Writer Michael Pollan echoes this thought when he cites the paucity of cultures and civilizations that have existed without the use of any psychoactive substances. The difference between heroin, which will promptly get you arrested, and codeine, morphine, or oxycodone, which we frequently prescribe in clinics, is merely a few atoms. We freely accept the deadliest of drugs by the score—tobacco and alcohol, along with dozens of addictive, intoxicating prescription drugs—yet we have demonized much less dangerous drugs.

Despite the fact that cannabis was a widely distributed medicine with MDs writing more than 3,000,000 prescriptions per year in the 1930s, it became prohibited at the federal level in the United States in 1937. That prohibition was continued via the Controlled Substances Act in 1970 with cannabis placed firmly in the Schedule I category, which is where it has remained since. The decision to place cannabis in the Schedule I category was not based on science.

However, the reported benefits and increasing demand for CBD are opening up an international conversation around CBD pros and cons. So far, the legality issues and lack of clinical trials are the only risks that CBDs pose, which is why it’s important for people to educate themselves rather than see past the unknown. So, why is there a sudden interest in CBD? The cannabis industry, of course.