The CBD Titans Series: Q&A with Dr. Dani Gordon

In our second instalment of CBD with the Titans, we have a quick interview Dr. Dani Gordon a double board certified medical doctor, integrative medicine physician and a world-leading expert in CBD, cannabis medicine, brain wellness & stress resilience.

Dr. Dani Gordon has recently published her new book "The CBD Bible" where she shares her world-renowned expertise on cannabis and the wellness revolution that will change your life.

A few questions with Dr. Dani Gordon

How did you get into Medical Cannabis? 

I got into medical cannabis through my background in evidence-based botanical medicine as part of my Integrative Medicine training. I’m double board qualified as a conventional family physician and as an american board specialist in Integrative Medicine which I’ve been combining in my medical practice for the past decade.

Cannabis medicines were a natural fit for my toolkit and my patients who had often times ‘tried everything’ for symptom reduction and relief and quality of life improvements for painful chronic conditions and I had great successes using them time and time again

Do you or have you used CBD yourself?

Yes!

What inspired your latest book?

My decade of work in integrative medicine and the past half-decade incorporating cannabis medicines, the need for education and empowerment on this topic for both patients/the public and clinicians and the lack of a similar resource for people.

What is this “Wellness Revolution” that will change my life?

Cannabis and CBD are plant medicines that are the forefront of the evidence-based natural medicine & integrataive medicine ‘wellness revolution’ as I like to call it. Meaning that more and more people are looking to add more natural, effective therapies to both their medical and wellness regimens and taking control over their health and wellbeing earlier to prevent diseases before they start in many cases.

Cannabis and CBD have helped botanical medicines and natural medicines gain interest in the general media as well as in medicine and this area of research is rapidly growing, paving the way for even more plant-based medicines such as the recent work with therapeutic ‘psychedelic’ plant compounds such as psilocybin to help with PTSD and depression.

I’m new to CBD, where should I start?

It depends on what you want to do! The book has an entire chapter for things like dosing, different product forms etc and also for each wellness or health area ranging from brain health and gut health to sleep, depression and epilepsy.

A good quality CBD oil is a nice way to start, using the ‘start low go slow method’ and seeing what feels good for you and your targeted usage if you have one.

Why do some people feel no effects when using CBD? 

CBD is not like recreational cannabis containing THC in that it is not ‘psychomimetic’ or make you feel high so if people are expecting that, CBD will not produce this effect.

CBD can be thought of more like other wellness supplements, like omega 3 fish oil or curcumin for example in some ways, although some people, especially at higher wellness doses, do report a sense of relaxation and relief from anxiety sometimes within 30-60 minutes of taking it.

Is the supposed ‘entourage effect’ that big of a deal? In other words, can I still benefit from CBD without any of the THC?

There are many other plant chemicals, terpenoids, flavonoids and cannabinoids besides THC in hemp derived full spectrum CBD products.

THC free broad spectrum products may still contain traces of some of these, especially trace amounts of some of the other minor cannabinoids which may aid with herbal synergy. It is unclear, sadly, if these supplements will continue to be allowed under the proposed novel food legislation as of March 2021 and it may be we can only access CBD isolate products after this date.

Where do you hope to see the CBD and or Medical Cannabis Industry in the UK in 10-years? 

Better access to patients on the medical side and availability on the NHS for those who need it, more research and more acceptance of the cannabis plant generally. Hopefully CBD products of many varieties, as long as they are safe and contain COAs etc will continue to be allowed on the OTC wellness/supplement side since they can be so beneficial and are generally quite safe for most people, just like any other high quality wellness or food supplement.

Lastly, what is the one thing you want people to know about CBD? 

CBD cannot make you feel high or intoxicated, it works with our body’s own endocannabinoid system (which is why it seems to be able to do so many things!) and although it’s not a cure for everything, it is a very valuable wellness and medicinal herbal compound and top of my list as far as supplements go for so many health issues/symptoms as part of an integrative medicine approach.

We hope you enjoyed this short but insightful Q&A with Dr. Dani Gordon.