This topic is so important, because it is one of the biggest questions holding people back from experiencing the powerful benefits of hemp-based wellness products. If you have additional questions, reach out to me anytime! I’m here for you.
First, some important background information on why you are seeing CBD pop up literally everywhere, all of a sudden (grocery store, gas station, chiropractor’s office, veterinary office, day spas, etc!). In 2018, our government in the United States passed what is known as the Farm Bill. This important bill legally separated Hemp from Marijuana, and allowed Hemp-derived products to be legally produced and sold by anyone. That was both great, and not-so-great.
It was great because hemp is indeed very different from marijuana, and hemp should be available to everyone. Hemp and marijuana are actually two different species of the same plant – the cannabis plant. And they do very different things when used by human beings.
Marijuana is high in THC, which is the compound that has a psychoactive effect and makes you high. Hemp has virtually no THC. The maximum it can have by weight (i.e., the entire bottle of CBD oil) is 0.3%, which would not have any psychoactive effect and would not show up on a drug test. We like to say that marijuana makes you feel, and hemp makes you heal.
Marijuana leaves are usually smoked. CBD is an extract from the hemp flower (and sometimes other parts of the plant – more on that below) and is taken in a tincture under the tongue, or in a gummy that you chew and swallow.
What was not-so-great about the Farm Bill is the fact that ANYONE can sell CBD legally. Some people and companies will obviously take great care to product the highest quality product that they can for their customers. Others, and arguably the vast majority of sellers, will purchase a bulk-produced CBD oil, add their own label to the bottle, and sell it for a huge profit. This creates a huge variability in quality, consistency, and SAFETY of CBD products that you might encounter. From one bottle to the next, even if it’s from the same brand, it’s possible to experience vastly different results (or none at all) due to the inconsistent integrity of the product.
One of the issues with this approach is that most of the CBD oil available for white labeling comes from countries overseas. It’s very hard to control the quality and traceability of a product when you are not overseeing the actual growing, farming practices, extraction of the oil, and testing for contaminants. The hemp plant is a scavenger plant, meaning that it soaks up all the heavy metals, toxins, pesticides, and pathogens in the air and soil in which it’s grown. That yuck will end up in the CBD oil that white labelers are selling. So if you’ve ever tried CBD and thought it made you feel unwell, I would not be surprised if this is what you were consuming.
The other problem is that many bulk producers will use leaves, stems, and other aerial parts of the hemp plant in addition to hemp flower extract in an effort to increase the quantity produced while reducing costs. This ultimately reduces the quality, purity, and therefore, the therapeutic benefit of the oil. This alone can be the difference between CBD working or not working for you!
When you’re considering incorporating CBD into your wellness routine, look for the following important attributes from the company and brand:
USDA Certified Organic
Locally grown, hand-harvested, packaged, and shipped
Vertically integrated
Third party lab tested, and certificates of analysis that you can access (transparency!)
Sustainable farming practices
Nanotechnology to increase bioavailability
Small-batch C02 extraction (as opposed to toxic ethanol extraction, common in the industry)
Pure ingredients (what else is in the bottle besides hemp flower extract?)
Brand/founder story that you align with
Strong testimonials
If you find a product that meets all these criteria, you will be able to experience the therapeutic benefits of CBD, like improved sleep, cognitive performance and focus, mood, anxiety or depression, feelings of overwhelm, help with chronic or acute pain, muscle and exercise recovery, improved response to stress, and more.
If you want to learn more about how we use CBD in our family, check out this blog post!
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