Not All CBD Extracts are Grown & Processed Equally
CBD from Marijuana
When CBD (Cannabidoil) was first introduced to the Medical Marijuana Marketplace it was through, what people were calling at the time, Rick Simpson Oil, or RSO for short. RSO is a “Whole Plant” Marijuana Extract that contains lots of different Cannabinoids since it is extracted from the whole plant and has not been refined into an isolate form, but instead remains in a natural oil form. These extracts contained much more THC (the psychoactive chemical in marijuana) than CBD or the other hundreds of minor Cannabinoids (CBC, CBG, etc) found in Marijuana.
There have been claims that Rick Simpson Oil has cured Cancer and has done many other extraordinary things for very ill people, however it always comes with a very large side effect, the psychoactive high you get from THC. For normal Marijuana users, THC in this high of a dose would not be a problem, but for a non-Marijuana user, this had dramatic side effects that impaired them from daytime use.
For very sick patients, Rick Simpson Oil is a great example of the wonderful and natural healing properties of CBD, and of Cannabis as a whole, for both Marijuana and Hemp. The benefits of CBD in Marijuana eventually led to new CBD rich Marijuana strains that had higher amounts of CBD. These Marijuana extracts commonly became know as 1:1 (1 to 1) products, where the dose of THC and CBD are the same. This creates a very medicinal product with those “couch lock” properties similar to the Indica dominant Marijuana strains.
The demand for 1:1 CBD products in the Medical Marijuana Marketplace will continue to increase as new users flock to the legal Marijuana, however the legality aspect of THC in the 1:1 CBD Extracts have to be purchased in a legal Marijuana shop only available in certain states, making the availability limited.
CBD from Hemp
Around 2014, some CBD products derived from Hemp started showing up in the Medical Cannabis Marketplace, mainly from international sources. They had a very low dose of CBD to start but had very little to no THC (under 0.3%,) so the THC side effect of getting “High” was not there. This was the birth of a new CBD medicine; CBD Hemp Extracts.
At the same time, Colorado was issuing its first Hemp Licenses to farmers around the state. This created the first USA supply of CBD Hemp Extracts on a commercial production scale.
CBD Hemp Extracts are very similar to Marijuana extracts in the actual process of extraction, refinement, and use. The largest difference between the two is that CBD Hemp Extracts have around 2 to 10 times more CBD than Marijuana extract with very little to no amounts of THC. This reduces the cost of the CBD to the patient who is in need of large amount of CBD on a daily basis.
CBD Isolate
CBD Isolate is one of the main CBD Hemp Extracts in todays CBD Product Marketplace. It is very similar to normal chemical isolation processes in the Pharmaceutical Industry. The Raw Hemp Oil is taken and then refined until only CBD is left, usually in a crystalline form, at a 99.9% CBD purity.
Isolates are great from CBD products that require exact dosages of a single Cannabinoids or products that want CBD in a clear and tasteless way like CBD Water. This does not necessarily mean that CBD Isolate based products are better for you than other CBD Extracts. There have been studies done on the effects of CBD Isolate compared to, whole plant, Full Spectrum CBD Extract which showed CBD Isolate has a drastic Bell Curve in dose compared to the Full Spectrum CBD Isolate which never had a drop off in medicinal effect.
Full Spectrum CBD Extract
Full Spectrum CBD products contain a multitude of Cannabinoids in different ratios that benefit the body in a multitude of ways. There can be THC or no THC in your Full Spectrum CBD products depending on their origin as a Hemp plant or Marijuana plant. Many Hemp based CBD products do use Full Spectrum Oil that contains high amounts of CBD and also includes minor cannabinoids such as CBG, CBC, and CBN. These unique cannabinoids all have their own unique beneficial effects, and together they work as a team to help boost the body’s endocannabinoid system. Having Full Spectrum CBD Oil that is a “Whole Plant” Extract tends to be best; where as refined cannabinoid product (CBD Isolates) have to be taken in a higher dose to receive the beneficial effects of CBD.
Which CBD Hemp Extract is Best for Me?
Products containing CBD Extracts will be hard to tell apart. Most sellers do not tell you whether they are using a CBD Isolate or a Full Spectrum CBD Oil. There was a recent study done proving that Full Spectrum CBD Oil does not have a bell curve on dosing needed for full effect whereas the CBD Isolate does not respond well to the body in medium doses. For this reason, I would suggest daily users to use Full Spectrum CBD products, as your body’s receptivity will be high and your tolerance build up over time will remain lower. CBD Isolate should be use in sick or single use cases to boost a Full Spectrum product or for high dose emergency uses.
Either way, all CBD products you find, whether isolate or full spectrum, should be source from seed to sale. If you cannot track where the plants grew, you may be receiving CBD extracts that we extracted from material that was designated for non-human use (aka cattle feed) and can be extracted from toxic plants like most of the CBD produced from artificially fertilized fields. There are tens of thousand of these hemp acres being grown every year, especially from Asian regions like China that have a back stock of US banned fertilizers. The good news in this horror story is the legality of Hemp in the US today.
You can now find CBD products, grown organically, and made all right here in the United States from both Hemp and Marijuana. You will find a cheaper and easier to purchase source through the Hemp markets, however if you have a brain condition, illness, or disease, you may want to have THC in your CBD products and Medical Marijuana would be your answer. It will be easy to find local hemp and marijuana companies that produced their product here in the USA under clean conditions, as they tend to advertise the fact that they grow and track their product here in the USA. If you’re giving CBD products to the sick, elderly, or minors, you want to make sure the product is clean. The more you know about the plant, the process, and the product, the healthier you and your family will be.
*References*
Gallily, Ruth, Zhannah Yekhtin, and Lumír Ondřej Hanuš. "Overcoming the Bell‐Shaped Dose‐Response of Cannabidiol by Using Cannabis Extract Enriched in Cannabidiol." (n.d.): n. pag. Alchimiaweb.com. SciRes, Feb. 2015. Web. Mar. 2017. <http://www.scirp.org/journal/pp http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/pp.2015.62010>.