When buying a product, it is essential to ensure its quality, not just through the person selling it to you, but through your own experience because it just makes a huge difference. Since CBD oil is mostly used for medical purposes, investing in a low-quality CBD product can be a gross waste of money.
Picture buying a CBD oil only to find that instead of two drops, you are forced to use a spoonful just to get the pain relief you want. To help you avoid any mishaps like this, here are a few easy steps to help you separate the hemp-equivalent of wheat from the chaff.
Understand the Strains
Understanding the different strains is simple, but first, you have to know the difference between hemp and marijuana. While both contain CBD and THC, hemp contains a high amount of CBD and an insignificant amount of THC. Upon using a CBD product, you will experience physical and mental relief without that ‘high’ effect. However, not all hemp strains are the same, and this is where the other cannabis components come in.
Other than the fact that CBD concentration differs from one strain to the other, not all strains have the same concentration of terpenes and flavonoids that provide numerous benefits. Terpenes and flavonoids enhance the effects of CBD while making it easier for the skin to absorb the chemicals. They have also been proven to have a positive impact on our mood, a calming effect on our body, and anti-inflammatory effects that relieve the pain and tension in our joints and muscles.
Because the percentage and components differ from one strain to the other, your choice should depend on what you want out of your hemp or your CBD product. The best way to go about determining its quality is to research the strain you’re buying. Ask your retailer and look for medical articles, lab tests, and customer reviews online. Talking to knowledgeable hemp growers will also help you get the information you need before making any purchases. If you find that your retailer is giving you little information about the strain they’re selling, and your own research is not bearing any fruit, you’ll most likely be wasting your money by using that product.
Where Was the Hemp Grown?
Hemp is both famous and infamous for being a highly absorbent plant. Fortunately, the fact that the quality of hemp plants mainly depends on the soil and climate in which they grow makes it extremely easy to determine whether or not you are getting a high-quality product. This is why many reputable CBD companies list the source of their produce. It has become a professional practice, as we have seen from Royal and Pure CBD; by providing such simple information, the experienced users can tell a whole lot. First off, it is always a good sign if the hemp has been grown in Oregon and Colorado because most of the hemp farming programs there are sponsored by the states’ Department of Agriculture.
In such a new industry where production is usually not regulated, having a state-sponsored program guarantees a high standard of production. Secondly, the best hemp is grown in places where the air is dry, and the temperature is around 60°F, which means that places like France, some states in America, and China where the summers are not too hot, and the winters are not too cold are perfect. So you can’t really go wrong with hemp or CBD products that are manufactured in any of these countries is your best bet.
Read Lab Tests
To ensure their quality, reliable companies test their products and keep their certificate of analysis (COA) available for shoppers to reassure them that these products are of high quality. Some have it readily available on their websites, while others provide it upon request. The tests themselves are conducted by third-party laboratories that aren’t related to the company. This guarantees that the test results are unbiased towards the company or its competitors. Through those tests, you can extract three pieces of information about the quality of your hemp.
Plant Potency
One thing to look for in the analysis report is the concentrations of CBD, THC, and other components. Ordinarily, you should use the strain to determine the effectiveness of your plant. Based on your knowledge of the strain, you can determine its purity. If you are checking the COA for a certain product, you can compare the numbers to see if the concentrations listed on the product label match the ones in the report.
Plant Quality
As we have mentioned before, hemp is highly absorbent, meaning that whatever is in the soil is guaranteed to make its way into the plant. Metal and pesticide analyses should tell you all about the soil in which the hemp was grown. Ideally, you want a product with the lowest metal and pesticide concentrations possible. Keep in mind that while the hemp sample may pass the test and be considered safe for consumption, this doesn’t mean that the product is of high quality. If anything, the presence of a high concentration of heavy metals is concrete evidence that the soil, and therefore the hemp, is of poor quality.
Other Contaminants
While heavy metals and pesticides pose a threat to consumers, pathogenic bacteria are much worse. In the COA, you should be able to find accurate test results regarding any possible microbiological threats. No amount of pathogens is safe for consumption, so unless the test is negative, you shouldn’t buy the product. On the off-chance that the test is missing from the COA, you should either contact the company or opt for a different supplier since missing information is a cause for concern.
In the past, there was little to no information about CBD and hemp products. Nowadays, through the aforementioned methods, you can easily assess the quality of the hemp or hemp-based products you are buying right from the comfort of your home. Just make sure you are getting your information from reliable sources. Every time you try a new product, make sure you take note of its effects and your state before and after using the product. Keep the details in a journal along with the CBD, THC, and terpene concentrations as well as the hemp strain and any other relevant details. This process of active observation should help you form your own opinions regarding the quality of different hemp products in no time.