Unfortunately, there is no simple way for consumers to know what or who to trust when making a purchase. The CBD market is still largely unregulated due to how brand new the market is as a whole. Below is a list of what to avoid when purchasing your first batch of CBD oil.
THE NEW ERA OF CBD
The CBD market has been exploding over the past couple of years. CBD is known for its remedies of suppressing seizure activities, nausea reduction, and combating cancerous cells. CBD was originally used as a tribal medicine in many ancient civilizations around the world. Yet, it is still quite unknown and foreign in our modern world. This is mainly due to the fact that CBD products had been prohibited in all fifty states over the past few decades.
CBD was first introduced into western medicine in the mid 1800s, and since then, numerous research and articles were written on the topic over the course of the century.
However, the huge surge of marijuana usage and our political leaders who were utterly confused led to the prohibition of all cannabis plants in the 1900s. The prohibition included all industrial CBD oil and hemp applications. Unfortunately, these restrictions caused much of the progress and findings behind CBD to be quietly forgotten during the rest of the 20th century.
The legalization of hemp that took place in the early 2000s started the reemergence of CBD oil as well. A ton of big risk came along with its reintroduction. Since CBD has been suppressed in our society for such a long period of time, there is a limited sense of transparency behind the products. This fact has made it easier for greedy businesses to take full advantage of customers who are willing to pay whatever amount of money it takes to heal their loved ones who are sick and suffering.
Where Does CBD Come From?
The least processed form of the cannabis plant is known as hemp. Hemp contains most of the CBD that people use medicinally. Marijuana and Hemp come from the same plant known as cannabis sativa, but the two differ in many ways. Marijuana farmers have selectively bred their plants to contain high levels of THC and other compounds that raised any sort of interest to them, this is often because the compounds produced a smell or had another effect on the plants flowers. However,hemp farmers have rarely made any modifications to the plant. These hemp plants are utilized to created CBD oil.
Why the CBD Oil Market is Risky
The target market of most CBD companies are mainly ones who are suffering from some kind of illness. The market could range from those who experience frequent episodes of nausea to those who are battling cancer. No matter the illness, these patients are suffering from chronic pain that is not being cured by regular medicine. Many of the people who turn to CBD oil are very desperate to find a treatment that works. A desperate market is the perfect demographic for people to target. Hemp farming is still prohibited in this country. The federal government has legalized domestic hemp farming in 2014 via the Farm Bill Act, but only a few of the states have actually granted licenses to farmers to commercially cultivate hemp. Because of the limited supply have resulted in higher prices and the need to import CBD oil from other countries like Eastern Europe and China. The main problem for consumers is the lack of transparency when it comes to the CBD’s origin. There is no real data behind the quality control and volume behind these CBD oil imports.
The main reason why the cultivation environment of hemp is so important is because of hemp’s way of absorbing contaminants from the soil as it grows. If the soil that the hemp was grown in is not good, clean soil, the plant may contain high levels of mercury. The biggest issue regarding labeling is that companies mislead their customers when it comes to the CBD dosage on their bottles. A transparent company’s CBD strength is reflective of the actual active CBD in that particular product. If a bottle says 200 mg of CBD, then that product should actually contain 200 mg. There are a lot of CBD companies that will display the milligram dosage of their hemp oil without publishing the strength of their CBD that is actually active.
As a customer, it is important should always request third party lab results that test for pesticides, potency, and residual solvents, as well as mycotoxins of CBD hemp oil. If a company is hesitant or reluctant to share these kinds of results with you, that should be an indication of an automatic red flag, and that they may have something to hide. It is also important that customers pay attention to the dosage listed on the bottle and compare it to the actual active CBD in the product. These are two totally different measurements that could have a strong effect on the potency of the product.
The CBD industry is a booming market. Many entrepreneurs with good intentions are entering this space to provide an alternate solution or route for those who are suffering from chronic pain and illnesses. But, along with any growing market comes greedy businesses who plan to take advantage of vulnerable customer demographic who are looking for a remedy for their loved ones.
Nutritional Value of CBD
People tend to lean on prescription or over the counter drugs to relieve pain and stiffness, this includes chronic pain as well. Some believe that CBD offers an alternative that is more natural. After researching the effectiveness and safety of CBD oil for a number of conditions that are characterized by epileptic seizures. Lennox-Gastaut syndrome is a condition that appears between the ages of 3 and 5 years old and involves a variety of different seizures. Dravet syndrome is a rare genetic condition that can appear in the first year of life and involves fever related seizures that happen frequently. These two types of seizures are difficult to control with other types of medication. People that live with these conditions often turn to CBD to aid in the reduction of seizures and other symptoms and side effects like neurodegeneration, neuronal injury, and psychiatric diseases. CBD may also produce effects that are similar to those found with antipsychotic drugs. Antipsychotic drugs are mainly used to treat patients with schizophrenia, more research is needed to determine if these drugs can be replaced with the use of CBD.
Based on previous research, CBD may be proven to combat cancer. The research noted that the compound tends to suppress the overall growth of cancer cells, as well as promote the destruction of pre-existing cancer cells. CBD has an extremely low level of toxicity. More research is needed to determine CBD’s potential as an accompaniment to standard cancer treatments. CBD has also been noted as a treatment for acne. The condition is caused by inflammation and sebaceous glands in the body that have been overworked. Based on previous research, CBD helps to lower the production of sebum in the skin that leads to acne. This is because of the anti-inflammatory properties that CBD can provide.
Is it Legal?
Cannabis is legal for either recreational or medicinal use in some states in the U.S. Other states have approved the use of CBD oil as a hemp product but not the general use of medical marijuana. Some federal and state laws differ from one another, and current CBD and marijuana legislation in the U.S. can be daunting, especially in states where marijuana is legal. There are a number of states that do not consider marijuana to be legal, but have laws that are directly related to CBD oil. Different states require different levels of prescription to possess and utilize CBD oil. It is imperative that anyone that is looking to use CBD oil should speak with a local healthcare provider.
