CBD is the wellness world buzzword right now and the market is exploding with what many are currently calling the “green boom”.
If you can imagine a CBD product, it is more than likely it is already out there on the shelves of your local dispensary, health centre or via a host of online CBD sales platforms with everything from CBD bath bombs and protein powder to CBD lube for sale . Buying it online now comes with few restrictions but it also means that there are many CBD products that might not actually be what the label indicates.
What Is CBD?
Cannabidiol is the nonpsychoactive cannabinoid derived from hemp and cannabis that’s best known for its perceived medical benefits. CBD sales in the U.S. are expected to grow by more than 100% on an annual basis between 2018 and 2023, ultimately surpassing $23 billion in yearly sales.
The Law & CBD Regulation
Cannabis and Cannabiodiol products in the US are currently regulated on a state by state basis and it can sometimes be difficult, as a consumer, to wend one’s way through the plethora of different CBD rules and regulations in each state to identify which branded products are safe to buy. Each state also has a different set of testing rules to check that the CBD oil that you are buying is what the producer says it is.
This applies especially so to online purchases of CBD products and there have also been some cases of online buyers being detained for possessing of CBD oil products, despite the apparent lawful nature of the product.
The good news is that FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said the following earlier this year.
People are using these products [CBD products]. We’re not going to be able to say you can’t use these products. It’s a fool’s game to try to even approach that.
In other words the agency currently has no intention of clamping down any further on CBD than it already has. .
Identifying Quality CBD Products
A study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in November 2017, found that about 26 percent of CBD products they tested contained significantly less CBD per milliliter than the label advertised, which “could negate any potential clinical response”. When NBC New York recently decided to put commercially available CBD products to the test, the results were also somewhat underwhelming. Their investigative team tested three brands of CBD oil and four brands of gummies, purchasing five samples of each brand. They tested them at a third-party lab, and found that less than half of the samples tested actually had the stated amount of CBD inside the product, one brand even had no CBD whatsoever in their product, another contained a pesticide that exceeded Californian standards, and another even had four times the amount of lead than is allowed by the FDA.
Because the space is so new, many people don’t realize that there are certain red flags or things to look for when shopping for a safe, high-quality, and pure CBD product.
How do you ensure that what you’re putting on or in your body is legitimate or safe.?
Guiding Points When Buying CBD Oil
No matter what type of product you’re specifically looking for, there are a few different tips and techniques that you can employ to ensure you’re not only getting a safe, well-made oil, but also an oil that will actually work for what you’re trying to use it for.
In general, always try and keep the following things in mind when shopping around.
Transparency
Anyone on an online platform can say that they have the best product on the market, but third-party proof can’t lie. Established brands like Try The CBD, understand this and always use 3rd party test labs to review their products. If you are purchasing CBD oil from a brand online, always make sure that they use a third-party lab to test their products and that they have no problem sharing the lab results with their customers.
Farm To Shelf
Look for a brand that’s not just putting random isolate into a cosmetic product, but doing the research of what’s the most beneficial for the customer and showing where they’re getting the hemp. CBD consumers should look into the brand and their ability to control the Farm To Shelf process. Companies like Healthworx CBD develop personal relationships with both growers and manufacturers allowing them to be more in tune with the intricacies of growing & production.
The CBD oil milligram catch
One of the main things to watch out for when purchasing CBD oil oil is the “milligram catch.”This is a confusing tactic that some companies use to “skew” the amount of CBD that the product they’re selling actually contains. For example, when companies write on the bottle “300mg,” this doesn’t always mean that you are getting 300mg of CBD. What it means, rather, is that you are getting 300 mg of oil, in total. CBD oil is usually a mixture of different ingredients, one of which is the pure CBD. When purchasing CBD product, it is best to understand the level of real CBD within the bottle. The brand should clearly label and write this percentage on the label. If in doubt, call the company and ask them and if they can’t answer you in a clear manner, you know it’s time to check out another option.
Trust the Marketing
One of the major things that make us question a CBD oil brand is their marketing efforts, in other words, you can tell a lot about a company by the way they advertise. Established, trustworthy companies like VapeNterps don’t need to oversell their products. You should be able to shop around, view their products, and make an educated decision.
The CBD oil extraction process
Ultimately, it is the extraction process that will determine the quality and purity of your CBD vape oil. There are many different extraction processes out there. CO2 extraction is the desired extraction process for most. CO2 extraction is a sophisticated method that uses supercritical CO2 to extract the goodness (aka the active cannabinoids) from the plant. At specific pressures and temperatures, the CO2 acts like a solvent. It displays properties of both gas and liquid. This allows the CBD to be “pulled” from the plant cells with near 100% efficiency.
“Free” Samples
Free samples sound great, but beware, sometimes they are just a trap to capture your credit card information. Online buyers will oftentimes receive a “free sample” from a brand but at a later date that company will then charge them for a “full” bottle and without the customer’s permission.
Remember, research and ask and you’ll find plenty of brands out there that will serve the CBD purpose you need.
