Spot Deceptive Practices & Avoid Inferior Products
When there is a significant public interest in a product, there will inevitably be an increase in the number of companies hoping to turn a profit from soaring popularity. While many offer quality products, there will always be more than a few willing to take advantage of unsuspecting customers.
When purchasing hemp CBD, a product with significant health and wellness potential, it’s important to know how to recognize the good products and avoid the bad. The quality of the products you select will have a significant impact on your CBD experience. Here’s a list of six suggestions that could help you avoid inferior products and spot deceptive marketing practices.
#1 Know the Difference
As people are beginning to differentiate between the cannabis plants and embrace hemp oil as a safe, natural dietary supplement, you may have noticed a dramatic increase in the number of hemp oil products available. Some of these products are being misrepresented in a way that leads customers to believe they are purchasing CBD, but the products contain no CBD at all. Most of these products are little more than highly-priced hemp seed oil.
While we hold hemp seed oil in high esteem, it’s important to know that CBD is extracted from the fibrous stalks and stems of the hemp plant, not the seeds. Hemp seed oil does not contain CBD. Some retailers are taking advantage of the confusion at the expense of the consumer.
You can protect yourself from misinformation by verifying that the products you select are created from the oil extracted from the stalks and stems of the hemp plant.
#2 Companies Specify CBD Content
The amount of CBD in a CBD product matters. A CBD product with an unspecified amount of cannabidiol (CBD) is unlikely to have enough CBD to be of any significant value. To ensure the potency of the products you select, avoid products with descriptions using non-specific terms such as “fastest acting” or highest potency” unless they also disclose the CBD content to substantiate their claims.
Reputable hemp CBD companies specify the amount of CBD their products contain in milligrams. In the case of CBD capsules, or edible, you may see the amount per piece specified, but most often, particularly for topicals, vape products, and tinctures, the number of milligrams shown for the CBD content refers to the total amount of cannabidiol in the package.
#3 Companies that Provide Evidence
Any company can make a claim; the best companies back their claims with verifiable evidence. When selecting your CBD products, it’s important to place your trust in companies willing to back up their claims by providing their customers access to third-party batch testing results. Batch test results can be used to verify CBD content.
In addition to verifying the CBD content of your products, batch test results from an accredited cannabis testing facility also give you access to a significant amount of product information. Consider using batch-test information to verify the safety and quality of your CBD. You can use the test results to verify:
- Your product does not contain harmful chemicals
- The plant extract is not contaminated by heavy metals from the soil
- Your CBD does not contain potentially harmful residue from questionable extraction processes
- That CBD isolate products are THC-free
- Your full-spectrum products contain other potentially beneficial cannabinoids
- That product is free from microbial contamination
#4 Crops Grown Using Organic Farming Methods
While hemp is not commonly certified as an organic product, it is essential that the hemp used to create your CBD products has been cultivated using organic farming practices. Hemp absorbs toxins and is often used for phytoremediation to clean contaminated soil. Any toxins used during cultivation or lurking in the soil can end up in your hemp CBD oil.
Reputable product manufacturers understand the importance of relying on crops grown using organic farming methods. Those who do will let you know. When a manufacturer claims their products are made from industrial hemp grown using organic practices, that means:
- The soil is tested before planting to verify the soil is contaminant-free
- Cultivation begins with the planting of non-GMO hemp seeds
- Plants are grown without the use of fungicides, herbicides, or pesticides
- Crops are cultivated and harvested without the use of antibiotics or radiation
#5Companies Who Specify Their Extraction Methods
Since CBD is found in the stalks and stems of the industrial hemp plant, the plant oils must be extracted before the CBD can be used for health and wellness products, much like any other essential oil. When making a product selection, it is important to know the extraction method used to separate the oil from the plant matter. The method selected must be food-safe. The two most commonly used safe extraction methods include:
- CO2 Extraction CO2 extraction separates the oil from the plant matter through a system of temperature and pressure-controlled chambers. As the pressure of the carbon dioxide increases, the gas is converted to a near liquid state, releasing the essential oils and aromatics from the plant matter. Heat is used to separate the extract from the CO2 mixture.
- Ethanol Extraction. Ethyl alcohol is commonly used as a preservative and food additive. The alcohol is used to release the oil from the plant matter; then the oil is evaporated. There are many types of products that rely on ethanol extraction. Vanilla beans are a great example. Vanilla extract contains ethyl alcohol. If the ethyl alcohol is evaporated, the resulting product is sold as pure vanilla oil.
#6 Larger Bottles May Not Be the Best
When shopping for hemp CBD, particularly CBD tinctures, remember that it’s the number of milligrams of CBD that count, not the amount of liquid in the bottle. CBD tinctures are a combination of CBD extract and carrier oil. The concentration of the formulation will determine how much of the product you will take per dose.
If you shop according to bottle size believing that a bigger bottle will give you more for your money, you could end up disappointed. It’s the CBD content, the number of milligrams of CBD, that matter. If that larger sized bottle of CBD you are considering is significantly less money than other brands, there is likely a catch. Check out the CBD content and third-party verification. A larger than average bottle for an exceptionally low price is likely to contain little CBD per milliliter. Knowing that CBD milligrams matter more than the total amount of liquid could help keep you from making a potentially costly mistake.
Shop CannaBiz Depot for Verifiable Quality
When shopping for CBD, it’s important to have a general understanding of how to differentiate between products, and separate the good from the bad. By shopping with companies who specify the amount of CBD in their products, rely on organic farming methods, and use safe extraction methods, you can relax a bit. When you rely on manufacturers who support their claims of purity and potency with batch testing information, you have learned to distinguish between the good, the bad, and the best.
For hemp CBD in La Crosse, WI, visit CannaBiz Depot. At CannaBiz Depot, we offer an extensive assortment of hemp CBD products, including CBD tinctures, topicals, edibles, and CBD vape products, from industry leaders including CBDistillery, Lazarus Naturals, and our private-label CannaBiz Depot branded products. All CBD products at CannaBiz Depot are third-party tested and verified to ensure their potency and purity.
CannaBiz Depot also offers a varied assortment of hemp clothing and accessories, hemp foods and beverages, and hemp-derived bath, bed and beauty products. Every product at CannaBiz Depot is made with hemp, a natural, renewable resource.
Additional Sources:
http://hempforhealthnews.com/cbd-scams-dont-fall-for-these-3-tricks/
https://ministryofhemp.com/blog/understanding-different-types-hemp-oil/
https://www.consumerreports.org/marijuana/how-to-shop-for-cbd/
