Identifying High-Quality CBD Products

Most CBD enthusiasts find it hard to differentiate between high-quality and poor-quality CBD products. This article helps you to know how to identify high-quality CBD products by providing data about CBD products and several factors to consider when identifying the best CBD products.

CBD's popularity and usage are growing daily as many people fully know its health benefits, such as alleviating pain, inflammation, anxiety and depression, treating cancer, controlling sleeping disorders, and improving focus and concentration. More CBD companies are emerging to meet the demand, interfering with the quality of CBD products. There are hundreds of different CBD products on the market. At first glance, you may be unable to separate the high quality from the low quality. Still, each product has different CBD concentrations, ingredients such as carrier oil, and CBD potency. In this article, one should consider those factors to ensure you purchase high-quality CBD products. Learn more about why does cbd taste bad?

CBD Products

Hoban et al. (2020) stated that CBD is a chemical compound derived from the cannabis plant. It is processed into CBD topicals, CBD oils, capsules, edibles, vapes, and concentrates. Individuals can take each product depending on their preferences or the medical conditions they want to alleviate.

A high-quality CBD product contains a higher CBD concentration and other user-friendly materials. The low-quality CBD products may be contaminated with other chemicals and have a lower concentration of CBD, hindering the power of CBD to its users.

How to Identify High-Quality CBD Products

Bharmra et al. (2021) explained that when it comes to buying a product, reviewing the product is not enough to determine its product quality. It is important to consider other factors that may affect the quality of the product, like the company's reputation, ingredients used, source of product, and extraction methods. CBD products are no exception; in identifying high-quality CBD products, you must consider the following factors:

• CBD source.
• CBD type.
• Nature of the product (whether the product is organic or inorganic.)
• Extraction methods and process.
• Manufacturer reputation.
• Third-party testing.
• THC content.

CBD Source

CBD is obtained from cultivated cannabis plants. So, where the cannabis plant is grown can determine the quality of CBD products. In addition, the type of cannabis plant also matters a lot.

Suppose the CBD compounds are extracted from cannabis plants cultivated on fertile soils rich in various nutrients and minerals. In that case, the plant will absorb nutrients and minerals, producing a higher quality product. The vice versa is also applicable.

Moreover, the type of cannabis species plants is very important. Products derived from CBD extracted from the popular plant tend to have a higher concentration of CBD compounds and a lower concentration of THC; thus, the product is enriched with enough CBD composition hence higher quality. Marijuana-derived CBD has a lower concentration of CBD than THC, resulting in products with high-quality THC, although THC is highly psychoactive. Learn more about what percentage of cbd is good?

CBD Type

Companies use different extraction techniques to get CBD compounds from industrial hemp resulting in three different types of CBD. According to Johnson et al. (2021), identifying the type of CBD in a product is very important in knowing the quality since each type has its advantages and disadvantages.

1. CBD isolate - CBD compounds are isolated from other natural compounds of the cannabis plant during extraction resulting in a product with only CBD compounds. Products from this CBD type are of higher quality since they have higher potencies of CBD, which doesn't change even when infused into drinks or foods.
2. Full-spectrum CBD products - contain all cannabinoids of the cannabis plant, including traces of THC, which are responsible for causing a 'high' feeling in users. Research says some people prefer taking full-spectrum CBD products to isolate because of the entourage effect, whereby CBD combined with other cannabinoids offers more benefits than an isolated one. However, the products are mostly characterized as low quality since the manufacturers making full spectrum CBD may increase the concentration of other cannabinoids like THC, causing intoxicating effects.
3. Broad-spectrum CBD products - contains mostly CBD compounds alongside other cannabinoids except for THC. They are characterized by providing entourage effects without necessarily consuming THC. Additionally, they have a higher concentration of CBD compounds than other cannabinoids and thus can be classified as a high-quality product.

Nature of the Product

The hemp plant is well known for absorbing everything in the soil; therefore, it can even absorb both essential and harmful metals like mercury and lead. Therefore, to identify a high-quality CBD product, choose one derived from hemp plant cultivated organically, without chemical farming techniques such as pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers. Moreover, high-quality CBD products are those diluted with organic carrier oils such as coconut oil, olive oil, sunflower seed, and hemp seed oil during processing, rather than one diluted with purity industrial oil. The organic status of a product heightens the effects of CBD on the human system.

Extraction Methods and Processes

Three major known extraction and processing methods derive CBD compounds from industrial hemp. Experts advise users to purchase products derived from the CO2 extraction technique since it is known to provide good quality CBD products. Avoid CBD products extracted using a solvent such as butane, as they leave behind toxic contaminants during processing. The use of ethanol is another method that produces high-quality products since ethanol evaporates under little heat exposure.

Manufacturers/ Brand Reputation

The product brand matters a lot. The manufacturer can affect the quality of CBD products. It is important to check the brand's information because it is a convenient way to know the actual quality of CBD products. You can read customer reviews by visiting their website or any other helpful site. One with negative customer opinions automatically offers low-quality products.

Third-Party Testing

According to Blebea et al. (2019), buying a product that has undergone intensive independent third-party lab tests is important. Genuine companies label the result as a product or an inaccessible website for the public. Furthermore, third-party lab test plays a big role in identifying product quality since they state the CBD concentration, THC levels, and whether the product contains traces of heavy metals.

Potency

The potency levels of a product can tell the concentration of CBD in the product. It is usually indicated in the product bottle. Low potency has 3 mg of CBD concentration, and the highest potency is 8 mg and above. The higher the potency, the better the quality.

THC Levels

CBD products with a high level of THC (above 0.3% ) are considered marijuana, and low-quality THC is one of the major components of the cannabis plant, which brings about a 'high' sensation to its users.

Conclusion

The Food and Drug Administration has not regulated the production and marketing of most CBD products; therefore, most manufacturers tend to ignore rules, like ignoring the THC content. Others use chemical dilute instead of organic, while others may produce CBD products with a lower CBD concentration. All this affects the quality of the end CBD product. Since these products are widely available, it is important to look for high-quality CBD products by considering factors such as manufacturer reputation, CBD plant source, CBD type, and THC level content. Furthermore, check the extraction methods, read the customer reviews, and ensure the product has undergone thorough independent third-party testing.

References

Hoban, S., Bruford, M., Jackson, J. D. U., Lopes-Fernandes, M., Heuertz, M., Hohenlohe, P. A., ... & Laikre, L. (2020). Genetic diversity targets and indicators in the CBD post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework must be improved. Biological Conservation, 248, 108654.

Bhamra, S. K., Desai, A., Imani‐Berendjestanki, P., & Horgan, M. (2021). The emerging role of cannabidiol (CBD) products; a survey exploring the public's use and perceptions of CBD. Phytotherapy Research, 35(10), 5734-5740.

Johnson, M. S., & Wallace, J. G. (2021). Genomic and chemical diversity of commercially available high-CBD industrial hemp accessions. Frontiers in genetics, 12, 1160.

BLEBEA¹, N. M., COSTACHE, T., & NEGREȘ, S. (2019). The qualitative and quantitative analysis of CBD in hemp oils by UHPLC with PDA and applications.