Further Resources

How to Safely Source CBD

CBD is very popular right now. Everyone wants a taste of the cannabinoid. But while it’s terrific news that so many people have access to CBD, this also means that scammers are trying to make a quick buck by selling low-quality products. Since CBD is still largely unregulated, a lot of companies are doing whatever they can to cash in, including selling products that contain unsafe additives or even pesticides. This means that before you can incorporate CBD into your self-care routine, you need to make sure you’re doing whatever you can to purchase safe, clean, high-quality CBD products.

Shop with Reputable Retailers

The first way to make sure you’re purchasing high-quality CBD is to shop with reputable retailers. If you live in a US state where cannabis is legal, you can obtain trustworthy CBD products at a dispensary. In legal states, in addition to hemp-derived CBD, dispensaries also sell CBD extracted from marijuana with a low THC ratio. Remember that anything hemp-based must have THC levels below 0.3 percent. Even in US medical states, where CBD and cannabis are available with a medical card, most dispensaries sell dependable CBD products that anyone can purchase. If you don’t want to shop at a dispensary, try your local CBD store. You can also legally buy hemp-derived CBD online. Websites such as www.leafly.com review CBD brands and can offer insight from other consumers.

Read Labels

They say not to judge a book by its cover, but you can learn a lot from reading the label of a CBD product. Make sure that the label states how much CBD the product contains, rather than merely the words hemp oil. Hemp oil can simply mean oil from hemp seeds, which contains trace amounts of CBD, but not enough to justify selling it as a CBD product.

It’s also useful to know how the CBD is extracted from the plant. Do not use anything made with toxic solvents such as butane, hexane, and propane. Ethanol (grain alcohol) is a safe extraction method. Many companies use CO₂, which is also a reliable method.

You should also make sure your CBD’s label clarifies whether it’s full spectrum, broad spectrum, or CBD isolate. Remember that full spectrum keeps all the other plant goodness in addition to the CBD, broad spectrum includes some of the rest of the plant, and isolate is pure CBD. Different people prefer different extractions, but regardless of what you want to use, it’s a good sign when a product clarifies what you’re getting on the label. Check out some of the CBD companies in the following Resource List for happy, healthy shopping.