According to Dr. Raphael Mechoulam, Ph.D., “Cannabis has been used as a medicinal agent for thousands of years. We have evidence that the Assyrians used it in what seem to be neurological diseases, the Greeks and the Romans used it for inflammation.”
Mechoulam is the Co-Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board for Kalytera, a company that is working to develop proprietary drugs that use CBD. “Kalytera was established in order to evaluate and develop cannabinoid drugs…compounds based on the plant material…we’re studying the cannabinoid system and then preparing new compounds based on the cannabinoid system both in the plant and in the body to get better compounds, better drugs.”
Unfortunately, according to Kalytera, a company that is developing proprietary drugs that use CBD, “there are limitations associated with natural CBD, including its poor oral bioavailability and short half-life.”
Bioavailability is the portion of a drug or substance that can be absorbed and affect the body. Different methods of ingestion will affect the bioavailability. For example, when inhaled CBD has a bioavailability of 31%. In contrast, when it is taken orally, its bioavailability is only 6%.
