CBD is short for cannabidiol, which is one of more than 80 chemical cannabinoids found in the marijuana plant Cannabis sativa. Thus, cannabis oil, or CBD Oil as it is more commonly known, is an oil that is developed using this particular compound.

Although CBD oil is just now becoming mainstream, largely because of the debates surrounding medical marijuana, cannabis has a long history of providing relief in many different countries around the world.

Before getting into the various uses of CBD Oil, it is important to differentiate between FDA approved indications and unapproved indications. FDA approved indications are medical uses that are accepted by the FDA. For this to happen, there are multiple phases of testing that drugs must complete before being approved. First, drugs go through pre-clinical trials in animals or cell cultures to determine if it may work in humans. Next, they go through Phase 1 which is done in a small group of healthy people to determine safety and dosages. Then, it goes through Phase 2 testing in a larger group of people with the disease they want to treat to test for efficacy and possible side effects. This is followed by Phase 3 testing in an even larger group of people with the disease to test for efficacy again and monitor any side effects. When it passes all of these phases to prove safety and efficacy, the drug gets approved by the FDA and goes on to Phase 4 testing. This is monitoring that is done by health-care professionals. If patients have side effects or reactions to drugs, health-care professionals report these to programs like MedWatch. If drugs get too many complaints, they can be taken off the market. As for unapproved indications, these are reasons why people take drugs even if it is not the official use for them.

As of right now, there are a limited number of FDA approved uses of CBD Oil. The most famous use is for epilepsy or seizures. Epidiolex is the first drug containing a purified drug substance from marijuana plants that obtained FDA approval.