If you suffer from insomnia, anxiety or some sort of continuous pain, then you’ve probably tried self-medicating loads of times.

Alcohol. Pain killers. Sleeping tablets.

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They might all work for a while but, once the effect has worn off, you’re back to square one – uncomfortable, tired and stressed.


But you can now get a 100% organic hemp milk which promises to sooth anxieties and pains, aid sleep and reduce stress – via CBD (cannabidiol) oil.

Relax, by Rawligion, contains hemp seeds, cashews, dates, coconut oil, vanilla, water and CBD oil – and that’s it.

Michael Isted is a phytotherapist and development consultant for the plant-based food company, and he tells Metro.co.uk that he wanted to develop a CBD-based drink because of its medicinal benefits.



CBD oil is made from hemp and doesn’t contain any of the psychoactive properties found in other cannabis compounds, like tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). So no – it doesn’t get you high or stoned.

But what CBD oil can do is react to the body’s endogenous cannabinoid system, which regulate the body’s homeostasis, or general state of balance – so impacts on mood, sleep, hormone regulation, immune response and pain.

Our endocannabinoid system is made up of millions of receptor sites in our brain and nervous system and is one of the most important regulatory systems in the human body.

‘The cannabis plant is almost the perfect plan – humans are supposed to have a relationship with this plant because we have cannabinoid receptors all over our body,’ says Michael.

‘Cannabis has all that we need to sustain life, vitamins, minerals, proteins, essential fatty acids.

‘We can even make clothes and materials from the plant.’

And it’s not just cannabis users who are convinced of the oil’s benefits.

New legislation has been passed to turn CBD into a legitimate medicine and, as of November 1, it will only be available through the big pharmaceutical companies.

‘Governments and pharmaceutical companies – particularly in the US and UK – are investing in further scientific research,’ explains Michael.

‘Planting cannabis plantations as they know it is a powerful medicine and people are using CBD for a wide spectrum of medical problems.

‘It’s used for a multitude of different health issues, including anxiety, cancer (particularly the side effects of conventional treatment), pain relief, depression, and sleep disorders.’

The Relax milk tastes very similar to almond milk – albeit slightly earthier – and has a slightly, cannabis-like aftertaste.

It’s sweet and moreish.

But does it work?

My colleague’s been suffering from shoulder problems for ages and hoped that the milk might be able to prove its pain relief claim.

‘I didn’t feel significantly more relaxed but my shoulder definitely felt better that evening and I was very sleepy,’ she says, after swigging the stuff in the office.

‘I think it’s magical in terms of pain reduction and sleepiness.’



And I concur.

I often wake up in the middle of the night so drank a bottle before bed in the vain hope that it’d act similarly to a bottle of wine.

I was comatose from 10pm until 7.30 the next morning and woke completely alert.

Whether or not that’s a placebo effect, we both felt that we had a better night’s sleep and she experienced pain reduction.

Rawligion’s founder John Taba also claims that they’ve had numerous customers reporting back a feeling of ‘calm and tranquility’.

But he does say that it can only have the desired effect if drunk carefully.

‘It’s subtle, but so far all who have consumed the drink mindfully have felt the desired effect.

‘I don’t mean to use the word mindfully in a hipster way, just more a case of someone actually paying attention to how they feel before hand, during drinking and afterwards instead of having it as a drink to wash down a meal with!’

MORE: British government says cannabis has ‘medicinal’ effect in breakthrough moment

MORE: Stop everything – cannabis beer is a thing (but does it get you stoned?)

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