Why we need to reframe CBD as good nutrition

The absence of CBD as daily nutrition is causing a major health crisis, writes founder of Master Plant and Mee CBD, Oli Osgood.

The conversation around CBD, particularly in the mainstream media, has focused on factors that have been detrimental to a true understanding of its benefits.

Rather than viewing cannabis as a ‘cure’ we need to reframe the debate and focus on how the absence of CBD as daily nutrition is causing a major health crisis. 

CBD can help restore balance for us as individuals and for wider society. After 18 months of lockdowns and a growing mental health crisis, changing thinking has never been more important. 

Entrenched misperceptions

A quick Google search on top questions related to CBD highlights some of the spurious notions about CBD – ‘Is it a bad drug?’ or ‘is it legal?’ or even ‘is it a cure for cancer?’

CBD should be a part of our daily nutrition. Photo: Mee CBD

These ill-informed views highlight the scale of the challenge we have in seeing its wide embrace in this country as a key component of our daily nutrition.

It is subject to the kind of scrutiny that simply doesn’t exist in the rest of the wellbeing industry. And therein lies the problem. It is viewed as somehow separate and other due to being sourced from a beneficial plant that has been outlawed for nefarious reasons for so many years. The upshot is any sensible debate is stifled. 

With cannabis as a drug first being banned in 1928 in the UK, we have no living memory about a time before prohibition.

As a result, we lost any understanding of its potential benefits for society. Instead a moral panic grew up around it. The fact that this prohibitionist culture has existed for close to a hundred years means misperceptions are sadly hard wired into many psyches. 

In a way it is not dissimilar to how discussions around mental health are suppressed by some cultures and societies. Of course our mental health is a vital part of life and so is CBD.

As a society we need to move away from the prohibitionist culture and mindset. We need to throw off the shackles of the past to develop a laser-like focus on the clear scientific basis on its vital role within the regulation of our bodies.

Activating what is already inside us

Adding CBD to daily nutrition is a game changer and we need to communicate this more publicly.

It has the ability to regulate and balance so many processes in the body, including immune response, communication between cells, appetite and metabolism and memory. There is a host of new compelling evidence highlighting its benefits that seems to get little traction in the mainstream media. 

A recent report from the Frontiers in Public Health showing patients with chronic pain, PTSD and sleep disorders found their conditions improved after starting medical cannabis treatment. Thankfully titles like Cannabis Health report on these important breakthroughs.

Cannabis has been shown to improve sleep. Photo: Mee CBD

All CBD is doing is activating the body’s endocannabinoid system (ECS). The ‘absence’ of CBD has had a detrimental impact on the health of us as individuals and I would argue our society.

We’ve seen from our own evidence remarkable results in our tests with the product of people who have clearly suffered from a range of ailments from chronic pain to anxiety.

One client had struggled to walk for seven years due to pain in her feet. She takes CBD and is now dancing and smiling – this seems like a miracle – but it’s just good nutrition performing miracles in the absence of a balanced diet that includes cannabinoids.

Having a wider perspective

Part of reframing the debate around CBD is looking outside our own narrow and parochial parameters to benefit from the perspective of a wider lens.

In my long experience of working overseas and travelling I have been struck by the much more mature understanding other societies have of the power of plant science and botanicals to help regulate our systems.

Indeed the inspiration for our brand was Margaret Mee who in the 1950s was one of the foremost figures to go deep into the Amazon and highlight the rare, valuable botanicals she discovered there. Margaret Mee used her fearless creativity to show the world the beauty and power of plants, a mission we share today. 

The opening up of the world particularly in the last 20 years has gone some way to also open minds to the role CBD and other botanicals can play as part of a balanced life. These are fundamental to the wellbeing of so many societies. Meanwhile Western countries dominate the list of countries suffering from a mental health epidemic as revealed by Our World In Data.

These countries are also suffering from imbalances caused by eating too much or drinking too much alcohol – the permitted and by far most dangerous drug of all.

Government’s role to play

Of course the ‘solution’ to these crises is neatly provided by the pharmaceutical industry to ensure their profits remain sky high.

Hugely well funded global corporations with armies of powerful lobbyists have Governments at their beck and call and bombard doctors with information on why prescription drugs are the answer to all our ailments. With so much money to be made it is inevitable. But these drugs merely tackle the symptoms and not the cause. 

In regulating our systems and restoring balance, CBD has the ability to negate the need for powerful prescription drugs, yet our industry is nascent. David compared to the Goliath of big Pharma.

Government needs to reject the lobbying and look at the compelling evidence, promoting CBD like they promoted milk for good teeth and bones rather than having a slightly uncomfortable arm’s length relationship.

They should invest in some mass double blind studies showing the benefits of CBD in a range of areas. This would help to level the playing field and of course ultimately save the Government huge amounts by not requiring so much use of the NHS.

Project Twenty21 which will see 20,000 patients supplied with subsidised cannabis products by the end of 2021, should help provide compelling data to shift thinking.

Water-soluble CBD can change the game

Water-soluble CBD could be a game-changer. Photo: Mee CBD

As well as winning the argument with Government, we of course still need to win round the public. Key to this is a method of consumption that appeals to people.

The next generation of CBD is water-soluble and can be the catalyst for change. As it can be added to food and drink, people will see how it can seamlessly integrate into our daily lives, moving CBD from our medicine cabinets to our kitchens.

This will help to literally reposition it as part of our daily nutrition and away from the misperceptions of the past. Additionally the enhanced bioavailability and super fast acting nature of water-soluble create noticeable results, and we believe, should further propel CBD further into mainstream life.  

With consumers and the media better educated about the benefits of CBD we can start to see it in a new light. No longer something on the fringes of society – an unknown and frowned upon substance, but instead a vital component in helping us achieve a balance that is vital for our wellbeing.

Oli Osgood is CEO of Mee CBD and Master Plant and was formerly a CEO in the Virgin and Strauss Groups following 14 years private equity investment and financial director experience. He is a London Business School Alumni and ACA qualified.