Finding the Best CBD Oil in The Wild, Wild West of Retail Hemp

With CBD rapidly gaining popularity and new, hemp-based CBD products exploding across retail shelves, learning how to choose the best CBD oil is more important than ever. The industry’s lack of federal oversight and regulation has fostered a “Wild West” sort of market for CBD, which leaves the consumer with no legal quality guarantees. A recent warning letter by the FDA, issued in April of 2019, warned consumers again of CBD products, stating, “many were found to not contain the levels of CBD they claimed to contain.”¹ Our health should be treated with respect and held in high regard; the same is true for our medicine. CBD products are now available everywhere, from local drugstores, health food stores, and even gas stations. But it’s worth asking yourself, would you buy medicine for your significant other or child at a 7/11 or Speedway? While convenience stores and gas stations are handy for refueling your vehicle and body during a long journey, they’re not the best place to find high quality CBD. This article will explore the benefits of CBD, the various types of CBD products, and to how to find the best CBD oil—because the quality of your medicine matters.

What is Cannabidiol and Why Is Everyone Talking About It?

While CBD may only be one of over a hundred active compounds in the cannabis plant, it has garnered significant media attention and evolved into a multi-billion dollar industry on its own merits.² While similar in structure to THC, the main psychoactive compound in cannabis, CBD has unique mechanisms of action and health benefits that distinguish it from THC and other cannabinoids. The most significant benefits reproduced in clinical literature and endorsed by CBD advocates are its analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and anxiolytic properties.^3–5 Perhaps most curious of all is the fact that CBD is non-psychoactive; it does not produce a buzz or “high” like its psychoactive counterpart, THC. This is especially appealing for medicating pediatrics and patients who generally want to avoid the psychoactive effects of THC. As mentioned, there is an ever-growing variety of CBD products that span a wide spectrum in quality. Understanding how to find the best CBD oil for you requires a basic understanding of the three different types of Hemp-Based CBD products, and which one is the most conducive to ensuring optimal healing and well-being.

Isolate vs. Broad Spectrum vs. Full Spectrum: Exploring Various CBD Formulas

There are many different CBD products, including some that claim to have CBD but have been found to contain none. Understanding the differences in CBD formulations can help you find the best CBD oil for personal use. There are three primary hemp-based CBD formulations: Isolate, Broad Spectrum, and Full Spectrum products. Both CBD isolate and broad-spectrum products, by definition, do not or should not contain any THC. CBD isolate is just that: purified CBD only, with no additional cannabinoids or terpenoids. Since this is the easiest to test in a single-molecule, clinical setting, it is not surprising that the first FDA approved CBD medication (used for forms of severe childhood epilepsy) was an isolate product called Epidiolex.

CBD Isolates Lack the “Entourage Effect” but are Still Effective in Some Cases

While Epidiolex has been shown to be effective in the treatment of seizures in a specific patient community, the overall consensus is that CBD isolate products are not as effective as broad and full spectrum products. This is due to the beneficial properties of the “entourage effect” missing from isolate products, as CBD is taken “out of context” of various other therapeutic compounds in the plant that work in synergistic harmony when consumed together.⁶

False Claims & Contaminated Products Necessitates Lab Testing and Labeling

When purchasing CBD, consumers should always check for independent, third party lab testing to evaluate a brand’s dedication to quality, assess how much CBD is in that particular product, and what other constituents the product contains. To demonstrate just how wild the CBD frontier can be, it’s worth noting a scientific study, indicating there may be fungi in medical cannabis, which clearly makes the case from a health perspective alone (no one likes moldy medication), as to the value of quality control testing.⁷ Innovative Wellness produce CBD tinctures that are always comprehensively tested and profiled by independent, third party laboratories. Having this done is often costly and time-consuming, but adds great value to patients by giving them high quality medications.

A Practice in Conscious Capitalism: A Lesson in Transparency

It is important to practice a conscious capitalism and offer consumers clear, concise readouts of lab values for health products. Unfortunately, not every CBD retailer is so committed to providing that level of quality to their customers. Finding CBD brands committed to long-term service, safety, and the responsible use of medication in treating illness is fundamental in finding the best quality medicine to restore optimal well-being to your mind and body. This starts with a commitment by the brand to be transparent and honest with their clients.

Finding a Trusted Brand with a Quality Product

While there are many CBD vendors out there, very few are physician formulated, high-quality products backed by a brand that can be trusted and that has already been established in the care of countless patients. Strong customer service, professional ordering and delivery experience, and the availability of resourceful content all factor into what makes a CBD brand “the best.”

Works Cited

1. Commissioner, O. of the. Warning Letters and Test Results for Cannabidiol-Related Products. FDA (2019).
2. Cannabis sativa: The Plant of the Thousand and One Molecules. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4740396/. (Accessed: 14th May 2019)
3. Ahmed, W. & Katz, S. Therapeutic Use of Cannabis in Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Gastroenterol. Hepatol. 12, 668–679 (2016).
4. Hammell, D. et al. Transdermal cannabidiol reduces inflammation and pain-related behaviours in a rat model of arthritis. Eur. J. Pain Lond. Engl. 20, 936–948 (2016).
5. Blessing, E. M., Steenkamp, M. M., Manzanares, J. & Marmar, C. R. Cannabidiol as a Potential Treatment for Anxiety Disorders. Neurotherapeutics 12, 825–836 (2015).
6. Russo, E. B. Taming THC: potential cannabis synergy and phytocannabinoid-terpenoid entourage effects. Br. J. Pharmacol. 163, 1344–1364 (2011).
7. Too Many Mouldy Joints – Marijuana and Chronic Pulmonary Aspergillosis. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3103256/. (Accessed: 23rd June 2019)