This is the Guardian. Busy drinks, tampons, leggings, these are just some of the thousands of products you can buy containing

cannabis oil or CBD, a non-intoxicating legal substance derived from the cannabis plant.

Get some CBD in, yeah. I tell you what, I had to go to sleep.

I had to make sure I got home because my body was so relaxed, yeah, I could just fall asleep.

CBD has exploded in popularity in the last few years, with claims it can improve everything

from pain and bad sleep to anxiety.

These are the gummies and I take a couple throughout the day,

morning and afternoon, don't eat them like sweets that are unbelievably tasty, but they just keep the anxiety at bay.

But recently this booming industry has suffered an apparent setback.

The UK's Food Standards Agency has slashed their acceptable daily intake

based on new evidence that long-term use could cause adverse health effects.

So today we're asking what does CBD actually do to us and how safe is it?

I'm in sample science editor of the Guardian and this is Science Weekly.

Dr. Will Lorne, you're a lecturer in psychology at King's College London, where your work on drugs and addiction covers

Cannibidile or CBD. CBD products seem so popular now. There are drinks, drops, lollies. So when did it take off and why did everyone suddenly want to take it?

It kind of took off around 2015. That's when you see the real boom in purchases, the industry taking off and also mentions on social media and online forums. but the causes behind the CBD explosion are multifaceted, likely due to things like a change in perception of cannabis.

So seeing cannabis as a medicine or a wellness product itself and that impacting

can have a dial, obviously a component of Cannabis. Powerful marketing campaigns by vendors

including bringing celebrities on board.

And also, interestingly, the knowledge of genuine efficacy

of high-dose CBD pharmaceutical products.

So we know that CBD actually is an effective medicine at high doses for some conditions.

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