CBD stands for Cannabidiol and is one of the over 150 active parts of the Hemp (Cannabis Sativa L) and Cannabis plant. It is found in higher concentrations in the Hemp plant, so most CBD-based products are hemp-derived.

It wasn’t until an Irish doctor studying in India, Sir William Brooke O’Shaughnessy, in the 1830s, discovered that Cannabis extracts could help with stomach pains and vomiting in people who had contracted Cholera. Nearly a century after O’Shaughnessy published his study, advancements in research and technology revealed the presence of compounds within the cannabis plant. The first discovery of an individual cannabinoid was made, when British chemist Robert S. Cahn reported the partial structure of Cannabinol (CBN), which he later identified as fully formed in 1940. Two years later, American chemist, Roger Adams, made history when he successfully isolated the first cannabinoid, Cannabidiol (CBD).

The first person to isolate and complete the total synthesis of THC and CBD back in the 1960s was Dr. Raphael Mechoulam, who is an Israeli professor of organic and medicinal chemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.