What is CBD? We’ve heard so much about it over the past few years. Is it legal, is it weed? To be honest, there isn’t one easy answer. It really just depends. We’ve provided an overview of CBD oil, how it’s made, potential health benefits of CBD hemp oil, consumption and some of our favorite products.
According to Project CBD, Cannabidiol (CBD) is a cannabis compound that has significant medical benefits, but doesn’t make people feel ‘stoned’ and can counteract the psychoactivity of THC. Because it has low, sometimes barely traceable amounts of THC, a lot of people assume it is legal. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. In December of 2016, the Drug Enforcement Administration published a rule considering it illegal. The catch? You can still find it online and in retail stores around the country. If you’re not sure what to make of that, no worries, we really aren’t either. Be careful and make sure to take your local laws into consideration before engaging in any activity that may be deemed illegal. The good news is CBD is definitively legal in legal cannabis states.
How is CBD Oil Made?
CBD hemp oil is made much like traditional marijuana. It all starts with selecting the right cannabis genetics. You can create CBD oil from THC full marijuana or hemp plants, but it’s most important to choose a strain with naturally high levels of CBD present. While it is possible to extract CBD oil from all marijuana plants, ones with a higher occurrence of the cannabinoid CBD will yield better results overall.
You start the same way you’d start any grow – either purchase a plant or begin with marijuana seeds. Once you’ve cultivated your product, you send the plant material away for extraction – just like the process for making any sort of marijuana cartridges for vaping. There are several different types of extracts – whole plant or partial plant. They mean exactly what you think. Medically, whole-plant tends to be the most popular as it is believed that more cannabinoids are captured during the extraction process.
When using the ‘whole plant’ extraction process, the actual CBD oils themselves are made in a few different ways. The ‘original way’ coined by Rick Simpson requires you to soak the plant material in a solvent like grain alcohol. Once the material is soaked, the remaining oil is ready for consumption. While great small scale, ethanol is generally used to help keep up with demands of commercial consumption. Once the plant material is soaked in the ethanol, the resulting solution is put through a ‘Roto-Vap’ to heat it causing evaporation. Instead of evaporating into the air, the Roto-Vap holds onto the ethanol for later use – recycling it in a sense. In a separate chamber of the Roto-Vap, the CBD oil is left behind free of solvent and ready to use.
Another method of extraction is by using CO2. This isn’t for your average home grower as it requires much more skill and equipment. To put it simply, using this method means that the CO2 is forced directly through the plant material. This causes the solution to react and separate. As the cannabinoids separate, they are gathered in separate chambers, ultimately providing more control to the manufacturer. It takes quite a bit of skill to make your own CBD oil, so we recommend finding a product already available on the market. Once you have it, you can start enjoying the CBD oil benefits.
What are the Benefits of CBD Hemp Oil?
Because of CBD oil’s lack of THC and ‘high’ feeling, it has become an appealing option for patients looking for alternative treatment options. Draxe defines the following as the benefits of CBD hemp oil:
- Relieves pain and inflammation
- Antipsychotic effects
- Reduces anxiety
- Can help comfort cancer patients
- Relives nausea
- May treat seizures and other neurological disorders
- Lowers incidence of diabetes
- Promotes cardiovascular health
There are dozens of other potential benefits that haven’t been fully tested or proven by the medical community. Find the right strain by paying attention to any symptoms you suffer from and document how you feel after using the product.
How Should I Consume CBD?
Cannabidiols are most often smoked, vaped or in the medical community, often turned into inhalable concentrates. There are a number of non-smokable forms available at medicinal dispensaries. These can be taken orally (edibles, lozenges, drinks, gel caps or tinctures) or taken sublingually. You can also toke concentrated cannabis oil directly through a vape pen. Most users find that vaping provides the quickest relief from acute symptoms.
CBD Oil Dosage Chart
According to CBD Oil Review, it’s important to treat dosages as guidelines or starting points. Everyone is different and the same dosage will not work for each person. When taking CBD oil, it’s best to start small and gradually increase until you get to your desired result.
The CBD Oil Review serving standard is 25mg of CBD taken twice daily. It is also recommended that you try increasing your dosage every 3-4 weeks by 25mg until symptom relief. On the flipside, decrease regularly if symptoms lessen.
Some more specific dosage guidelines from COR include:
- To increase appetite in cancer patients: 2.5 milligrams of THC by mouth with or without 1 mg of CBD for six weeks
- To treat chronic pain: 2.5-20 mg CBD by mouth for an average of 25 days
- To treat epilepsy: 200-300 mg of CBD by mouth daily for up to 4.5 months
- To treat movement problems associated with Huntington’s disease: 10 mg per kilogram of CBD by mouth daily for six weeks
- To treat sleep disorders: 40-160 mg CBD by mouth
Best CBD Products
Since CBD is more widely available, there are a ton of different products to choose from. A few of our favorites are:
- Neos Pure CBD Cartridge
- Mary’s Medicinals makes great topicals for symptom relief
- Pure Kana Natural CBD Oil
The Spot420 carries a variety of CBD oil products. Visit either of our Southern Colorado locations and talk to a budtender about what is best for your particular needs. The Benefits of CBD Hemp Oil are well documented making it a great product to try.
