Explainer | CBD use is growing – in candy, coffee, roll-ons, night cream and, soon, massages – to relieve stress and anxiety
- CBD, or cannabidiol, is an active compound of cannabis that relaxes you and offers other health benefits, but doesn’t get you high
- It is becoming popular in Hong Kong for its therapeutic effects, and can be found in food, drinks and beauty products
Having to quarantine in a hotel for three weeks upon entering Hong Kong under regulations to curb the pandemic can be a tough slog mentally and physically. But Fiachra Mullen, 31, managed to get through 21 days sequestered in a small hotel room with a little help from CBD, or cannabidiol.
“I really enjoy it, I take it in the evenings during quarantine to help me calm my mind, ready myself to leave work mode, and try to distance myself from the desk – which is not far from the bed, so I’m trying to create different spaces for myself,” says the Irish marketing manager for Altum Group, which began selling CBD products in Hong Kong early last year.
The city is a burgeoning market for CBD, derived from cannabis, also known as marijuana, that has some known beneficial effects on the mind and body. It is legally sanctioned – as long as it does not contain any THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), another active ingredient found in cannabis that gives users a high.
In the past year, a few shops and cafes in Hong Kong began selling CBD products, from tinctures of cannabidiol in an oil form, and as an added ingredient in food and drinks including cookies and brownies, coffee, and even cocktails and beers. CBD has also crossed over into beauty products such as night creams and lip balm.
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Hong Kong’s first CBD cafe to offer special beer, juice and even mooncakes on its menu
Mullen and others promoting CBD products in the city say they need to do more to educate Hongkongers on how CBD can help ease their anxieties, from work-related stress and the coronavirus pandemic that has disrupted people’s lives for more than a year.
Cannabis use itself has a long history, Mullen explains. It has been employed as a medicine for thousands of years by many cultures, including those of China, India, and Thailand.