potentially benefit from it are still a bit anxious about the idea of having to get high in order to feel better. Thankfully, getting high isn't actually required in order to reap the benefits of hemp. This guide will explain the difference between the intoxicating and helpful chemicals in marijuana, and how hemp can help without getting you high.

THC

Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, is the chemical in marijuana that makes people get high when they consume it. THC is responsible for the feeling of euphoria, sleepiness, and hunger that people sometimes experience when they consume marijuana.

While THC is sometimes used to help people to regain their appetite when they've lost it as a side effect of an illness or its treatment, like chemotherapy for cancer or anorexia, it's not the main medical chemical that marijuana is praised for.

CBD

Cannabidiol, or CBD, is another chemical naturally produced by marijuana. However, unlike THC, CBD does not cause any kind of intoxicating effect.

In addition, CBD is the real medical hero of marijuana or hemp products. Studies have shown that CBD has many benefits, including reducing depression, seizures, psychosis, and inflammation, and it even fights tumors. In addition, for those who don't want to eat due to chemotherapy, CBD can help to reduce the nausea and vomiting that chemotherapy can cause. 

Carefully Crafted Strains

The good news about medical marijuana products, like hemp, is that scientists are constantly finding new ways to get the benefits to patients without making them high.

Scientists are creating new strains of marijuana that can be turned into hemp oil and other hemp products for health that contain high levels of CBD for maximum medical efficacy. These products also contain little to no THC, so there's a reduced risk of getting high. In addition, one of the benefits of CBD is that it can combat the high effect THC creates, so any trace amounts of THC are negated in potent CBD hemp products.

In this day and age, it's entirely possible to enjoy the health and wellness benefits of hemp without getting high. If you're not interested in an unwanted high, talk to your doctor and dispensary about products that are high in CBD and low in THC that can give you the help you're looking for.