CBD oil is not a growing industry but an exploding industry.
People have a lot of questions.
We have the answers!
This guide to CBD oil is designed to help answer questions people may have about CBD oil and to provide an entire overview of this remarkable extract.
Cannabinoids from CBD oil effect a wide range of health issues and with so many strains and products available, it’s difficult to decide what’s best for you.
We hope this information can help narrow down the important facts so you feel comfortable about CBD oil and the experience that comes with it. Cheers to your health!
What is CBD Oil?
Cannabidiol or CBD is a phytocannabinoid found in both cannabis and hemp plants. You can look at phytocannabinoid as a molecule the plant creates on it’s own.
Some plants are very high in CBD while others are higher in Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). For many years, marijuana growers around the world have competing to grow specific plants or strains of plants that are high in THC.
This is because high THC levels usually mean the finished product will have some of the strongest psychoactive effects.
In the 1990s scientists discovered that within our bodies we have an endocannabinoid system that helps to regulate various things such as mood, stress, pain, hunger and more.
Endocannabinoids are chemicals found naturally throughout our nervous systems. Not only is this system present in humans, but almost all animals have this system as well including, dogs, cats, cows, fish, and many more.
When this system becomes too low in cannabinoids, it can lead to an imbalance in one or more areas. In order to bring the system back to balance, a person may introduce CBD or other cannabinoids to regulate what the body cannot create on it’s own.
This is why CBD has such a wide range of uses. The same CBD tincture an elderly woman may use to relax at night may also be used by a younger person to help with chronic pain.
CBD oil is an isolated form of phytocannabinoids that is concentrated into a liquid and then sold in small tincture bottles. When you look at the back of the bottle, you will notice the words “CBD” or “Hemp Oil” with possibly the addition of common oils such as coconut.
In order to isolate the CBD cannabinoid from the plant, scientists can use various solvents and equipment.
This varies heavily between producers so it’s important for the CBD user to do a thorough background check on the extraction process and company procedures.
Most people agree that the purest form of CBD is created through solventless extraction.
For most users, CBD has been shown to have little to no psychoactive effect. In medical marijuana dosing facilities, CBD is actually used to help balance out the psychoactive effect of THC.
If you find you’ve ingested too much Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), sometimes taking the right amount of CBD can reduce the negative feelings and bring you back to a comfortable state. I know this from experience.
Taking the correct dosage of CBD can be very tricky since people respond to such a wide range of volume. CBD is usually measured by the milligram.
Typical tinctures have a 1ML dropper with a guide on how many milligrams is in each dropper. For most people, we recommend starting out at around 15MG and splitting this up twice a day.
How CBD Oil Works
When taking CBD for the first time, you are probably wondering how this new cannabinoid interacts with your body.
THC is probably the world’s best known phytocannabinoid. Like THC, CBD is a phytocannabinoid and they both interact with our endocannabinoid system.
This system is responsible for regulating receptors we have throughout our bodies. When our internal system is in balance we call this homeostasis.
Staying in homeostasis means our bodies can regulate and heal themselves in the most efficient environment.
Will I Get High?
One of the most common questions people ask when first taking CBD is; Will this get me high? A lot of people really don’t want to experience a high or have the feeling of euphoria.
Many people are uncomfortable with marijuana in general. THC is not something everyone has or wanted to experiment with in their lives and has as strong psychoactive effect.
CBD, on the other hand, typically does not have any sort of strong psychoactive effect on the user. It has been legal to sell over the counter in the US for this very reason .
CBD can actually reduce the ‘high’ feeling of THC to bring you back to balance.
Also CBD and THC can be used together to increase the potency of healing effects from one or the other.
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CBD is introduced into the system through application on the skin via lotions as well as ingested.
Did you know? Any mucus membrane on your body can actually absorb cannabinoids. Our eyes, ears, mouth and even our sex organs can absorb CBDs. So, make sure you are careful where you apply lotion with cannabinoids.
Depending on how the user takes CBD results and onsets may significantly vary. Most first time patients are recommended taking CBD sublingually to get the best medicinal value. Although, many users love the effects of the topicals.
Some charts will show CBD as having the most medicinal value of any cannabinoid, but this research is bias. CBD has been popularized in recent years through many stories of children taking CBD for seizures and adults taking CBD for pain.
So many news stories will praise CBD but forget the important benefits of THC and the over 100 other cannabinoids.
The scientific community is struggling to make up for years of prejudice about the plant and finally are getting grants for research from the government.
The Benefits of Using CBD Oil?
Why do people take CBD oil? What are the main benefits for taking this new age product?
Throughout history, humans have been experimenting with the cannabis plant for it’s healing and euphoric properties, yet we have just begun to isolate the various compounds such as CBD.
For this topic, we like to cover the 3 most common areas we see people taking CBD.
Pain
Pain is one of the most common problems people look to CBD for help. At one point or another in our lives, we all experience pain.
Pain is an inevitable obstacle we all must face and there are ways to help.
For thousands of years, people have been using anti-inflammatory plants such as turmeric to help cope with joint and muscle pain.
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Like turmeric, studies have shown CBD to have anti-inflammatory properties when applied topically and ingested.
Lotions and salves that contain CBD are usually expensive and have other essential oils that help with pain as well.
For instance, many people like CBD muscle freezes because they usually contain some sort of menthol essential oil which helps to cool the inflamed area.
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Anxiety
As we have mentioned in other articles, CBD works with other cannabinoids to regulate the endocannabinoid system and bring our bodies to a point of homeostasis.
This balance is key, almost like a yin and yang, keeping us from sending too many resources to the wrong areas and enough resources to the right areas.
When we stay in homeostasis, the peaks of anxiety we face day to day can be greatly diminished.
A long pause in a traffic jam can cause panic to rise followed by troubled breathing and an unhealthy heart rate.
With cannabinoids such as CBD, we can help give ourselves the tools we need to stay in balance and keep the anxiety at bay. You can read more about this below.
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Serious Conditions
When people find themselves in need of serious medical attention, CBD can play an important role.
How exactly CBD helps cancer patients and others is still not entirely researched, but we do know that thousands of positive testimonials are being spread across the world.
Some of us working at Uphempo have had experience in the medical marijuana industry where CBD was instrumental in patient healing.
Both children and adults usually are prescribed higher levels of THC in conjunction with CBD and other cannabinoids.
Sometimes patients do not want to feel the ‘high’ from the large amounts of psychoactive chemicals prescribed so they resort to CBD to reduce the negative feelings.
The Side Effects of Using CBD Oil?
CBD is interesting because people use it for such a wide range of issues. Many use CBD for sleep while others use it for energy.
The way CBD oils interact with our personal balance is still being discovered and can vary greatly from person to person.
Most of the information given in this article is derived directly from Uphempo employees who have been given testimonials from medical patients around the country.
First we like to start with the positive side effects since we have had far more positive than negative results amongst ourselves.
A lot of people use CBD for pain and relaxation. So first time users who take CBD at night, tend to feel a body calming sensation. This calming of the body can have two effects.
One is the reduction of throbbing muscle pain. CBD can help the user not notice the pain because of the mental relaxation. When the body is calm, the mind tends to not notice the pain as much.
The other side effect is help with sleeping. Since it can help balance emotions, CBD may help the person focus on sleeping rather than all the other ideas bouncing around in our heads.
Many cancer patients have reported CBD helping with nausea from their treatments.
On the other hand, just as with almost any medication, CBD can also have some negative effects. Just as the mental relaxation induced by CBD can help with sleep, CBD has also been reported by many to make them feel too tired.
Some take too much CBD in the morning and find they are having trouble staying awake through their work day. It’s important to try CBD on a day you don’t have to work at first to make sure you feel comfortable.
The opposite effect can happen at night. Sometimes people taking CBD for sleep actually become stimulated and find the CBD keeps them awake.
This is why at Uphempo, we usually recommend experimenting and trying CBD at night as well as the morning to see how it may alter you differently than others.
Some other issues we have heard are nausea, lack of appetite, allergic reactions, and no noticeable effects. Some people do not feel the CBD effects at all.
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With all these different effects, at Uphempo we tell people to make sure you always do your research and make sure the CBD as well as the other ingredients in your product coincide with what works for you.
Is CBD Oil Legal?
Do I have to have a medical card to buy CBD? Why are some products sold everywhere while others are reserved only for medical patients?
Don’t worry your safe! (for now)
Right now CBD bought in the United States from a legal federally recognized entity is legal for citizens to buy, transport, and manufacture.
So what this means is any CBD you buy over the counter from a reputable source, will probably be completely legal for you to possess and consume.
The Farm Bill of 2018 set forth new laws by the US government that keep CBD and hemp legal or at least protected for the time being.
Included in this law is the ability for companies to start an industrial hemp farm and use the hemp to create CBD products for sale.
These products can then be sold at any retail location around the country. You are free to transport these products between state lines now since you can be protected by federal law which supersedes state regulations.
Included in this Bill, is the ability for each state to make its own laws regarding the sale and distribution of hemp.
States choosing not to create their own program will default to the federal law system. So it’s key to know whether the laws in your state allow you to cultivate your own hemp or create CBD products.
Each state may have a new set of rules. Read Here.
Why is Some CBD Oil Only Sold at Medical Dispensaries?
Some CBD products are only allowed to be sold through medical marijuana programs in each state. Technically marijuana is still seen as illegal by the federal government.
Although patients are protected by state laws they are NOT protected by federal laws unless under rare circumstances.
CBD sold in medical marijuana dispensaries around the country are derived from marijuana plants. According to the federal government, any cannabis plant containing over .3% THC is considered marijuana.
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Marijuana is still classified on the US government drug classification website as a schedule 1 drug; “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse”.
No currently accepted medical use? How could this possibly be accurate?
This is very disappointing for us at Uphempo because this means that the government does not recognize the state’s medical programs as legitimate.
It’s also confusing since millions of people are using marijuana for medical reasons.
This schedule one class of drugs also includes LSD and heroin. LSD was actually invented by the US government to help soldiers with PTSD.
The name heroin was coined by the company Bayer many years ago to help people with pain and created from the poppy plant.
Heroin is classified as a schedule one although people are legally prescribed opiates derived from the same plant.
Even though there are thousands of documented cases involving cannabis in medical healing it continues to be classified by the federal government as a Schedule One.
Does CBD Oil Show Up On A Drug Test?
In general, CBD products that do not contain any THC will not show up on drug screen tests. Some over the counter CBD products do contain up to the government regulated amount of .3%THC.
A variety of tests can be performed to test for drugs and THC including hair, urine blood, saliva, and more.
A common urine test may test positive for THC even if the CBD product you are buying is very low strength.
CBD products containing THC are usually labeled ‘full spectrum’. Full spectrum describes CBD products that contain CBD as well as other cannabinoids including THC.
Some CBD products are labeled ‘broad spectrum’. Broad spectrum products include CBD as well as some other cannabinoids but does not include any THC.
To sum all of this up, most full spectrum products should include the cannabinoid THC and these can show up in drug tests.
Broad spectrum and “THC Free” labeled products should have all of the THC removed.
Although, make sure to always buy from trusted sources and check the manufacturer’s website for third party lab testing to insure no THC is present on the test.
Uphempo gets more in depth on analyzing third party CBD lab testing here.
It’s very important for the consumer to be careful when purchasing from unknown sources. Some companies are not properly regulated by the FDA and because of the massive changes taking place this year, we should only buy CBD from trusted sources.
Unknown companies without proper testing could contain THC even though they are labeled THC Free.
The Difference Between Full Spectrum, Broad Spectrum and THC Free
With so many cannabidiol (CBD) products out there, how do you know which one is right for you?
CBD is broken down into three main categories; Full Spectrum, Broad Spectrum, and THC Free.
Essentially the manufacturer separates CBD from other cannabinoids in various ways to give people just the right medicine they need.
Some users prefer CBD to be isolated from other compounds to make sure they get exactly the cannabinoid profile they desire.
Specific medical conditions can interact with drugs in negative ways. One way of quickly identifying what is in your product is by analyzing the description on the main label.
Before we go deeper into this topic, it’s important to know that these definitions are merely guides and are actually not regulated by the health department.
Any manufacturer at the moment can say they have broad or full spectrum, but they indeed could be lying.
It’s very easy for someone to create fake labels and trick the consumer into buying the wrong item. Make sure you really research your brand or only buy from trusted retailers. THIS IS KEY!
At Uphempo, we only recommend brands that have solid reputations and third party lab testing.
THC Free Products
Since many of us have to worry about taking drug tests for work, let’s start by going over THC Free products.
During a CBD extraction, scientists have to opportunity to isolate just the CBD cannabinoid and remove the others.
This is called THC Free. In THC Free products, usually only the CBD cannabinoid is left and the others are completely removed.
So lets say you don’t have to take drug tests since you work in the real estate industry and have your medical card, but your best friend is in need of CBD and works in the airline industry.
Your friend has to go through random drug screening and could be fired for showing THC in their test.
One product you could recommend to them is trying CBD that is labeled THC free. Since most employers do not test for CBD specifically, THC Free products should not show up in the test.
THC free products are the safest form of CBD sold over the counter when it comes to random employment drug testing.
Broad Spectrum
Broad spectrum is the next step up for people wanting more diverse cannabinoids in their life.
Going back to our previous example of the friend who has to take drug tests, let’s say now they have talked to their employer and find out the company only tests for THC.
Wanting to get more benefits from the other compounds, your friend asks if there is something else that might have more cannabinoids but not THC.
Many people, like your friend are not ready to take THC. They may know about the psychoactive components and are weary to experience something that might influence the way they act or feel.
Do you want to feel high? Many of us do not, nor do we want to take something before an important task such as work that might have negative consequences.
In this case your friend would be looking for broad spectrum hemp products. Broad spectrum hemp products sometimes include a wide variety of other cannabinoids that may benefit you.
What is CBC or THCV you may ask? Well these cannabinoids are only found in advanced broad and full spectrum products.
Wait, but are these other cannabinoids illegal like THC? Right now these cannabinoids lie in the gray area of the law. Since many of them are so few and rare, the government has yet to take a stance.
Most growers don’t have the necessary genetics to even produce these other chemical compounds. With over 100 cannabinoids that have barely been tested, it will probably be a long time before the US writes national laws regarding all of them.
Full Spectrum
Now let’s imagine that your friend who works in the airline industry finally gets their medical card and is allowed by their employer to take THC products.
Your friend is a bit weary of going into an actual dispensary so they ask you to help them find over the counter products that include THC.
Reading online news articles, your friend discovered many doctors talking about the importance of combining THC and CBD together to amplify the healing effects.
After doing some research, you notice full spectrum products derived from hemp that include THC as well as many other cannabinoids.
Since, THC can be present in items in volumes of less than .3%, full spectrum products that contain THC may be considered legal in the US.
Famous brands such as Lazareth Naturals include THC in some of their tinctures. Full spectrum products that contain THC are some of the most highly sold in the retail market.
At Uphempo, we recommend taking full spectrum hemp tinctures, edibles, and topicals if you want to get the most health benefits.
Overall
THC free products are the safest for people having to take a drug test as they contain 0% THC.
(Make sure to always check the brand’s 3rd party lab testing results to insure there is absolutely no THC)
THC free products usually contain only CBD and all of the other cannabinoids are removed. These products provide the least health benefits.
Broad spectrum hemp items have more cannabinoids than THC free. They have a broad array of other cannabinoids but also have 0% THC.
You can feel safe to know you are getting no THC with broad spectrum hemp items.
Full spectrum includes THC with many other cannabinoids. The THC in these products can show up on drug tests, but they also have the best ability to heal the consumer.
Full spectrum products are for those willing to take some THC and for those who don’t have to take drug tests and want to experience most benefits from the hemp plant.
The Forms and Extraction Methods of CBD Oil
CBD is sold mostly in these forms, tinctures, edibles, pills, and topicals.
Let’s first go over the word extracts. CBD extracts or extract is simply a concentrated form of the oils and cannabinoids in the hemp plant. Some places call them concentrates, while others call them extracts.
Imagine the olive plant for a moment. Olives are the harvested plant material, but extracts from the olives turn in olive oil.
Olive oil in essence is a concentrated form of the olive. It takes many olives to fill one bottle of olive oil, just as it takes many cannabis fibers to create one small tincture of CBD oil.
But much differently than olive oil, the extracts from both hemp and marijuana plants come in various forms.
Tinctures, Oils and Isolates
In order to get the purest form of CBD, especially for serious conditions, one would want to look for CBD oil. CBD oil has the least amount of other additives than all of the other products.
For this reason, CBD oil is the best way to test CBD. With oil, you don’t have to worry about other ingredients interfering with your results.
Sometimes people are energized by certain ingredients such as sugars and preservatives found in edibles. At night the sugar in a gummy could give your body an unwanted energy boost.
Even though gummies are delicious and easy to dose, oil may insure the sugar does not interrupt your mind at night and keep you awake.
CBD oil can be extracted from both the hemp and cannabis plant. Many different solvents are used to strip the oil away from the unwanted plant material.
Typically the plant material in soaked in some sort of solvent and then filtered to remove just what the expert desires.
C02 Oil
Names of extraction techniques are usually hidden in the descriptions of their names. C02 is one of the most popular solvents.
The C02 gas is introduced to plant material through specialized machinery in liquid form then filtered to produce a sticky oil.
C02 oil like many other is common to find on the streets as well as most over the counter dispensaries. Not only is C02 cost effective for the concentrate creator, but it also can be manipulated to create various viscosities of oil.
Most vaping pens in the medical marijuana industry in PA for instance are extracted using C02. C02 oil can closely mimic the VG/PG mixes found in vape cartridges.
This makes C02 oil extremely effective when used in devices previously designed for nicotine vaporization.
Small C Cell 510 threaded cartridges are commonly filled with C02 oil. In dispensaries, people usually find these cartridges pre-filled with either .5 gram or 1 gram.
This may be written as in the milligram form so 500mg or 1000mg.
From experience, the main problem with using carbon dioxide as a solvent, is that it strips away the terpenes of the plant.
In order to get the terpenes back, lab workers must extract them with other techniques and then add them back to the finished product. Therefore, you may commonly see
C02 cartridges using the same oil for many different flavors.
Along with terpenes, waxes and other materials you may find you want in the plant can also be inadvertently removed.
This is why it’s important to check the lab results of every product. Lab results usually show all cannabinoids as well as percentages in the overall sample.
RSO
Another common form of extraction is called RSO. RSO has been named from it’s now famous “inventor” Rick Simpson.
Rick has become very popular for inventing this oil, yet did you know he was not the one who actually invented it?
Ethanol or grain alcohol is the main solvent in the RSO extraction process. For thousands of years humans have been using ethanol in creating tinctures from various plants.
Humans experimented effectively with ethanol extraction of the cannabis plant way back into the ancient days.
Long before scientists discovered the earth was round, humans were using ethanol cannabis extracts to help with pain and various other conditions.
RSO is simply a reduced version of an ethanol tincture. In culinary school you learn to make balsamic reductions by using heat and evaporation.
This technique is very similar to the RSO extraction from ethanol. Cannabis is soaked in ethanol, the plant material is removed, and then the finished liquid is reduced using heat until it gets the consistency of molasses.
Some people believe RSO to have the most health benefits of any cannabis oil. This is because the ethanol is soaked in the plant so long, many of the compounds are broken down into the finished product.
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Many dispensaries suggest taking RSO oil for the most severe cases since your likelihood of getting rare cannabinoids that may help you are greatly increased.
RSO is actually very simple to make and if you would like to learn to make some at home, please check out our definitive RSO guide here.
Other Oils
In some retail location around the country you will find a variety of other oils as well. Years ago one of the most popular methods of extraction was BHO. Short for butane hash oil, BHO uses butane as the main solvent.
At home, many novice BHO extraction techniques included the use of metal tubes and cans of butane purchased online or at smoke shops.
Plant material would be packed into a cylinder. At one end of the cylinder a hole would allow the extractor to blast butane through the tube.
At the other end a small filter would allow oil and butane to dip out onto a dish. The butane would then be vacuum pumped out of the oil using air, pressure, and heat plates.
On the good side during BHO extraction some of the terpenes are still intact. Also, BHO is generally cheap and easy to make. The yields are also very high so quickly this became the popular choice for home cultivators.
On the negative side, butane oil has several problems. For instance, at home extraction can be extraordinarily dangerous.
The butane is very flammable, but also the air around the extractor can catch fire and a huge explosion can occur.
At Umphempo we never recommend anyone making butane oil at home. It’s key to know, several friends of Uphempo have been severely burned during BHO extraction explosions.
Another problem is that many of the over the counter butane products have dangerous additives.
Some of these additives are designed to make the butane smell or perform a certain way and can cause all sorts of health issues. If not properly removed, these additives may make you very sick.
There are many other solvents that can be used to make hash oil. The first word is usually your trigger or guess word. The ‘B’ in BHO for example stands for butane.
In PHO, the ‘P’ stands for propane, in NHO, the ‘N’ is nitrogen, and in OHO, the ‘O’ is oxygen.
All sorts of cool solvents can be used to extract cannabis oil!
CBD Tinctures
Now that you know a little about how CBD is extracted, let’s take a look at one of the most common products sold today; CBD tinctures.
For those people wanting fast, clean, easy to take CBD products, CBD tinctures may be the route to go.
Out of all the products sold to people going through serious health issues, CBD tincture is probably one of the most or the most popular recommendation.
In our previous articles, we follow up on ways to extract the CBD oil from the cannabis plant.
One way to make tincture is to first extract the oil from the plant using a common solvent.
For this example, let’s say the manufacturer uses C02 liquid to extract a CBD oil with a full spectrum of cannabinoids.
The manufacturer would then combine this oil, or emulsify it in another carrier oil. Some people call this emulsification CBD infused oil. Simply meaning the CBD is mixed with another base oil.
Carrier oils range from company to company. Some of the most common are hemp and coconut oil. It’s always important to check the back of the label and trust where your CBD is coming from because this oil could be volatile and you could be left with a diminished CBD product.
Another way of making CBD tincture is using the whole plant or fresh flowers from the plant and placing them directly in a solvent that extracts them.
For example, when RSO is made, the ethanol is soaked in the cannabis plant. Ethanol will pull oils including CBD and other cannabinoids out of the plant material.
A common way to make tinctures from any plant is simply to soak them in ethanol for a period of time, usually several days. Herbalists have been using this technique for thousands of years so you will find some CBD tinctures with an alcohol base.
For first time users, Uphempo does not recommend taking CBD tinctures that have alcohol or ethanol in the ingredient list.
Large doses of CBD soaked in alcohol can be unpleasant to taste and may turn people away from CBD in general. Plus some users do not want to have any alcohol in their system at all.
Coconut, hemp, and olive are much easier on the tongue and stomach than their alcohol sisters. Just like with alcohol, fresh cannabis can be soaked in other oils.
The oils eventually bind with the cannabinoids through the creation process. Usually heat and mixing will take place for several hours until the you are left with the finished cannabis infused oil.
Several of the larger CBD companies exclusively sell CBD tincture, but it’s very important to research their procedures. Remember time, heat, light and other factors can greatly reduce or change the properties of cannabinoids.
For instance, with the introduction of UV light, THC can change into a totally different cannabinoid CBN.
Some people may want to take CBN because of its diverse healing properties, but others may just want to get their THC in its pure form.
This is why it’s important to get fresh tincture from trusted sources. A lazy producer may have old CBD tincture sitting on shelves for months before even packaging it for wholesale.
So by the time you get your product home, the CBD inside could have totally changed or disappeared altogether.
Dark bottles stored in cool areas of the home such as refrigerators are great places to store CBD. With the hot and humid summer months sure to hit many places around the US, make sure to keep your CBD cool.
Proper storage will significantly increase the shelf life of your cannabinoids.
A cardboard box or closet is an easy way to help light stay out of your tincture.
Refrigeration is also good, but too much cold can cause the oil to separate from the cannabinoids. Imagine taking warm bacon grease and adding it to a cool climate. Soon the bacon grease becomes solidified.
Just like fatty grease, the cannabis plant also has fats and oils. These oils can move to the top or sides of the tincture or become too difficult to take through the dropper.
Solventless
Some methods of extraction are called solventless. At Umphempo, these are the cream of the crop. Many solventless extractions have won cannabis cups across the world.
In order to understand solventless extraction, you must first understand a bit about the history of hash.
If you notice, most oils end in the words ‘hash oil’. Hash or hashish has been very popular around Europe for thousands of years.
Amsterdam for instance, is famous for having a wide variety of hash on hand at many of their coffee shops.
Originally, hash was developed from rolling or sifting the buds from the marijuana plant. Cultivators would naturally collect hash oils on the outside of their hands and then roll this into a brown tar like ball.
Did you ever notice people at trim scenes using gloves? This is because the fresh marijuana plant is covered in so much oil you have to remove it from your hands or wear gloves in order to keep trimming the plant. Otherwise your tools would get so sticky you wouldn’t be able to use scissors.
That same oil and plant material on your hand is the same oil used to make famous cannabis winning hash.
These technically would be solventless hash oils since nothing but your skin was used to collect the oil. In professional extractions, buds are usually dry sifted using screens and then hash is pressed into pucks from the collected kief.
Over the years this process has become purer and more refined. Specific screens of just the right size are used to isolate just the trichomes.
These trichomes are then placed into a water bath filled with ice and then filtered again. Various extractors make bubble hash or ice wax exclusively because they love the quality and flavor.
In dry sifting and ice wax, most of the terpenes are preserved so the user gets a very potent flavorful product.
Rosin
Sometimes after this process, rosin will then be pressed. Rosin is another example of solventless hash oil.
Rosin uses extreme pressure combined with just the right amount of heat to squeeze the oil out of the bud. Small filter bags are used to keep the plant material at bay.
Rosin can be pressed from keif, ice wax, other hashes, and fresh flower. When pressing fresh flower, yields are typically 10-20%.
So if you were to press a fresh 1/8th of flower, don’t expect to gain more than .8 grams at the absolute most. Even though it sounds small, for most people .8 grams is quite a bit of concentrate.
CBD Isolates
One of the most common forms of CBD sold over the counter is called a CBD Isolate. Just like the name sounds, isolates are the isolated form of the CBD molecule.
Many people are under the assumption that tinctures are the purest form of CBD. This is simply not the case because most tinctures have a base of some other oil to help carry the CBD.
Some companies use hemp oil while others may delve into coconut, olive, or other common carrier oils.
Are you allergic to nuts? It may be a good idea to stay away from tincture and look more into isolates. With isolates, just the CBD and the natural oil from the plant are extracted.
Isolates have a very interesting look almost similar to a powdered sugar. Typically, isolates are stripped of every other cannabinoid and have little to no flavor.
For the above reasons, isolates are a great additive for edibles. A customer trying your CBD infused food for example will rarely notice any sort of taste or terpenes from the plant.
This lack of cannabis flavor can really help those looking to get the health benefits of CBD without having to taste anything unpalatable.
Many chefs around the country are starting to use CBD in restaurants. The isolate is great for chefs because it’s easy to measure the milligrams per dose and allows them to make foods with no cannabis aftertaste.
Although, this is not to say the flavor of cannabis is necessarily bad! Connoisseurs of the plant love to try recipes that involve the buds from various strains.
Mixing and matching strains is a cool new way to experience the plants dynamic profiles. From pepper to citrus, the essential oils of the plant could change the way you look at food forever.
Some companies also sell terpsolates, which are the isolated CBD with added plant terpenes. This could be a good option for those wanting the added health benefits derived from the terpenes, without having to deal with the fresh flower.
Also, vaping CBD isolate, terpsolate will greatly increase the flavor upon inhale. We go more into vaping here.
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Final Thoughts
Let’s briefly look over what we’ve talked about in the CBD guide.
Cannabis plants include both Hemp and Marijuana plants. Marijuana plants have a total combined THC of .3% or more while hemp plants have less than .3% THC.
That means the final plant when harvested must have less than .3% total THC to be considered over the counter legal hemp.
Most cannabis found in dispensaries are high in THC. This is because for years, growers specifically isolated strains that have higher THC. The THC is what gives many people the “high” feeling.
CBD on the other hand, usually does not produce any sort of high, but instead will help people relax and focus.
Because it is not considered psychoactive, CBD was allowed to be sold over the shelves in a variety of products.
CBD oil is one of the best products for people with serious medical conditions. Full spectrum oil can have the most benefits because it includes many of the other cannabinoids found in the cannabis plant.
Most people use CBD for pain, relaxation, and anxiety. Lower doses of CBD are given in milligrams around ten, while higher doses can be anywhere from 20-100MG and more.
Serious conditions such as epilepsy, require precise dosing, sometimes taken everyday.
Right now, hemp products are considered legal by the US government with the passing of the farm bill.
Even though legal, some CBD products can show up on a drug test. For this reason, people in the military are recommended to not take CBD.
Pay close attention to which over the counter CBD products you buy. Some come in oils, isolates, and lotions.
It’s important to know which cannabis product is right for you so be sure to always research the company and ingredients.
In writing this guide to CBD oil, Uphempo hopes we can help make you feel better about cannabis and more comfortable about choosing your products. Thank you for being a part of the healing cannabis industry!
