With the recent news that CBD oil has been approved to be sold over the counter in Australia - a milestone for the alternative remedy - effective February 1, 2021, Australians can finally start thinking of it as a therapeutic alternative.

At this point, the maximum dose for adults will be limited to 150mg per day, ranking it as a pretty low dose as far as research has suggested. This means that the Therapeutic Goods Administration has changed low-dose CBD oil from a schedule four drug - a classification in which doctors used to have to prescribe - to a schedule three-drug, which can be acquired over-the-counter without a prescription.

"It's the biggest milestone since legalisation in 2016 and it's going to dramatically change access for patients in Australia." Cassandra Hunt, the managing director of cannabis industry consultancy, Fresh Leaf Analytics told the ABC upon the news.

With this in mind and access becoming more widespread, it begs the question: what can you use CBD oil for? Below, we're covering the three main things that CBD oil might be useful to treat, according to the experts.

CBD for anxiety

CBD may be effective in managing anxiety. It has been found to potentially change the way our brain receptors respond to serotonin. The National Center for Biotechnology Information states that "evidence strongly supports CBD as a treatment for generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder when administered acutely" So if you're looking for an alternative therapy to manage anxiety, CBD might be the solution.

CBD for pain relief

According to Harvard Health Publishing, CBD may be an option for treating certain types of chronic pain. From research, it is clear that CBD applied on the skin can help lower pain and inflammation from arthritis. Alongside this, studies have shown that CBD inhibits inflammatory and neuropathic pain - two of the most difficult types of chronic pain to treat.

CBD for mental wellbeing

In multiple studies, rodents have reportedly adapted better to stressful conditions and exhibited less depressive-like behaviour after being dosed with CBD, according to a review in Journal of Chemical Neuroanatomy.

“Surprisingly, CBD seems to act faster than conventional antidepressants,” wrote one of the authors of a new review on CBD's antidepressant effects, Sâmia Joca, a fellow at the Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies in Denmark and an associate professor at the University of São Paulo in Brazil, in an interview with the New York Times.

Image: @verderemedy