quality and safety Archives - Ministry of Hemp America's leading advocate for hemp Wed, 24 Aug 2022 11:46:48 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.2.2 https://ministryofhemp.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Icon.png quality and safety Archives - Ministry of Hemp 32 32 Can You Overdose On CBD? Can You Take Too Much CBD? https://ministryofhemp.com/cbd-overdose/ https://ministryofhemp.com/cbd-overdose/#respond Tue, 23 Aug 2022 22:43:00 +0000 http://ministryofhemp.com/?p=63072 With CBD appearing in everything, it's easy to wonder if you can overdose or take too much CBD. This article explains about CBD's safety.

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It’s natural to wonder what could happen if you took too much CBD, the popular supplement that’s popping up everywhere. Is it actually possible to overdose on CBD?

CBD (cannabidiol) is a naturally occurring chemical compound derived from cannabis (marijuana and hemp) plants. The over-the-counter CBD supplements most people encounter are made from legal industrial hemp.

CBD is touted to provide relief for a host of health conditions. But, as CBD’s popularity continues to grow, so do safety concerns — and for a good reason. With CBD appearing in everything from food to deodorant, you start to wonder whether CBD is safe and about the possibility of CBD overdose.

In brief, CBD is safe and non-addictive and has no potential for dependence. And while there’s no possibility for a dangerous overdose, it is possible some people may experience unpleasant side effects.

If you want to learn more, in this article, we’re going to explore everything you need to know about the possibility of a “CBD overdose.” Read on.

CBD is safe and non-addictive

In 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared CBD to be safe with no potential for abuse or dependence.  The authors of the report ruled that “In humans, CBD exhibits no effects indicative of any abuse or dependence potential.”

The same report also outlines that CBD oil has many potential health benefits. Epidiolex, a prescription drug derived from psychoactive cannabis, has been approved as an effective treatment for rare epilepsy forms in young children. 

You can't overdose on CBD, but taking too much can make you drowsy. Photo: A tired looking white woman, holding her glasses in one hand as she rests her head against her palm. A green hemp leaf superimposed on her face.
You can’t overdose on CBD, but taking too much can make you drowsy or cause other side effects.

Since CBD is a derivative of the cannabis plant, it is understandable for users to have concerns about overdose on CBD. CBD is one of over 100 already identified cannabinoids present in the cannabis plant. Apart from CBD, THC is another famous cannabinoid.

Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is responsible for the high associated with psychoactive cannabis (a.k.a. “marijuana”). Unlike THC, CBD won’t cause mind-altering effects. One recent study suggests that CBD may help people recover from addictions, such as opiates, by reducing anxiety and cravings associated with drug withdrawal symptoms.

That said, CBD is safe and non-addictive. But, you may still be asking yourself if it’s possible to overdose on CBD oil.

Read on to find out.

Is it possible to overdose on CBD oil?

CBD is non-toxic and has little to no side effects. If you’re wondering whether you can overdose on CBD, the answer is no. No one has ever died from taking higher doses of CBD.

In one study, a group of researchers examined regular use of CBD. They gave CBD to both healthy volunteers and epileptic patients with 200-300mg of CBD administered daily for 30 days. Researchers found that all the patients and volunteers tolerated CBD very well with no signs of toxicity or severe side effects.

Research shows CBD to be safe even at doses far higher than typical consumer use.

Another 2006 study published by the Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research investigated the effects of acute CBD administration on healthy volunteers. After 30 days of CBD’s chronic administration, a daily dose ranging from 10-400mg did not induce any form of toxicity. 

A 2018 study determined CBD’s safety and tolerability in healthy adult volunteers with doses ranging from 1500-6000 mg. This is far more than almost anyone would take in normal use. Even at these extreme dosess, CBD was generally well tolerated with a few common side effects, including diarrhea, nausea, and headache.

With the above studies and anecdotal reports, there’s no possible overdose on CBD. But, maybe you’re curious about what will happen if you take too much CBD. Keep reading!

What happens if you take too much CBD?

CBD is well tolerated by the majority of the people and doesn’t lead to any fatal overdose. It is, therefore, considered a safe dietary supplement.

Most of the time, unpleasant experiences because of cannabis use are due to too much THC as opposed to CBD. However, CBD side effects differ from one person to another and may include:

  • Dry mouth
  • Diarrhea
  • Dizzyness
  • Drowsiness
  • Changes in appetite and weight
  • Nausea and vomiting

Like any other dietary supplement, everyone reacts to CBD uniquely to different amounts of doses. Besides, factors such as body weight and body chemistry contribute to CBD’s amount a person should take. Another factor is how you take the product: you might react differently to a dose depending on whether you take a tincture, or eat an edible CBD product such as a CBD gummy. In general, the CBD found in topical products is unlikely to cause side effects, though your skin could still react to other ingredients in the product.

It’s best to follow the recommended serving size or start slow and work your way up until you find a dose that works for your needs.

Consult your doctor before starting CBD, especially if one of your prescription medications requires you to avoid eating grapefruit.

What about drug interactions?

The liver breaks down medications with the help of a family of enzymes called cytochrome P450, which converts foreign substances for easy elimination from the body. The CY450 enzyme is responsible for metabolizing several cannabinoids, including THC. However, some medications may speed up or slow drug metabolism.

Some drugs come with a “grapefruit warning” because the fruit can interfere with the metabolism of the drug, the rate which it passes from your body. Some research suggests that CBD could affect the same enzyme for drugs containing a grapefruit warning on the label.

If you’re looking to introducing CBD oil to your daily routine, consult a healthcare professional first, especially if you take a drug with a “grapefruit warning.” 

Conclusion: No, you can’t overdose on CBD

Bottom line, can you overdose on CBD? The short answer is no.

However, not all products are created the same. If you’re looking for top-shelf CBD oils, be sure to shop from a reputable brand. One thing we’ve heard from consumers is that side effects are more common with poor quality CBD.

As always, we recommend you “start low and go slow”: begin with a lower dose of CBD and slowly adjust it over time. If you follow these simple steps and use high quality CBD, you’re unlikely to experience any side effects.

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Ministry of Hemp Verified: What Does Our Seal Mean? https://ministryofhemp.com/ministry-of-hemp-verified-seal/ https://ministryofhemp.com/ministry-of-hemp-verified-seal/#respond Sat, 31 Oct 2020 20:28:01 +0000 http://ministryofhemp.com/?p=63304 When Ministry of Hemp reviews a CBD product that meets our high standards, we let the brand use our Ministry of Hemp Verified seal.

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Ministry of Hemp now offers a special “Ministry of Hemp Verified” seal to the brands we review. If you see this seal in use by a brand, come visit our website to see the products we’ve reviewed and learn more about them. 

At the Ministry of Hemp, our goal is to build confidence and transparency in the hemp industry, especially when it comes to the contents of CBD products. Sadly, fake products, or at least CBD products with misleading labels, are commonplace. That’s why we only work with brands that meet our high standards. 

Since we’re starting to share this special seal with our brand partners, we wanted to explain what it means to be “Ministry of Hemp Verified.” 

What does it mean to be Ministry of Hemp Verified?

We try to focus on good brands only, which is why you won’t find many negative reviews on our site. When a brand is “Ministry of Hemp Verified,” that means we’ve tried out one or more of their products and think they’re worth your time and money.

If we’ve reviewed a product, it means that Ministry of Hemp and our review team have verified the following:

Ministry of Hemp Verified seal
  • Transparency — the brand is transparent about where they source their hemp and how they manufacture their hemp extract products.
  • Responsiveness — You should be able to easily reach customer service by phone, email, or some form of online chat, in order to get questions answered.
  • Quality — We carefully inspect the brand’s third-party lab results and perform our own testing on one or more products.

You should always research a CBD brand more before you purchase. We hope you see our seal as a good starting point in that research. 

Third party lab results and our lab testing 

We make sure that every brand we review offers third-party lab-results, also known as COAs or Certificates of Analysis. These tests should be performed on each batch of the product produced, and customers should be able to easily access the results online. Many quality brands also include test results with the product during shipping.

Before awarding the Ministry of Hemp Verified seal, we also send a sample of each product we review to our own trusted lab and run it through a battery of tests.

These tests ensure that the product is free from harmful toxins like heavy metals and pesticide residues. We also test the strength of the products, to make sure they’re accurately labeled and you’re getting everything you pay for.

Please note, some brands offer dozens of products. Ministry of Hemp is still a small company, and we can’t test every product that our partners offer. If you’re curious, search our site for more information. We include our lab test results in our reviews, whenever possible. If you’re unsure about any product, ask for more information from the brand’s customer service team.

Encouraging best practices in the hemp industry

Our long term goal is to help build a better hemp industry. One where consumers can trust that the products they buy are safe, pure, and accurately labeled. 

The Ministry of Hemp Verified seal is just one small part of that process. Whenever you see the seal, we hope you’ll look up our reviews and also educate yourself. In the end, we hope you’ll discover the hemp products that are right for you.

If you have questions about any of our reviews, or sites where you see our seal, feel free to reach out to our Editor. If you’d like to see your products featured on our site, send an email to our sales team.

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CBD Testing & Stopping Bad CBD Oil With Confidence Analytics https://ministryofhemp.com/cbd-testing-podcast-confidence-analytics/ https://ministryofhemp.com/cbd-testing-podcast-confidence-analytics/#comments Tue, 15 Sep 2020 21:24:09 +0000 http://ministryofhemp.com/?p=62742 CBD testing often reveals mislabeled and even impure CBD oil products. We talk about the future of testing on the Ministry of Hemp podcast.

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Third-party CBD testing is vital to ensure consumers receive safe, quality products. Research shows many CBD oil products are fake or mislabeled.

In this episode of the Ministry of Hemp podcast, our host Matt has a conversation with Pat Reynolds, operations director at Confidence Analytics, a lab that performs cannabis testing in Redmond, Washington. CBD testing frequently reveals that many CBD oil products don’t tell you what’s actually in the bottle. Lab results and testing are one of the most important things to consider when making an informed CBD purchase, so Pat delves deep into what to look for and consider when choosing a brand.

Today’s episode was inspired in part by our recent article on CBD scams. Pat reached out to us after this article referenced a Confidence Analytics study of fake and mislabeled CBD products.

About Pat Reynolds and Confidence Labs

Pat left a successful career in the IT industry in 2014 to begin a journey in the cannabis space. Having worked as a budtender, gardener, and processor, he joined Confidence Analytics in 2015 as a lab assistant with no prior analysis experience. Having spent his career thus far loathing all aspects of sales and marketing, he is surprised yet exhilarated to find himself passionate about building Confidence into a global brand. Sales can be fun when you believe in what you’re selling. When not plotting to turn the world upside down, he and his wife April enjoy traveling and hanging out with their dog Mikki.

Confidence Labs is a state-of-the-art hemp testing lab serving hemp, CBD and recreational cannabis markets with access to ISO 17025-accredited analysis so they may meet and exceed regulatory requirements for consumer protection. They’re developing a trademarked “Tested With Confidence” program for the recreational cannabis market.

Brought to you by Canvas 1839

A bottle of Canvas 1839 CBD oil sits on a fake grass surface while, in the background, someone ties their athletic shoes.
This episode of the Ministry of Hemp podcast is brought to you by Canvas 1839.

This episode is brought to you with help from our partners at Canvas 1839. This Austin, TX brand creates high quality CBD oil and CBD topicals using Colorado-grown, full-spectrum hemp extract. They develop their great products with the help of their chief science officer, Dr. Kyle Hammerick, a Stanford graduate.

We’re big fans of Canvas 1839 products and think you should try them too. And right now you can get 15% off your order just for being a listener to this show. Head to canvasrelief.com and use the code friend15 and you get 15% off your purchase. Thanks again, Canvas, for making this episode possible.

You’ve got hemp questions? We’ve got hemp answers!

Send us your hemp questions and you might hear them answered on one of our Hemp Q&A episodes. Send your written questions to us on Twitter, Facebook, matt@ministryofhemp.com, or call us and leave a message at 402-819-6417. Keep in mind, this phone number is for hemp questions only and any other inquiries for the Ministry of Hemp should be sent to info@ministryofhemp.com

Subscribe to our show!

Be sure to subscribe to the Ministry of Hemp podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Podbay, Stitcher, Pocketcasts, Google Play or your favorite podcast app. If you like what your hear leave us a review or star rating. It’s a quick and easy way to help get this show to others looking for Hemp information and please, share this episode on your own social media!

Become a Ministry of Hemp Insider and help spread the good word!

If you believe hemp can change the world then help us spread the word! Become a Ministry of Hemp Insider when you donate any amount on our Patreon page!

You’ll be the first to hear about everything going on with our special newsletter plus exclusive Patron content including blogs, podcast extras, and more. Visit the Ministry of Hemp on Patreon and become an Insider now!

A composite photo showing a scientist in gloves and a mask holding up a vial of CBD oil and a hemp leaf in a petri dish. A head shot of Pat Reynolds, the show's guest, is in a round insert to the main photo. Pat comes on the podcast to discuss the importance of CBD testing to identify safe and accurately labeled products.
CBD frequently often reveals inaccurately labeled or even unsafe products.

CBD Testing & Stopping Bad CBD Oil: Complete episode transcript

Below you’ll find the complete transcript of episode 54 of the Ministry of Hemp podcast, “CBD Testing & Stopping Bad CBD Oil”:

Matt Baum:
I’m Matt Baum. And this is the Ministry of Hemp Podcast brought to you by ministryofhemp.com. America’s leading advocate for hemp and hemp education. Welcome back to the Ministry of Hemp Podcast. We’ve got a super fun show today. Normally we talk about all the great things that CBD and hemp can do. Today we’re going to talk about some things that it doesn’t do and some problems with some products that are out there. But before we get into that, you guys are always contacting us and asking us, where should I buy my CBD from? Who should I go to?

We are super pumped to be partnered with Canvas 1839. You can find them @canvasrelief.com and stay tuned so you can find out how to get 15% off your order. But Canvas is fantastic. We’re super pumped to be partnered with them. They’re doing it the right way. I’m going to tell you all about them later on.

Today on the show, I am talking to Pat Reynolds of Confidence Analytics. They’re a lab out of Washington, and they’re quickly becoming a very well respected lab. Complete with their own brand and sticker that they can put on a product to say, “Not only have we looked at this product, but we will vouch that what they say is on the label is actually in this bottle.” You’ll hear it in our conversation, but Pat is not a guy that’s easily pulled in by fancy sales terms and mumbo jumbo. He oversees a lab that does the testing that we constantly talk about being very important on this show.

Now I went into this interview expecting all kinds of horror stories and doom and gloom to come from somebody who works in this part of the industry but I was pleasantly surprised at how optimistic and sweet his outlook is even. I’m really excited for you guys to hear this one. This is my conversation with Pat Reynolds, director of operations of Confidence Analytics. Pat, I want to welcome you to the Ministry of Hemp Podcast, thanks for hooking up with me. Normally on this show, we like to expound the values of hemp and what it can do but today we are going to talk about the other side, some of the BS, as I understand it.

Meet Pat Reynolds of Confidence Analytics

Pat Reynolds:
Yes. There have been quite a number of articles in the media and discussions online, walks on the shelf. Are you getting what the label says?

Matt Baum:
Let me ask, before we get into all that, can I ask what qualifies you to be the scam buster?

Pat Reynolds:
All right. So I work with Confidence Analytics. We are a cannabis analytics laboratory licensed by the State of Washington to provide analytics for adult use cannabis here in Washington State.

Matt Baum:
Cool.

Pat Reynolds:
So we have been testing cannabis and cannabis products and anything with cannabinoids in it for quite a long time. For five years now going on.

Matt Baum:
And it’s just like laboratory testing, basically.

Pat Reynolds:
This is laboratory testing, yeah. You hear about a lot of cannabis labs and they’re actually doing extracts, they’re making manufacturing products. But we’re actually doing compliance testing for the State and making sure that what is put on the label is actually what is in the product, making sure that there is no nasties in there, pesticide testing, microbiological testing, residual solvent testing, all that sort of stuff. That’s what we do. That’s our stock in trade.

Matt Baum:
So let me ask you, we know that there’s a lot of bunk product out there, obviously. How big of a problem is this, would you say on a scale as far as like the whole CBD market if you will. What percentage are you would you guess is total garbage?

Pat Reynolds:
So I don’t really need to guess because we’ve actually been there.

Matt Baum:
Even better. I like that even better.

Pat Reynolds:
Yeah. The reason we’re having this conversation is because I saw an article on the Ministry of Hemp talking about issues with CBD products and I submitted some feedback saying, “Hey, yeah, you quoted an article. We were actually the lab that worked with the people who wrote that article to gather the data for them. They went out and purchased the products and they asked for analysis.” We’ve done this for three separate organizations at this point. And we have, I can’t remember the exact number, 80 to 85. Certainly over 80 samples analyzed specifically for CBD content and harmful content as well. Out so of those 80 plus samples about half of them are within 10% of what they say they are.

Matt Baum:
50% is where we’re at, is what you’re saying?

Pat Reynolds:
Yeah. The other half of them have problems.

Matt Baum:
Okay.

Pat Reynolds:
Let’s put it that way.

Understanding CBD lab testing

Matt Baum:
So let’s start there. Let’s talk about problems. So it’s not just like, are you getting what’s on the label. That would obviously be the biggest issue who’s lying about what’s in there. What are some of the worst problems that you guys saw when you started testing stuff?

Pat Reynolds:
To be honest, the biggest problem that we have seen is people’s inability to do math.

Matt Baum:
As far as…

Pat Reynolds:
As far as being able to look at a certificate of analysis that you get from labs, such as us and a percentage cannabinoid content or a milligrams per gram figure and knowing what those figures mean, knowing how to work with those figures and how to apply them to your product. I mean, the number of times I’ve had to explain to people how to take a milligrams per gram. How many milligrams of cannabinoids do you have in one gram of this product?

Matt Baum:
Right.

Pat Reynolds:
And then convert that to a total unit figure. So if you have a 10 gram piece of chocolate and you have a hundred milligrams per gram of CBD, then it’s simple math. But that just really seems to escape a lot of people.

Matt Baum:
Well, math is hard, right? I mean, that’s come on.

Pat Reynolds:
I can get it. These people have a lot going on, I guess, where I’m coming it’s rare that we see people who are out to perpetuate a scam or out to do damage to people or at the pull the wool over people’s eyes. A lot of what we’ve seen is just basic errors in math and lack of understanding of what’s going on. I remember one case in particular, I was just like, wow, I could fix this problem just by moving the decimal point and that’s it, all the problems will go away. Otherwise, thing is 10 times off what it says on the label.

Matt Baum:
What are they saying in that position where, I mean what was the claim? It was a thousand milligrams, but it was actually a hundred or something. What are we talking about?

Pat Reynolds:
Yeah, it could have been the other way. I actually just remember right now I don’t have it in front of me, but it was literally one of those orders of magnitude. What was said on the label was 10 times off what was in the bottle and whether it’s over or under I mean, nobody wants to be left short. Nobody wants to be overdosed either. That’s an issue too. You need to be careful about that.

Matt Baum:
Yeah. Either way is bad. If you think you’re getting a hundred and you’re getting a thousand. Yeah. I could knock you on your butt for a while probably.

Pat Reynolds:
It could do. I mean, most of these products with CBD I don’t think they’re going to knock anybody down that hard but that said there’s a lot of [inaudible 00:08:26] we don’t know. There’s contraindications with other pharmaceuticals and stuff like that come to be, and we just don’t know yet because we haven’t had a chance investigate it.We could go down that rabbit hole too. But yeah.

Matt Baum:
Let’s go down that rabbit hole for just a second. Because you see a lot of other herbal supplements that are thrown into some of these to do different things. This helps you focus. This helps you sleep. Are there any that we know right off the bat, will invalidate the benefits of the CBD?

Pat Reynolds:
Oh, wow. No. Again my background is not in chemistry.

Matt Baum:
Sure.

Pat Reynolds:
But I haven’t seen anything out there that would neutralize [inaudible 00:09:17] and cancel them out. No, yeah.

Nanotechnology and bad CBD-infused water

Matt Baum:
The biggest discrepancy that we’re running into right now is what’s actually in the bottle. And you just gave us a case where you moved to decimal point to show what was actually in there. What’s the worst, what’s the biggest discrepancy you’ve seen with something like that as far as either over or under? What do you think the worst was?

Pat Reynolds:
I think consistently the worst are water products.

Matt Baum:
Like CBD infused water you mean?

Pat Reynolds:
CBD infused water because they’re always the most off because there’s never anything in there. So before I [inaudible 00:10:01] put that math away. Yeah, if you buy a bottle of water and you can like see through it, there’s no CBD.

Matt Baum:
There can’t be right? I mean, because what is it binding with?

Pat Reynolds:
Yeah. And it’s not like you can hide the molecules with technology or anything like that. That’s another good one that comes up. A lot of people have responded, “Oh, well, we use nanotechnology. So we actually make those molecules smaller. So maybe your instruments just can’t see them.”

Matt Baum:
That could be. Yeah, I hadn’t thought of that. Super sneaky nanotech. So let me ask you the term nanotechnology. I mean, like I try to come at this from a very skeptical point of view and I’ve always been a skeptic and a member of two skeptic societies and stuff. And I came from a science background as well and a little bit of chemistry, went into cooking because college sucked. But anyway when we throw the term nanotechnology around this stuff, does that mean anything? Does it mean anything?

Pat Reynolds:
Yes.

Matt Baum:
I know what nanotechnology is, but when it’s specifically with CBD.

Pat Reynolds:
So yes. I don’t think it means what people think it means. Traditionally, when people think of nanotechnology, they think of tiny little molecular machines.

Matt Baum:
Right. Little robots like in doing stuff.

Pat Reynolds:
They’re robots. Yes. And kind of technology. There’s a little machine that makes it smaller or something like that. That’s not what we’re talking about. Nano emulsions are actually a pretty well validated method of that drug delivery or medication delivery. And the principle is that by emulsifying the analyte of interest, so the drug that needs to get into wherever it needs to get into by encapsulating that in some sort of sugar coating or in droplets in liquids, you can basically shield the analyte of interest from getting attached to the liver for example, as it passes through. That’s what nano emulsions or nano encapsulations do.

Matt Baum:
Keep it from being filtered out of your body more or less.

Pat Reynolds:
Yes, they allow the analytes of interest to actually get into your bloodstream and not get caught up in the liver and the kidneys and things like that. So it increase bioavailability is the technical term. That’s what nano emulsions do, is they increase bioavailability.

Matt Baum:
So the problem with water, like a CBD infused water for example ,is there is nothing in the water to infuse it.

Pat Reynolds:
If that water was an emulsion yet you would not be able to see through it, that will be something else in the water.

Matt Baum:
Right. There would be stuff in it, if you will.

Pat Reynolds:
Yeah.

What can we do about bad CBD oil products?

Matt Baum:
So let me ask you, let’s say I am a CBD water company and I send my stuff to you guys to get tested, check it out let me know what you think. And you say, “Yeah, there’s nothing in here.”

Pat Reynolds:
Yeah.

Matt Baum:
What happens then? It doesn’t get taken off the shelf. It doesn’t go away. There’s no like governing board that says, “Oh, well I heard Pat said your stuff was garbage. What do you think of that?” What happens then? Anything? Or is it just…

Pat Reynolds:
We don’t do anything as the lab, again, like you said there is no governing body. I mean if the FDA was regulating this sort of stuff, then you could just initiate your recall process.

Matt Baum:
Sure.

Pat Reynolds:
Yeah. Which is a normal course of events. If we’re in Canada, that’s what they would do. Get a recall process and off you go, but there is no framework for recall processes. There are companies out there who are operating to CGMP standards, and that’s where I think this needs to go, cannabinoid manufacturer. That’s the level of quality assurance and quality control. It’s gotta be GMP, GLP that national and international level of standardization and standards. But people who are operating to CGMP standards, will have a recall process that they can initiate, whether they will do that on the back of some lab in Washington telling them that they don’t know what they’re doing, is anybody’s guess.

Matt Baum:
Fair enough. `There’s a guy that I know in town that’s actually started doing like a filtered water and stuff like that. And I asked him straight up, I’m like, “Hey, have you thought about doing CBD infused water because I’ve seen so many?” And he said, “Yeah, I have. There’s not a lot of science behind it.” And I was like, really? And he didn’t really go into it beyond that, but now talking to you that all make sense. It’s like, unless we’re putting slime in there or something. There’s just telling words to stick to. And even if we did, you would just pass it right through your body.
Like if you just put the powder in there or something and it dissolves great, you’re filtering it right out and you’re pouring it in the toilet essentially at that point.

Pat Reynolds:
I mean, look, I’ve seen people have done sugar patters. Yeah. Like you pour in and there’s a pale blue color to it after you’re done so that’s what’s in there kind of thing and guess you’ve got your analytes of interest correctly encapsulated and we test that after we’ve added it to the glass of water and yeah, it’s exactly what it says on the tin.

Matt Baum:
Fair enough.

Pat Reynolds:
But that’s somebody who has done it right and paid attention to it.

A message from Canvas 1839 CBD

Matt Baum:
Right. Let’s take a quick break to talk about our partner this week, Canvas 1839 centered out of Austin, Texas, which also happens to be the de facto home of Ministry of Hemp because Kit lives there. Canvas strives to make products with the highest efficacy based on proprietary science with the help of their Chief Science Officer and Stanford grad Dr. Kyle Hammerick’s pioneering work in nanoscale biology. Canvas currently offers a relief oil that is crafted with Colorado grown full spectrum hemp extract, grown under organic practices to support your wellbeing in mind and body. Each one ounce bottle contains 300 milligrams of CBD, which is 10 milligrams per dropper.

Now they send me a bottle and I have to say, normally 10 milligrams of CBD isn’t enough for me, but I’ve really been enjoying it. I’ve been taking the relief oil in the mornings in my coffee and I feel like it brings me in for kind of a soft landing as I get to work. I’m focused and I’m awake, but the Canvas relief oil keeps me from my usual ADD morning coffee rush. And it’s actually helped with some of the aches and pains that I’ve been dealing with since I started boxing training again. They also offer a luxurious relief cream that is specifically formulated for optimal transdermal penetration and absorption, which means when you rub it on your skin, it actually goes into your skin. It leaves a very clean skin field with no residue whatsoever. There’s 500 milligrams of CBD in each two ounce jar.

My wife, who is an aerobics instructor and owns a gym has been using it and she loves it. It’s become a part of her post-workout shower regime. Canvas is a company that is just doing it right and that’s why we’re proud to partner with them. They know their farmers, they have third party lab results readily available. And right now you can get 15% off your order just for being a listener to this show, head to canvasrelief.com and use the code friend15 and you get 15% off your purchase. I would recommend their starter pack that features the two products they sent me. The relief oil and the relief cream, and both are fantastic. That’s friend15, all one word. And of course I will have a link to canvasrelief.com in the show notes for this episode. Now back to the show.

CBD testing and identifying bad CBD products

Matt Baum:
Which do you think if you had to pick one, whether it’s like tinctures or capsules or food or water, who do you think is doing the worst job right now? Opinion only you don’t have to…

Pat Reynolds:
Yeah. I mean, it’s hard to say there’s a lot of questions over bioavailability. It’s question of bioavailability and how much CBD is available in an oil based tincture or even an alcohol based tincture. People throw around figures of around less than 20%.

Matt Baum:
Right. I’ve seen that as well.

Pat Reynolds:
Yeah. So for every gram that you intake only about 0.2 of that gram is actually doing anything for you, getting into your bloodstream, which is where this nano encapsulation technology has come from. I mean, the nano-tech stuff, like I said, there is value to it as long as people understand them. And to be fair, I have seen people who have put it on their website that said, “We make the molecules smaller so they get into your body.”

Matt Baum:
We have broken the rules of physics to bring you this product.

Pat Reynolds:
I’m like, you shouldn’t be selling CBD, you should getting a Nobel prize.

Matt Baum:
Yeah, no doubt. You should travel through time and bring it to our forefathers while you’re out there.

Pat Reynolds:
But then I talked to the guys on the back and the guys who actually run the show and they’re like, “No that’s just to get the message across.” This is what we’re doing. This is how we’re doing it. And these guys, what they said was in there was actually what was in there. So again, they were doing it right. They made a choice to explain it that way in a bad science way.

Matt Baum:
Yeah. Bad marketing, bad science. I mean, even if you are a legit, it makes you look bad to somebody who has any idea you’re talking about. Like someone like you looks at that and just go, “No, that’s no.”

Pat Reynolds:
We’re going back and forth on this .

Matt Baum:
You also have found a lot of products that you said had like pesticides and whatnot. What’s the scariest stuff that you found in some of these different things that you’ve tested?

Pat Reynolds:
Yeah. Scary, scary. As you can tell, I kind of try to downplay the sensationalism a little bit.

Matt Baum:
But I got to get listeners and clicks man. Come on.

Pat Reynolds:
I know.

Matt Baum:
Tell me about the arsenic. Come on.

Pat Reynolds:
There’s reasons that there’s pesticide limits in place. Some of these compounds really do not do good things to people like action levels and stuff like.

Matt Baum:
Sure, sure.

Pat Reynolds:
We discuss everything in action levels. So above and below a threshold. So your action level is where you need to do some remediation if you like. The action levels for pesticides on just regular food are so much higher than the action levels for pesticides and cannabis and hemp based products.

Matt Baum:
And why is that?

Pat Reynolds:
There’s a reason for that because you don’t know what’s happening. So traditionally, hemp and cannabis products are combusted. So you’re going to light it on fire, or you’re going to inhale it. Right?

Matt Baum:
Yeah.

Pat Reynolds:
Via heating a coil or whatever. So that’s why the action level we’re set so low is because when you combust something like that, there was one study done this one time by some guys in Colorado, that’s all I’m going to say about it, but everybody will know about, but it’s the Eagle 20 study. And when you combust Eagle 20 it turns into arsenic I think.

Matt Baum:
Whoa, okay.

Pat Reynolds:
Maybe it was cyanides.

Matt Baum:
Either one [inaudible 00:22:48]

Pat Reynolds:
Yeah.

Matt Baum:
No, thanks.

Pat Reynolds:
You don’t want to be inhaling it.

Matt Baum:
Right.

Pat Reynolds:
But like I said, that was one study by these foreign guys one time. I think it comes back to not having the data, not being able to duke in the trials.

Matt Baum:
Sure.

Pat Reynolds:
That sort of thing. But look, let’s put it this way. We’ve tested cigarettes for pesticides because when we first got our pesticide testing equipment, our LCMS triple quads, one of our customers actually went out and purchased different brands of cigarettes and asked us to run those all across the board. Riddled with pesticides.

Matt Baum:
Really?

Pat Reynolds:
Absolutely. Even all of the natural ones.

Matt Baum:
Of course. Well, those are better for you though, right? Because they’re organic and natural cigarettes.

Pat Reynolds:
Clearly. But yeah those are combusted and those are inhaled. And that may explain why people suffer so much from smoking tobacco.

Matt Baum:
Sure.

Pat Reynolds:
So there may be some data there, again tobacco companies prevent gathering that sort of data. So it’s going to be difficult to see from that perspective, but you don’t want to be inhaling it. People say that there’s an opportunity here for hemp and cannabis to raise the bar.

Matt Baum:
Absolutely.

How consumers can find better CBD Oil products

Pat Reynolds:
Because having pesticides kind of across the board in our food supply isn’t necessarily great. And look, to be honest just because the action levels are much higher for non-hemp based products. If there’s a bunch of pesticides in my lip balm, I don’t want to be rubbing that on my lips.

Matt Baum:
Right. That’s not any better. You’ve just swapped one poison for another basically at that point.

Pat Reynolds:
Yeah. What’s the word, that’s a very subjective experience or opinion if you like. There’s very little data to back that up.

Matt Baum:
Yeah.

Pat Reynolds:
Again, this is why scary, I don’t know if scary is the word but you do look, here’s the thing you want to always pay attention to your inputs and you want your inputs to be as good as they can possibly be so that your product output at the other end can be the best quality.

Matt Baum:
So when you say inputs you’re literally talking about the hemp that comes from the farm. You want that input.

Pat Reynolds:
Yeah, for any product. Hemp or not hemp.

Matt Baum:
Yeah. Whether you’re making hemp or strawberry jelly or whatever.

Pat Reynolds:
Correct.

Matt Baum:
Cleanest you can get. So is there anything that we can look for that is a warning sign when we’re buying a product, in your opinion, like from what you’ve seen, that’s been sent you and tested. It sounds like for the most part, the biggest scam coming across is, “Look, there’s no CBD in this.”

Pat Reynolds:
Yeah.

Matt Baum:
Is there anything you can look for, like on a label or a claim that’s being made? Is there any red flag that we could see at this point in time?

Pat Reynolds:
I don’t know about red flags, but I would always recommend that people look for every hemp manufacturer and hemp CBD product manufacturer has a website and most of them have their COAs on the website.

Matt Baum:
COA like lab tests and whatnot.

Pat Reynolds:
Yeah.

Matt Baum:
Okay. So on these lab tests, how do I know what’s real? Just because somebody has lab test results, I don’t know where that lab is. I don’t know what was sent in. Is there anything that forces people to give real lab results? Can the labs get in trouble or something if it turns out this isn’t necessarily real?

Pat Reynolds:
Yes, there was a lab shut down in Oklahoma a couple of weeks ago.

Matt Baum:
Oh, really?

Pat Reynolds:
I think Oklahoma is medical and they were gonna do adult use on the ballot this year, but they have labs. One of them was just done for making up numbers and passing results without actually looking at things even here in Washington state because I mean, there’s this huge incentive for bad actors in labs [crosstalk 00:27:27] the number that they want, so that they can put the product. Yeah. There are bad actors out there that will prey on the lack of education for the consumer. And people don’t know what they’re talking about. They don’t know what they’re going to get. They’re not gonna understand all of this stuff so I’m just going to say whatever it takes to get my product sold and get that dollar out of their pocket and into mine.

Matt Baum:
Right.

Pat Reynolds:
Again, the incentives for honesty aren’t really there right now because there is no federal oversight. There’s no real regulatory framework because that’s the stick that people get beaten with.

Matt Baum:
Sure.

Pat Reynolds:
Yeah. The problem then is if you have somebody who is trying to manufacture products in multiple different states yeah. There’s this whole patchwork of laws. Different action levels and different compounds that need to be tested for. And each State has got its own list of pesticides as they test for, in some States the required different levels for heavy metals and the microbial [inaudible 00:28:43] and there’s only two States that will let you add CBD.

Matt Baum:
Food manufacturers.

Pat Reynolds:
They’ve their own laws. And it’s really hard to be compliant in a situation like that.

Matt Baum:
It sounds like there’s more benefit to not being compliant right now than to actually being compliant.

Pat Reynolds:
Right. Yeah. So if you’re out there and you want to make a quick buck yeah, sure. Now is your time. If you’re out there and you want to build a lasting business and a loyal customer base because you want to put the products together and do the right thing for people. Then it’s really hard for you right now to prove to people that you’re doing the right thing.

Matt Baum:
Yeah. It seems terrifying.

Pat Reynolds:
Yeah.

Creating trust in the hemp and cannabis industries

Matt Baum:
I can say, “I sent my product to Pat, he loved it. So it was great. It’s all right there. Gave it the stamp of approval.” And people go, “Cool, Who is he?” And I go, “Oh, he’s this guy I talked to on my podcast last week. He’s a scientist. Yeah. It was really neat.” Like there’s no stamp of approval or real bar that says, “Yes, this is exactly what we’re saying it is.”

Pat Reynolds:
Yeah. That’s interesting that we’re talking about this. One of the things that we’ve done at Confidence is we’ve come up. So what we’re talking about is Trustmarks.

Matt Baum:
Okay.

Pat Reynolds:
Yeah. So you see the non GMO project.

Matt Baum:
Right, for example.

Pat Reynolds:
Pretty much everything in every store right now. If you put it in your mouth, it’s got the word organic on, it’s got the non-GMO. Those guys are literally two hours up the road here in Bellingham. We’ve done a thing called… Let me see if I can pull it here I guess. See that?

Matt Baum:
Oh yeah. Pesticide tested. Sure. With confidence.

Pat Reynolds:
Right. So that’s basically a Trustmark that we have developed here in Washington state for cannabis producers, because right now it’s not required to test for pesticides on cannabis products in Washington state. If people come to us and have their product tested for pesticides, we will allow them to put that label on their product when it’s on the shelf. And that’s become an eye catcher for people when they’re in the store, people will actually walk in and say, “Have you done anything that has been tested with Confidence.” And the budtenders know, “Oh yeah. Boom, there you go.” It’s just a peace of mind thing.

Matt Baum:
Yeah. It’s marketing at the end of the day, but it’s good for you guys because you have built something where it said, “Look, if you’re doing it the right way, we will give you this sticker.” And for those who can’t see this, this is an audio podcast, he showed me a sticker. And if that sticker is there, it becomes a mark of, “I can trust these guys because they go to a lab that we know we can trust.” Unfortunately, not every State has that.

Pat Reynolds:
Correct. And that is only for cannabis products it’s not for hemp products right now although we’re looking to expand that program there. But in terms of looking for things where you can trust, Trustmarks like that are other things to look for our industry associations.

Matt Baum:
Yes. Definitely because it’s harder to get a bunch of people together in lying than it is to find a couple liars criminals [inaudible 00:32:08]

Pat Reynolds:
I hate to execute malice when ignorance can be an adequate explanation.

Matt Baum:
That’s true. Like the decimal thing that you said, math is hard,

Pat Reynolds:
But I get where you’re coming from.

Matt Baum:
We just have to be super vigilant even just with our site, when people are sending us stuff to try or they want it reviewed, or they want our thoughts on it, or they want to run an ad or they want to talk to me on the podcast. We have to be so careful. And we do a ton of research, just digging in like, what are they claiming where their lab results come from? Where are they growing? That State. Like, Oh wait, like what are the pesticide laws in that State and stuff like that. Because before we’re going to say, yes, try this. The Ministry of Hemp thinks it’s good stuff. It’s scary. Because like you said, there’s too many ways to misrepresent things right now because there is no FDA ruling. No, one’s looking over it. We are trusting good companies to be good. And luckily there are a bunch, but there’s also a bunch of bad ones.

Pat Reynolds:
Yeah. And look as much as I’m trying to deny the sensationalism, I’m not going to deny that there are bad actors out there. There are absolutely people out there looking to make a quick book. The going is getting tougher now that the competition is increasing.

Matt Baum:
Right.

Pat Reynolds:
So hopefully it’ll get less, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t still need to be vigilant.

Matt Baum:
Sure. So what’s the best thing that can happen tomorrow to take these bad actors, to just wipe them out and send them all packing and say, all right, what happens when the FDA saying, “Here are the rules you have to get tested, it has to be an accredited lab. You have to have the results.” Stuff like that?

Pat Reynolds:
That would be a huge step in the right direction. I mean, de scheduling, obviously.

Matt Baum:
Of course.

Pat Reynolds:
It’s the thing that’s going to just make all this go away. And de scheduling does so much more I mean, it is a whole research aspect. There’s the whole finance aspect of it. I mean we all know what the pieces are to make this tick. I reckon that’s why kind of the situation has been allowed to get to where it’s gotten to. And I mean, the industry is so big, it’s exploded. There’s so much money being made.

Matt Baum:
Right.

Pat Reynolds:
And being transferred around the place that’s why it hasn’t been just shut down summarily. Like I said, there’s just too much money involved. So hopefully people are going to step up and start making some rules that makes sense. And let’s not have another situation like we did with the USDA creating a set of rules that said your hemp crop needs to be certified as being less than 0.3% THC. And that needs to be done by DEA registered lab.

Matt Baum:
Yeah.

Pat Reynolds:
So all the States are running hemp programs go to their cannabis testing labs and say, “Do you want to do this for us?’ And we’re like, “Yeah, sure.” “Can we get a DEA registration?” And the DEA says, “No, you’re handling a controlled substance, cannabis.”

Matt Baum:
It’s brilliant.

Pat Reynolds:
You’re not getting a license still. It’s like, well, the USDA made these rules and-

Matt Baum:
Well, to fair the USDA, I think they just like shouted them out into the air without even thinking about it from what it seems. Because the DEA was the first one to show up and be like, “We don’t have time for that. Thanks.” Like you guys.

Pat Reynolds:
The conversations were, “Yeah, could you have not talk to us first?”

Staying optimistic about CBD testing

Matt Baum:
Right. Maybe that’s something that we could mention. I don’t know. You’re the guy behind the curtain with this stuff and you seem to be still very hopeful and optimistic. I mean, end of the day, does that mean you’re seeing more good products coming in being tested that actually represent what they are than bad?

Pat Reynolds:
Yes. Yeah, absolutely.

Matt Baum:
God, that fills my heart with joy. That’s good.

Pat Reynolds:
From a [inaudible 00:36:22] perspective for sure. Because I mean that’s the bulk of our business is cannabis products here in Washington State. Like I said, we’ve done some of that kind of media project testing. And we have a few CBD companies that are testing with us. And you’ll see their COAs on their website and stuff like that. But certainly I mean, from the state of cannabis products and edibles and tinctures and things like that when we were analyzing them four years ago, compared to the things that we’re analyzing today it’s night and day difference.

Matt Baum:
That’s wonderful news.

Pat Reynolds:
In the quality of the products stuff. Their merchandisation, the overall quality, the packaging, everything is just getting better because people are learning how to do it right. People fundamentally want things done right. That’s what I believe.

Matt Baum:
I think on the other side, there’s more education behind it too, where the people that are buying it, are actually looking into things now because they did get ripped off once or twice. And they’re not doing that again.

Pat Reynolds:
We sponsored a golf tournament a couple of years ago. One of the stewards on the course came up to me once he realized who I was and what we did. And he was like, “Hey, what do you do because myself and my wife, we like to get the edibles and what do you do when you have one that’s great and then you have another one that just makes you crazy. And it’s the same thing?” I’m like, “You need to find another brand because those brands don’t know what they’re doing.” Once it comes out from under the covers and people realize that there is recourse and they can go back and complain about these things.

Matt Baum:
Yeah.

Pat Reynolds:
Then the quality starts to get better because nobody wants to deal with the hassle. So it’s actually less trouble to do it right.

Matt Baum:
I like that. It’s less trouble to do it right. I like that a lot. That’s a good thing to live by. Thanks to Pat for coming on the show. He was so fun to talk to. And he’s one of those rare guests that came and found me after reading an article, we had about CBD scams on ministryofhemp.com and of course we’ll have a link to Confidence Analytics, more about what they do there and the link to the story we wrote about CBD scams in the show notes for this episode.

Final thoughts from Matt

That brings us to the end of another episode. I want to say, thanks again to Canvas for partnering with us, to bring you hemp education like this. And if you want to help bring hemp education to the people, head over to Patreon/Ministry of Hemp and become a Ministry of Hemp insider, it gets you access to podcast extras to early articles and all kinds of other stuff that’s only there for you guys, our patreons and I cannot stress how much it helps us in spreading the good word of hemp education. If you can’t get enough Ministry of Hemp in your life right now, you can follow us on all our social media at Ministry of Hemp/ Ministry of Hemp and check out ministryofhemp.com, where we’ve got an update to our best CBD gummies of 2020. This is the fall edition. And we’ve got a great video about CBD versus CBG. It’s a different thing. And we’re going to talk about it on the show soon.

At Ministry of Hemp, we believe that an accessible world is a better world for everyone. So you can find a full written transcript of the show in the show notes for this episode, I have got to get out of here though, and I like to do so the same way every week. I like to say, remember to take care of yourself, take care of others and make good decisions. Will you? This is Matt Baum with the Ministry of Hemp signing off.

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How To Read CBD Oil Labels (VIDEO) https://ministryofhemp.com/how-to-read-cbd-product-labels-healist/ https://ministryofhemp.com/how-to-read-cbd-product-labels-healist/#respond Fri, 31 Jul 2020 22:33:26 +0000 http://ministryofhemp.com/?p=62217 This video will help you understand CBD product labels, including figuring out the exact dosage per serving and comparing the box to lab tests.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaaEAP8VD_s

This video will help you read and understand a CBD oil label.

So you’ve decided to try a CBD product! Maybe you want to foster relaxation or get better sleep? Awesome! This video is made to help you figure out what you’re doing.

It’s important to know that there are no industry standards for CBD labeling so they’re all a little different. There are a few things to look for in reliable brands. 

For this video, we used two products for comparison: Healist Naturals Calm Chews and their Double Strength Calm Drops. Thanks to Healist for partnering with us on this video!

Tips on reading CBD product labels

Everyone reacts a little differently to CBD, so it’s important to know how much you’re buying. One thing to watch out for are brands that sell hemp seed oil as CBD, or only list total amounts of hemp extract on the label, instead of the total amount of CBD.

In this video, we show you how to read the exact dosage per dropper, using the label for Healist Naturals Double Strength Calm Drops. We also talk about other features you might find in CBD products like terpene blends.

Finally, it’s important to compare the product label with the third-party lab results. Reputable brands pay to have their products carefully tested by an independent laboratory. These results, also known as a Certificate of Analysis (COA), verify the potency and purity of the product. Some brands only test for cannabinoids without also showing you terpenes or testing for impurities. However, the more thorough the better.

In the video, we also explain briefly how to compare the lab results and product label. If you can’t easily find these labs, look for a better brand!

So that’s basically how to read labels for different CBD products.

Enjoy! Feel well! 

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How To Identify High Quality CBD Oil https://ministryofhemp.com/identify-high-quality-cbd/ https://ministryofhemp.com/identify-high-quality-cbd/#comments Sat, 07 Mar 2020 16:08:00 +0000 http://ministryofhemp.com/?p=34677 Here are five ways to identify high quality CBD oil. Quality matters. Low-grade CBD may not offer the same levels of benefit offered by top quality CBD oil.

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Today there are literally thousands of CBD oil products on the market, so how can consumers choose quality products?

CBD oil is an amazing supplement, but now it’s also an unregulated, fast-growing industry. That means there are unscrupulous scam-artists trying to rip off consumers, too.

Are there signs of quality CBD oil that you can use to determine if it’s reliable or snake oil?

Unfortunately, it’s not always easy for consumers to determine which CBD brands are trustworthy. With the growth in popularity of CBD oil, new brands and merchants are coming out every day. Each one promises to offer you the best, high-quality supplement. However, until the FDA releases its final regulations for CBD supplements, the products remain in a regulatory gray area, and consumers are at a high risk of buying poor quality CBD.

We conducted some research to help you identify high-quality CBD from its low quality counterparts when selecting best CBD oil online.  

Table of contents

How can you identify high-quality CBD oil?

Cannabidiol, or CBD is an extract of the cannabis plant. Although present in psychoactive cannabis (“marijuana”), most CBD oil is extracted from agricultural hemp. While psychoactive cannabis remains federally illegal, the 2018 Farm Bill took hemp-based CBD out of the control of the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Our guide to choosing high quality CBD oil will make your next purchase easier. Photo: Generic bottles and other containers of CBD oil along with decorative hemp leave.
Our guide to choosing high quality CBD oil will make your next purchase easier.

These hemp-based CBD oil supplements are very low in THC (or tetrahydrocannabinol), the natural compound that produces psychoactivity in humans. In other words, THC is what makes people feel high. CBD offers many of the health benefits of “medical marijuana” without the high, making it more versatile and less controversial to both users and the community.

However, quality matters: low-grade CBD oil may not offer the same levels of benefit offered by top rated CBD oil because of a variety of factors, and it could even potentially contain harmful toxins. In addition, many products are misleadingly labelled. You should never buy CBD on Amazon due to the profusion of fake products there.

Five of the most important factors when identifying high-quality CBD are: how it’s made, where and how the hemp was grown, and picking brands which offer third-party lab results. Other important factors include whether the product is a “full spectrum” extract, and the overall transparency and communication available from the brand. We’ve examined each factor in more detail below.

Manufacturing CBD: It Matters How CBD Oil Is Made

Unfortunately, due to the young age of the CBD oil industry, there aren’t any regulations that control the manufacturing process. This means that different CBD brands may have different extraction methods in order to process CBD oil from hemp.

Unscrupulous companies, especially those who sell their products at a ridiculously low price, may use cheap methods when extracting CBD oil. This requires toxic solvents that are dangerous to our health such as propane, hexane, pentane and butane.

Better companies use pharmaceutical-grade ethanol to process CBD. Ethanol is essentially grain alcohol. It removes unneeded toxins and residues from the base hemp plant. Many experts consider ethanol among the most efficient extraction methods. This method retains the highest amount of natural cannabinoids among the different refinement processes. It’s also considered one of the safest methods of extracting CBD for human consumption.

Some brands manufacture and extract CBD oil through “supercritical CO2 extraction.” This process involves using carbon dioxide under high pressure in an extremely cold environment. Supercritical CO2 extraction requires expensive equipment, more complex refinement process and production expertise, but it ensures that CBD oil maintains its purity all through the process.

There are some less common, but still safe methods such as lipid extraction.

  • SUGGESTION – Before purchasing any CBD oil, research the vendor’s production methods. The information can be found on their website, or through talking to a customer service representative. Quality CBD brands most commonly use ethanol or supercritical CO2 extraction.
Hemp absorbs both nutrients and toxins from the soil at a very high rate. Photo: An outdoor hemp field full of densely packed hemp plants resembling small Christmas trees.
Hemp efficiently absorbs both nutrients and toxins from the soil.

Growing Hemp: The Source of Your CBD Matters

Like any manufactured product, one of the best ways to ensure quality is to use high-quality materials. This is especially important in CBD oil. Hemp acts as a “hyperaccumulator.” This means that the hemp plant easily absorbs any toxins or heavy metals in the soil. If a hemp plant grew on rich soil, the resulting hemp plant will be of high quality and can produce CBD oil in the same high-quality as well.

Being a hyperaccumulator also has drawbacks. If you grow hemp in soil with heavy metals or pollution, those toxins could find their way into any CBD oil or consumable products made from those plants.

Sadly, some manufacturers would choose to purchase low-quality hemp to process as CBD oil, and such hemp may be polluted with heavy metals. These manufacturers only have profit in mind, and don’t care about the possible consequence of their products. This is one reason why CBD oil risks getting a negative reputation.

  • SUGGESTION – Look into where the CBD brand sources their hemp from. We recommend buying CBD oil products made from U.S.-grown hemp whenever possible. Such information can be found on the retailer’s or manufacturer’s websites as well as through their support center.
Photo: A researcher holds up CBD oil and a hemp leaf.
High quality CBD brands always offer third party lab results on their products. These are sometimes called Certificates of Analysis (COAs).

Check for third-party lab results (COAs) when buying quality CBD

A high quality brand of CBD will always provide third-party lab results to their consumers. These results are also known as Certificate of Analysis (COAs). Some laboratories finds favorable results, while some CBD products fail their lab tests.

These independent labs exist to ensure that CBD oil is everything it claims to be, with a high level of CBD, low in THC (legally, under 0.3% THC), and lacking in impurities that can be harmful to consumers. Depending on the brand, results might show just levels of CBD and other cannabinoids. However, many brands offer detailed tests which show levels of terpenes, and verify the lack of pesticides, fungus or other harmful chemicals.

Reading these results can be a bit confusing for new consumers, but it helps to at least briefly check COA and educate yourself about their contents as much as you are comfortable doing.

  • SUGGESTIONS – A reputable brand of CBD oil should always have recent lab results available. Some provide them on their website, while others include them in the packaging or both. You might also be able to look up a product using a special batch code or QR code on the packaging. When in doubt, reach out to customer service for help.
Two different colored vials of hemp extract sit on a bed of hemp leaves. Full spectrum CBD contains more cannabinoids and other natural compounds, while CBD isolate may be better for people who need a strong dose of just cannabidiol.
Full spectrum CBD contains more cannabinoids and other natural compounds, while CBD isolate may be better for people who need a strong dose of just cannabidiol.

Full-Spectrum vs. CBD isolate products

Another sign of a quality CBD oil is that it is manufactured using the whole plant and more of the natural compounds found in it. CBD Isolates are increasingly popular, but in reality, they may be less effective than whole plant extracts.

Full spectrum CBD or Hemp Extract retains more of the natural chemicals found in hemp. These include terpenes, flavonoids, and other cannabinoids that are generally believed to work synergistically with CBD, making the benefits higher than CBD alone. These products do contain very low amounts of THC. By contrast, a Broad Spectrum CBD or Hemp Extract retains some of these natural compounds, but lacks any THC.

Contrary to popular belief, it’s theoretically possible for any type CBD oil to cause a false positive for marijuana in a drug test. That’s because many tests are very inefficient and inaccurate. However, broad spectrum or CBD isolate products may be less likely to do so than full spectrum hemp extract. More research is needed before we have definitive answers about CBD and drug tests.

  • SUGGESTION – Check the labels on the product to determine if the manufacturer uses the whole plant in their products, or check their websites for the information. Some brands use the term Whole Plant while others could use Full Spectrum or Broad Spectrum. Experiment to find out which works best for you.

Look for CBD brands that value communication and transparency

One common theme you might have noticed in this article? We frequently encouraged you to reach out to brands directly for more information.

The reason for this is two-fold. First, a brand knows their products best. But, perhaps more importantly, high quality CBD brands prioritize transparency and good communication. It should always be easy for consumers to find more information about CBD products, including how they were made. Customer service should be easy to reach and respond quickly, whether you use email, phone or social media.

Sometimes we hear from inexperienced consumers who see advertising for a disreputable CBD brand. One of the simplest indicators of high quality CBD brands is whether they have an easy to browse website and an active, friendly presence on social media.

  • SUGGESTION – Only buy from brands with a professional looking website that’s easy to browse. If you can’t easily get questions answered by customer service, move on to another CBD brand that values its customers more.

Final thoughts on choosing high quality CBD oil

CBD oil is growing in popularity every day and we’re happy to say that it’s here to stay.

While most brands want to deliver high quality products, not all companies maintain this same level of integrity. CBD regulations and enforcement are likely to improve with time. But until this happens, the consumer must be cautious about what CBD brands to trust.

We have gone through five important things to look for when purchasing CBD oil and offered some suggestions on how to determine if your brand checks out. It is important that you do your own research before making your choice. Remember, you can always check for product reviews, or search for more answers to your questions on sites like Ministry of Hemp.

While buying CBD can feel intimidating at first, with a little knowledge you’ll be ready to make the right purchase.

Kit O’Connell contributed to this article.

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Don’t Buy CBD On Amazon: Why CBD On Amazon Is A Bad Deal https://ministryofhemp.com/dont-buy-cbd-on-amazon/ https://ministryofhemp.com/dont-buy-cbd-on-amazon/#comments Sat, 07 Mar 2020 15:13:00 +0000 http://ministryofhemp.com/?p=58178 For many of us, Amazon.com is a part of our everyday lives. Unfortunately, we do have to warn you: never buy CBD oil on Amazon.

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For many of us, Amazon.com is a part of our everyday lives. And while it’s an undeniably convenient website for buying everything from books to toilet paper, we do have to warn you: never buy CBD oil on Amazon.

Amazon is a massive marketplace selling just about everything. You can even buy prefabricated tiny homes on the site. But there’s also a lot of unscrupulous vendors that have moved into the marketplace, taking advantage of Amazon’s lax oversight. Stories of counterfeit products sold on Amazon abound. When it comes to CBD oil, the popular supplement made from hemp, it’s almost all fake, a fraud, or of dubious quality.

Before we go any further, you should know this: Amazon bans the sale of CBD on their site. That’s right, it’s against the rules of Amazon.com to sell CBD. That means that everyone selling CBD there is either breaking the rules or selling fake or falsely labelled CBD products. That should be enough to make you steer clear!

Instead of buying CBD on Amazon, you should order from any reputable online CBD vendor, such as one of our Top CBD Brands. You can even find quality CBD products in a growing number of natural foods grocery stores and brick and mortar CBD stores that are popping up around the U.S. 

Buying CBD on Amazon is a bad idea, in part because Amazon formally bans CBD sales. Photo: The exterior of an Amazon fulfillment center.
Buying CBD on Amazon is a bad idea, in part because Amazon formally bans CBD sales.

Read on if you’d like to learn more about Amazon’s policies, and why they mean you shouldn’t buy CBD on Amazon. We’ll also dismantle a few of the outlandish claims that CBD sellers on Amazon are making about their products.

Table of contents

What do Amazon policies say about selling CBD oil?

Amazon’s policies are extremely clear: You can’t sell CBD products on Amazon.

The 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp and hemp-derived products in the U.S. And the Drug Enforcement Administration recently acknowledged this change, too. Even after these changes to U.S. law, Amazon’s policies on CBD remain unchanged.

When we reached out to Amazon’s public relations team, a member quickly and emphatically replied to us.

“Per our selling policies, CBD is prohibited on our site,” they wrote in an email.

And heres a screenshot of their policies:

A screenshot of Amazon policies on CBD, showing they clearly ban CBD in all forms.
Amazon vendor policies clearly ban CBD sales.

These policies are not unusual in the tech industry. For example, Facebook and other social media sites still prohibit most hemp-related advertising. That’s also true of Google Adwords and other common ad networks.

Despite these policies, there are hundreds of suspicious products labelled as CBD on Amazon’s marketplace. We’ll get into some of those products below, but the bottom line is that anyone selling products supposedly containing CBD oil on Amazon is breaking Amazon’s rules. That should be a red flag for any consumer, and enough to convince you that buying CBD on Amazon is a bad idea. 

What’s in the fake CBD oil on Amazon?

It’s likely that most of the sellers of CBD oil or hemp extract on Amazon are actually selling hemp seed oil, made from pressing hemp seeds.

The reason is that hemp seeds do not contain CBD or THC, two naturally occurring cannabinoids people often ingest for their beneficial effects. THC is the active ingredient in psychoactive cannabis (“marijuana”) that makes people “feel high.” These compounds are found in the flowers and leaves, not the seeds or stalks of the plant.

Hemp seeds and hemp seed oil offer many nutritional benefits, but they don't contain CBD oil. Photo: Hemp seeds and hemp seed oil arranged on a table.
Hemp seeds and hemp seed oil offer many nutritional benefits, but they don’t contain CBD oil.

Amazon allows vendors to sell products made from these other parts of the hemp plant. Hemp seeds and hemp seed oil are great nutritional supplements, full of Omega-3s and essential nutrients. Many people feel healthier after eating them, similar to the effects people feel when they add flax seeds or flax oil to their diets. Amazon can be a convenient place to buy hemp hearts (hulled hemp seeds) or other hemp-based foods.

But hemp seeds don’t contain CBD. And you can buy hemp seed snacks or hemp seed oil at much lower prices than these fake CBD products.

Fake CBD vendors on Amazon make wild, impossible claims about their products

To make matters worse, vendors on Amazon routinely sell so-called CBD in simply impossible potencies. It’s normal for these shady vendors to claim they’ve packed 10,000, 25,000 or even 50,000 milligrams into a one or two ounce bottle of CBD. Then they sell these fake products for rock bottom prices, undercutting quality CBD vendors. Consumers take a gamble on a bargain rather than questioning if these products are too good to be true.

They are too good to be true. We recently reviewed high potency CBD products from reputable vendors. Real CBD products contain at most about 2000mg per ounce. To be frank, the Amazon CBD vendors are obviously lying.

Screenshot showing various fake CBD products sold on Amazon in impossibly strong potency such as 25,000mg of CBD in a one ounce bottle.
Fake CBD products sold on Amazon come in impossibly strong potency, such as 25,000mg of CBD in a one ounce bottle, while being sold at suspiciously low prices.

There’s also no way to verify the quality, purity, and potency of these “CBD” products. When Ministry of Hemp reviews CBD products, we only recommend brands that are transparent about the source of their hemp, and how it’s grown. We also require that them to offer third-party lab tests to back up their claims. While some of the fake products claim to be lab tested, there’s no way for customers to see those tests.

Final thoughts: Is Amazon profiting off lies?

It’s not reasonable to expect Amazon to check the quality of every product offered on their site, since there are millions of products in their catalog. Even so, it’s unfortunate that Amazon allows these misrepresented products to proliferate on their site.

While we disagree with the stigma against hemp products like CBD, private companies like Amazon have a right to set whatever policies they want. At the same time, they’re undeniably profiting from the sale of these fake or questionable products. This means shady vendors get paid, Amazon takes their cut, and consumers get substandard products that probably won’t help very much. In the long run, this adds to the perception that CBD is snake oil, despite the many documented benefits.

Photo: Image shows a rendering of an infinite number of tablet computers displaying the Amazon logo.
Despite Amazon’s ban on CBD, hundreds of fake and low quality products remain in their online marketplace.

As we discussed on a recent episode of the Ministry of Hemp Podcast, it’s important to note that Amazon’s CBD ban predates the recent laws legalizing hemp. Their policies haven’t changed since the Farm Bill passed. Amazon probably won’t update their policy until the Food & Drug Administration issues clear guidelines about the sales of CBD or hemp extract supplements in the U.S.

Regardless of whether Amazon allows for legitimate CBD sales in the future, we still think you’re better off going directly to one of the CBD brands we recommend, or an online CBD marketplace or physical CBD store that meets our exacting standards.

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How to Choose CBD: Be Careful Buying CBD Oil! [UPDATED] https://ministryofhemp.com/careful-buying-cbd-oil/ https://ministryofhemp.com/careful-buying-cbd-oil/#comments Fri, 20 Dec 2019 15:13:00 +0000 http://kapumaku.wpengine.com/?p=28060 Buying CBD oil can be confusing. Use this guide to learn how to choose better CBD oil.

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There’s a lot of crappy CBD oil products out there so we wanted to help consumers learn how to choose the best CBD products. After you read this, you’ll be better equipped when buying CBD.

Table of Contents

The sad part is, there’s no easy way for consumers to know what CBD brands to trust. Barely in its infancy, the CBD market is still unregulated. Quality control is meager at best, and consumers are largely unaware what to look for when shopping for CBD products.

Unfortunately, that means there’s a lot of fake and misleading products out there. In another article, we looked at why you should never buy CBD on Amazon because that popular website is full of fake CBD products.


Learn more about CBD through ‘The Complete CBD Guide


Ministry of Hemp only works with CBD brands that meet our exacting standards of quality and transparency. We always examine lab reports showing the actual contents of the products we recommend. You can trust we’ll always do our best to keep you from buying snake oil.

However, there’s hundreds of CBD brands on the market right now and we can only review so many! In this article, we give you a little bit more information about the state of the CBD market, then share some of our favorite tips for buying CBD.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fl0LWXtZJH4

A brief history of the CBD industry

People began using hemp as natural medicine in ancient China.

In the mid 1800s, the hemp plant became a key part of Western medicine and numerous research and articles were written about the topic over the course of the century. However, the surge of recreational usage and our confused political leaders led to the prohibition of all cannabis plants in the 20th century. This included all industrial hemp and CBD oil applications. Unfortunately, these restrictions caused much of the findings and progress behind CBD to be quietly forgotten during the rest of the 20th century.

Despite prohibition, research continued and scientists actually first isolated CBD in the 1940s. However, the War on Drugs and the stigma surrounding all forms of cannabis prevented the widespread use of hemp or CBD to treat ailments.

Most studies into CBD oil show few side effects, mostly minor ones like sleepiness or mild sedation. Photo: Hemp leaves near two beakers of green liquid, depicting hemp and CBD research.
Most people consider CBD oil a modern discovery, but CBD history stretches back to the 1940s.

That began to change in the early 2000s. Some states began experimenting with medicinal or recreational forms of psychoactive cannabis. Interest in industrial hemp returned as well during the time period and, after legal changes beginning in 2014, hemp extract and CBD products began to return to the market as nutritional supplements.

The reintroduction created a big risk. Since CBD has been suppressed in our society for so long, there’s very limited understanding and transparency around the products. Greedy businesses can take advantage of customers who are looking to pay big money for a remedy that could potentially help heal their sick loved ones.

That makes it harder than it should be to know how to choose CBD, as the rest of the article explains.

The return of CBD to the US

CBD oil products started proliferating again in the U.S. after an amendment to the 2014 Farm Bill. This big agricultural omnibus bill allowed research into hemp for the first time in decades, and some brands began experimenting with market research by selling CBD tinctures. Then, another amendment, this time to the 2018 version of the farm bill, officially made hemp a legal crop in the U.S. again. It also prohibited the Drug Enforcement Administration from continuing to treat CBD like an illegal drug.

Buying CBD oil can be confusing. Use this guide to learn how to choose better CBD oil. Photo: A woman in a dark fluffy sweater takes a dropper of CBD tincture.
Buying CBD oil can be confusing. Use this guide to learn how to choose better CBD oil.

As a result, the CBD market is booming. Experts predict that CBD sales will reach $1 billion in 2019. CBD is now known for numerous benefits, from its ability to reduce anxiety and promote restful sleep to easing chronic pain. Some people even take CBD to help with severe epilepsy, and a prescription-only form of CBD is available to treat epileptic seizures. At the same time, over-the-counter CBD supplements are available in every state both online and in brick and mortar stores.

However, because the FDA is not yet regulating CBD, there’s little control over these products. As a result, there’s misleading products all around. In a recent investigation by Inside Edition, one product that was supposed to contain 500mg of CBD only contained 64mg. The cannabis site Leafly found three CBD brands with hidden added ingredients, some of which could be harmful. Our own tests of diverse brands revealed some that mislead customers about the strength of their tinctures too. Anecdotally, poor quality CBD seems to cause more side effects.

Why There’s So Much Confusion Around CBD

Let’s first try to understand why it has come to this. From the research we’ve done, we can essentially break it down to three reasons the CBD oil industry is out of control.

1. CBD buyers are vulnerable people

Think about the demographic that CBD companies are targeting. They’re mainly ones who are suffering from some type of illness, or struggling with sleeplessness, anxiety, chronic pain, and so on. Or, their loved ones might be buying CBD for them in the hopes it can help their struggles.

53% of Americans falsely believe the FDA regulates CBD.

October 2019 Grocery Manufacturers Association study

Whatever the symptoms, these patients are suffering. Some may be struggling to get satisfactory treatment through pharmaceutical medicine. Thus, many who turn to CBD oil are desperate to find a treatment that works. Unfortunately, many buyers don’t have the time or energy to learn how to choose CBD oil. A perfect demographic for greedy businesses to target.

2. The CBD market is unregulated

In 2013, an industry insider turned into a whistleblower as she blasted her company and the entire CBD industry for its deceptive practices. Tamar Wise, a former Dixie Botanicals employee, posted on her Facebook that

“These formulations start with a crude and dirty hemp paste contaminated with microbial life … The paste perhaps even contains residual solvents and other toxins as the extraction is done in China made using a process that actually renders it unfit for human consumption.

Fortunately, most reputable CBD companies now use hemp that’s grown in the U.S. Standards have improve dramatically in the last 6 years. Even so, this market is unregulated. Essentially, the industry has been left on its own to monitor their supply chains and develop best practices of CBD manufacture.

3. CBD labels can be misleading

The biggest problem regarding labeling is that companies mislead their customers when it comes to the CBD dosage on their bottles. Some products (particularly those sold on Amazon!) are simply lying about their contents. But even among transparent CBD brands, dosage can still be confusing.

For example, one brand of CBD tincture might list the total amount of CBD in the bottle, while some list the amount of in each dropper (often per 1 milliliter of tincture). This can get more confusing when you add in other product types, like CBD capsules or edibles like CBD gummies or even CBD-infused chocolate bars and coffee.

Photo: Hemp leaves silhoutted in the sunlight. Text: How to Choose Hemp CBD Products

Tips on how to choose CBD: Guide for buying CBD

We’ve been studying this industry for years now, and we’ve distilled our advice down to a few simple tips. While buying CBD can be complicated, we think you’ll choose the right brand if you follow these steps.

1. Take your time buying CBD

By taking the time to read this article, you’ve already learned more about how to choose CBD oil. While CBD products seem to be popping up everywhere, we don’t think CBD should be an “impulse buy.”

Not only are you probably buying poor-quality CBD if you buy it at a gas station, you’re also not taking the time to properly research that product. In general, we don’t think you should buy CBD from any business where you wouldn’t normally purchase wellness products.

Quality CBD brands are transparent about their products, from where their hemp grows to the extraction methods they use to make their supplements. Their customer service should be able to knowledgeably answer questions in a timely, friendly manner.

2. Always request third-party lab results

You should always make sure that a brand offers third-party lab results. These are often called a Certificate of Analysis, or COA. This means that they’ve sent their products to an independent lab to verify the contents of their CBD. Some companies also offer additional tests showing their CBD to be free of toxins like pesticide residues.

Over the last year, the Ministry of Hemp began running our own lab tests with a trusted third-party lab before we review CBD products. You can look for these results in our recent reviews and compare them with the COAs offered by the brand.

If a CBD company doesn’t offer third-party lab results, or they’re reluctant to share these results with you, it should automatically be a red flag and indicate that they have something to hide.

At the same time, we know it can be hard for consumers to interpret these lab tests. That brings us to our third tip.

3. Ask for advice

Don’t be shy to ask for expert advice when you’re buying CBD oil products. The CBD oil market is young and immature, and the regulations and quality control practices are still often subpar. Don’t just trust a product because it’s a “known brand” or because you see an influencer posing with the product. We’ve found even bigger CBD brands can have dubious quality control.

Make sure to check online reviews to see if you can read about other customers’ experiences. You can even reach out to us reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns while shopping for CBD oil. We’ll do our best to guide you in the right direction.

Final thoughts on buying CBD

The CBD industry is a booming market. Many well-intentioned entrepreneurs are entering this space to provide an alternative solution for patients who are suffering from chronic pain or other ailments. But with any growing market, we are also seeing a growth in greedy businesses who are taking advantage of vulnerable customers.

Within the next couple of years, we expect the FDA to step in and offer clear guidelines for CBD products. But until then, customers have to be cautious of what brands they trust and buy from. We hope that we’ve been able to offer some insights and transparency into this industry and hope you’ll be able to find higher quality products through our advice.

Kit O’Connell contributed to this guide.

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Who Should Use CBD? A Guide To Reasons For Using CBD https://ministryofhemp.com/who-should-use-cbd-reasons-for-using-cbd/ https://ministryofhemp.com/who-should-use-cbd-reasons-for-using-cbd/#comments Tue, 12 Nov 2019 22:03:41 +0000 http://ministryofhemp.com/?p=58681 Who should use CBD? This is a very common question.  The short answer: almost everyone!  Hemp extract has such a wide variety of uses and benefits that most people have some aspect of their life that could be improved. Some of the most popular uses include improving sleep, pain, and anxiety. In this article, we […]

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Who should use CBD? This is a very common question.  The short answer: almost everyone! 

Hemp extract has such a wide variety of uses and benefits that most people have some aspect of their life that could be improved. Some of the most popular uses include improving sleep, pain, and anxiety.

In this article, we thought we’d take a closer look at the types of people who take CBD and why they take it.

Age groups and uses for CBD

There is also a misconception that hemp extract is used more widely in younger generations. A research study done by the non-profit Project CBD found that the majority of CBD users are over age 44.  It is believed this is due to aches, pains, inflammation, and trouble sleeping that many people experience as they age.

People of all ages are using CBD. As we got older, we may experience more symptoms that CBD can help with.Photo: An older man with a face with deepening wrinkles and graying hair and moustache smiles, photographed against a yellow wall.
People of all ages are using CBD. As we got older, we may experience more symptoms that this supplement can help with.

Another study from Gallup found that 44% of people in America have tried CBD and that at least 8% of people over 65 have tried cannabidiol at some point.

Pain

The Project CBD study found that almost 90% of users who used cannabidiol for pain relief saw reduced intensity in their pain, with 70% of users saying their pain was “much better.”

Sleep

Along with pain, this supplement can also help people fall asleep, stay asleep, or both.  The same study found that users fall asleep much faster and wake up fewer times throughout the night.  Many of those users also felt more rested in the morning.

Almost anyone can use CBD to help feel more in balance. Photo: A person takes a dropper full of Zatural CBD out of the bottle using the dropper top.
Almost anyone can use CBD to help feel more in balance. (Photo: Zatural)

Mood

Anxiety and Depression were both at the top of the list for uses. The Project CBD study showed that 68% of users said their nervousness was “much better” with use. Users also reported cannabidiol helping with panic attacks, mood swings, irritability, and sadness.

Other

There are other uses for CBD studied which include: hormonal issues, PTSD, gastrointestinal issues, ADD/ADHD, cancer symptoms, diabetes, and alcoholism and addiction. The link is below this article if you would like to read more on those uses and the research results. 

Pets & CBD

“One in 10 pet owners have bought CBD products for their pets, with 52% making the purchase based on a veterinarian’s recommendation …” Supermarket News reported in a shopper study. CBD pet products have become very popular recently, with consumers reporting they improve pain, inflammation, anxiety, and overall wellness in our furry friends.

Even our furry friends can use CBD. Photo: A dog poses with Zatural CBD pet products.
Even our furry friends can use CBD. (Photo: Zatural)

Just like in humans, there are many ways our pets can enjoy the benefits of hemp extract. From oils and topical products, treats and chews, many pet parents are turning to cannabidiol as a natural replacement for pain and anxiety medications. While there’s no official research yet, studies are underway to also evaluate the use of cannabidiol in dogs with epilepsy. 

Concerns about using CBD

Price

A common concern about CBD is that it’s expensive. With most things in life, you get what you pay for, so why not invest in your health? In reality, it’s not cheap to make quality cannabidiol. Here’s a little more information about why CBD is expensive.

It may even reduce or eliminate the need for other supplements you may be taking, which could save you money in the long run. Make sure to look for high-quality, third-party tested products to make sure you are getting the best value.

Quality

A lot of consumers are also concerned about the claims that come with CBD use. If you’re reading this and researching CBD, questioning whether it will benefit you, chances are it will.

As more and more research emerges, the concern should be less “will this benefit me?” and more “is this product the right product for me?” Look for companies that offer 3rd party test results and a variety of products so you can find the product that fits your lifestyle. 

Availability of CBD

“CBD is difficult to find.” This could be true depending on where you live.

Finding CBD is easy thanks to the availability of quality online brands. You should use hemp extract that is lab-tested, from brands that are transparent about their sources and manufacturing methods. Photo: Zatural CBD topical posed in an outdoor setting on some rocks.
Finding CBD is easy thanks to the availability of quality online brands. You should use hemp extract that is lab-tested, from brands that are transparent about their sources and manufacturing methods.

CBD supplements aren’t readily available in stores everywhere, and even if it was, how would you know what type of product to purchase, or the quality of it? There’s a large amount of retailers online that will ship just about anywhere, just be sure to do your research to choose the right retailer for you.

Final thoughts: Who should use CBD?

Remember, always talk to your doctor before changing your treatment regimen, including adding a new supplement like cannabidiol. While it’s rare, there are some medications that can interact. Nowadays, with awareness and use of CBD so commonplace, you shouldn’t feel ashamed to talk to your doctor about it.

You can easily find more about how others are using hemp extract. There’s lots of resources online to help you learn about this beneficial supplement, from helpful subreddits or the pages of this website.

After you learn a little more, we think you’ll agree: almost everyone should use CBD.

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Buying CBD Oil Online vs Offline: What’s the Difference? https://ministryofhemp.com/buying-cbd-oil-online-vs-buying-cbd-oil-offline/ https://ministryofhemp.com/buying-cbd-oil-online-vs-buying-cbd-oil-offline/#comments Sat, 29 Jun 2019 17:10:08 +0000 http://ministryofhemp.com/?p=57705 If you were to ask a group of CBD consumers ‘How do you purchase CBD oil?’ you would undoubtedly get a variety of answers. Some people prefer buying CBD oil online. Others prefer the physical experience of purchasing from a local store. At present, there are so many alternatives for procuring CBD oil products. But, […]

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If you were to ask a group of CBD consumers ‘How do you purchase CBD oil?’ you would undoubtedly get a variety of answers. Some people prefer buying CBD oil online. Others prefer the physical experience of purchasing from a local store.

At present, there are so many alternatives for procuring CBD oil products. But, which is the best option? In this article we will compare the two main methods of CBD shopping: online and offline. Use this guide to determine which form of CBD shopping is the most suitable for you.

Best Cbd Oil Brands Reviewed 2019 Hero
Some of our Top CBD Brands. However you buy CBD oil, always look for quality brands that maintain high standards of transparency.

Buying CBD oil: Other considerations

Whether you choose to purchase CBD oil online or in a store, one thing that should never be compromised is the quality of the product. These are some indicators to help guide your purchases, whether physically or digitally:

  • Third party tested products Lab results from a third party should be readily available to ensure that the product has undergone a safe manufacturing process.
  • Safe method of extraction Ensure that no toxic chemicals are used during manufacturing. CO2 supercritical is the gold standard of extraction for its high CBD yield and exclusion of unwanted chemicals.
  • Great customer service – Whatever outlet you choose purchase CBD from, should be knowledgeable and willing to aid your decision making. Excellent customer service is the mark of a good company. 
  • Good branding Consider the way that the company presents their brand to the public. A well made website, active social media and response to inquiries are all signs of a quality brand.
  • Solid vendor reputation – Reviews of previous customers can go a long way. There should be some customer experience that you can reference either online, or from a trusted source such as our website or a forum like the CBD subreddit
  • Detailed product information All the ingredients included in your CBD oil should be clearly listed on the labelling. This allows you to examine the details and ensure that it has enough CBD content and no undesired ingredients.
  • Return policy Take the company’s return policy into consideration. This will vary depending on the store. If it’s your first time trying a particular brand, it may be wise to ensure that they allow you to return a defective item within a reasonable time frame. 

Final thoughts on buying CBD oil

With these guidelines, we hope that your CBD oil shopping is made significantly easier.

Ultimately, when buying CBD oil, the choice of online or offline shopping depends on what you value as a consumer. For those that prefer anonymity, efficiency and pure convenience, online may be more appealing. Yet others may prefer a direct interaction with the product and sales rep, with the ability to make an instant exchange.

Whatever the method, choosing a high-quality item should be to the top of the list. With that said, happy CBD shopping.

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