Many of us are well aware of THC, the compound in marijuana that gives a psychotropic “high” when ingested and places cannabis in the “drug” category and often outside the law. But how many of us know about CBD?

CBD is another marijuana compound (also called Cannabidiol) — one that doesn’t have any psychotropic effects when ingested on its own and is a main reason so many people attribute health benefits to cannabis. If we think of them like brothers, THC is the one who parties hard and crashes even harder while CBD is the one who went vegan and traveled to India to do yoga and live the healthy life.

All 113 of the identified cannabinoids connect to special receptors in some of the body’s most important parts, like the brain. But research has repeatedly shown CBD to stand out among these compounds for its apparently positive effects on the body. Instead of giving a “high”, there is evidence that CBD may be useful in reducing the symptoms of serious health issues like epilepsy, diabetes, migraines and many more.

Having been decoupled from the psychotropic effects of the THC compound, CBD is growing by leaps and bound in popularity; regulators and private individuals don’t have to worry about any drug-like side effects from CBD and are increasingly being convinced of its medical benefits. Strands of marijuana containing as much as 15% CBD have been developed to meet demand and are legal throughout most of Europe as they contain almost non-existent traces of THC.

In clinical trials for Epidiolex, a medication of 98% CBD, GW Pharmaceuticals found that epileptic seizures could be reduced by 42% with the help of the marijuana compound. Other companies like BOL Pharma are following suit with CBD products of their own.

While some experts maintain that CBD on its own isn’t always as effective of a treatment as consuming all the elements of marijuana together, it appears that CBD is on its way to being an integral part of a wide range of pharmaceutical products and solutions thanks to the specific benefits the compound has to offer on its own. The “drug” debate around marijuana is being sidestepped so people can enjoy a large portion of the plant’s medicinal potential.

But even as CBD finds increasing legitimacy as a medicinal substance, recognition as such is threatening its parallel development as a food supplement. Recent recognition of CBD is a medicinal product in the United States and Great Britain has led many in the industry to fear that CBD sales may soon be banned everywhere but pharmacies, blocking its availability on the free market as a supplement.

Indeed, companies like CW Hemp, Natural Alchemist and Green Roads have received multiple warnings from the FDA against marketing their CBD products as having medical benefits because they aren’t pharmacies. While it currently remains a gray area and companies can still market CBD products as supplements, the FDA and other regulators could potentially decide that non-medicinal sales of CBD are drug sales and therefore illegal.

This legal question remains open ended but a final decision to allow the sale of CBD as a supplement would boost confidence in an already booming market and introduce the compound into the lives of millions around the world.

In the meantime, the value of CBD is skyrocketing and all kinds of new innovations and innovators are entering the market. Cannabium is a blockchain-based venture with a cryptocurrency backed by real-world CBD. This model increases liquidity in the market for CBD while establishing an equilibrium between producers and buyers. Cannabium aims to make its token the standard method of payment for medical cannabis extract trading on the blockchain and to create opportunities for the sourcing of competitively-priced CBD extracts that can be used to manufacture high-end CBD products.

It’s an exciting time for CBD, and people in the industry are confidently facing even the legal unknowns with optimism. Are all our lives about to get healthier with CBD?