The proliferation of recreational and medical cannabis has opened the flood gates to entrepreneurs looking to make money in the industry. Unfortunately, it has also led to a lot of ignorance among consumers who do not always know what they are buying. The many differences in CBD products illustrate the ignorance pretty clearly.

If you buy CBD products, how much do you know about them? It is in your best interests to know a number of things including plant source, ingredients, and even the difference between CBD and hemp oil. The more you know, the more prepared you are to make a wise decision before you buy.

Where CBD Comes From

‘CBD’ is an acronym that stands for cannabidiol. It is one of more than a hundred cannabinoids found in cannabis plants. It can be derived from nearly every cannabis strain. This is why it is important to know the plant from which a particular CBD product was sourced.

Take a marijuana plant, for example. It contains both CBD and THC. The important thing to note is that its THC content is in excess of 0.3%. So if the CBD in your favorite supplement was derived from marijuana, it came from a plant that also had a relatively high volume of THC.

On the other hand, industrial hemp has less than 0.3% THC by volume. Hemp is still cannabis, and it still contains CBD. In fact, hemp offers more CBD than marijuana. This may be important to you when you are shopping for CBD supplements.

If you find this confusing, you might want to check out the Utah Marijuana website. They have a page devoted to discussing the differences between CBD and THC. They make it pretty easy to understand.

The Spectrum Question

Next up, do you know the difference between full-spectrum and broad-spectrum CBD? A lot of people do not. They also don’t know much about CBD isolate.

Here’s the skinny:

• Full Spectrum – CBD oil that has not been further distilled in order to isolate just the CBD. It includes other cannabinoids and terpenes, including THC
• Broad Spectrum – The same as full-spectrum, except without the THC.
• CBD Isolate – A CBD oil that is nearly pure. It has been distilled to remove all other cannabinoids and terpenes.

Why do you need to know this information? Because your body may react to full-spectrum one way and broad-spectrum another. You may have a completely different reaction to CBD isolate. And quite frankly, some people are happy to use CBD but have no desire to consume THC.

CBD vs. Hemp Oil

Legitimate CBD products will be packaged with proper labeling. Labels should clearly explain sourcing. If you see a label that contains either no sourcing information or a vague explanation that doesn’t mean much, you may be purchasing a hemp oil or hemp extract product. There may be no CBD in it at all.

The interesting thing about manufacturing CBD products is that it is not as easy as it sounds. The first step in the manufacturing process is extraction. In principle, extraction is easy enough to understand. But in practice, it is complicated. If you don’t get it right, you could end up with a cannabis crude oil offering very little CBD. But no worries. You can always sell it as hemp oil, right?

The legal cannabis market is growing in leaps and bounds. There is a lot to learn and only so much time to take it all in. Unfortunately, that means ignorance abounds. If you don’t know a lot about CBD, educate yourself before you start using it.