CBD Buyer’s Awareness

Is CBD Oil Right for Me? A First-Time Buyer’s Guide

As a first-time buyer, education is the key factor in determining if CBD oil is right for you. This guide will serve as a trusted source of information, as it's important to have a basic understanding of what's actually in your CBD tinctures, capsules and topicals.

Buyer Awareness:

5 Things to Look for When Buying CBD Oil Online

Before you buy CBD oil online, be sure to keep an eye out for these five factors:

  • 1. “Free trial bottle – just pay shipping”

    One of the most prevalent scams involving CBD oil is those offering “free trial bottles.” When they use a credit card, it will either be charged multiple times for the shipping fee or charged monthly for a “club” that you probably didn’t realize you were joining.

  • 2. Selling only on social media

    Be wary when buying solely from social media CBD suppliers. In addition to violating the terms of service for most social media sites, sellers often can’t provide lab results about their CBD oil.

  • 3. No third-party lab results

    Much like social media advertising, anyone can claim to sell CBD oil. Before buying CBD oil online, review their independent third-party lab results publicly posted online. If there are no third-party lab results available, request them before purchase. If they can’t provide them, avoid making a purchase.

  • 4. A limited number of reviews

    Before buying CBD oil online, be sure to read all the reviews – both good and bad – on the company website, at independent news websites, and through social media. If there are no reviews or very few reviews, be wary of falsely advertised quality CBD oil.

  • 5. “Miracle drug” claims

    If a CBD oil company makes outlandish claims about their product’s potential, be aware. Only buy CBD oil from companies that can provide the science behind their products.

How to Ensure Your CBD Oil Contains the Right Amount

Reputable CBD sources use domestic hemp grown using organic farming methods, proper manufacturing techniques, and provide third-party lab reports. Now it’s time to look at another important question: how much CBD are you actually getting?


Most CBD oil products will have a number on the front of the bottle, often ranging from 300 mg to 10000 mg. This number is not the amount of CBD oil you get in every tincture or capsule but is instead the total amount of CBD contained within the CBD oil product.


The actual amount of CBD you receive should be the total CBD number on the front (in milligrams), divided by the number of servings in the bottle.

Buying Power: Where to Buy CBD Oil?

Now that you understand what CBD is, your next question may be where to buy CBD oil. You can often buy CBD oil online, at dispensaries, and specialty retail stores.


One of the downsides of buying CBD oil at a dispensary or specialty retail shop is quality control. Because retailers are purchasing products from external extractors, they often don’t provide lab reports or purity analysis.


When you buy CBD oil direct from companies that provide information about their manufacturing process and post verified lab reports, you can rest assured you are getting high-quality CBD oil.

 

Understanding Which CBD Oil is Right for You: The Difference Between Marijuana and Hemp

One of the biggest misconceptions about CBD oil is the idea it comes exclusively from marijuana. Although marijuana plants do contain CBD, products using CBD extracted from marijuana can contain higher concentrations of THC.


When Congress passed the Agricultural Act of 2014, better known as the “Farm Bill,” the law opened the door for closely monitored industrial hemp growth.


Both hemp and marijuana come from the same plant species – Cannabis sativa – but vary in THC composition. THC, otherwise known as tetrahydrocannabinol, is the most infamous cannabinoid due to its high-inducing properties.


Hemp is bred to have lower THC concentrations. Conversely, marijuana is grown to have high THC content. Only hemp-derived CBD oil is federally legal because it is extracted from industrial hemp containing less than 0.3 percent THC.