5 Things You Must Know About CBD Oil

If you haven’t been living under a rock for the last five years, you’ve likely heard about CBD oil and its various products. From tinctures to massage oils to gummies and capsules and beyond, CBD comes in many forms. CBD oil is one of the most popular options for administering a CBD dose alongside gummies and other edibles.

Today we’ll cover five things you must know about CBD oil. From the substance’s legal status to the state of the market, these five facts might not be well-known to you, so we’ll explain them in simple terms that everyone can understand.

1. It’s Legal

For around five decades, CBD (and the hemp from which it’s derived) has been under a strict legal status. Since “hemp” and “marijuana” are both members of the Cannabis species of plant, they were lumped together in 1970’s Controlled Substances Act. What did this mean for hemp and CBD? They were listed as “Schedule 1 Drugs” alongside the likes of marijuana, heroin, and cocaine. Yea. Cocaine.

As of 2018, however, the federal government has passed legislation that officially removed hemp from the list of harmful “drugs”, and its growth, cultivation, and subsequent transformation into CBD products is now considered legal, though monitored by strict limitations.

For example, as Penguin CBD explains, only Cannabis containing 0.3% or less THC on a dry-weight basis is even considered “hemp”. Anything over this legal limit is considered “marijuana” and is still illegal at the federal level, even if state legislation allows for it.

2. It Doesn’t Get You “High”

There seems to be some confusion regarding CBD and THC since both are chemical compounds found in certain Cannabis species. THC is responsible for the “high” that marijuana creates, whereas CBD itself is an entirely separate and different chemical compound in the same plant.

CBD, or cannabidiol, is a non-psychoactive compound that interacts with the body’s nervous system in a very specific way to produce a wide range of benefits. Contrary to popular opinion, you won’t get high at all from CBD.

As a matter of fact, many people who benefit from medical marijuana report preferring CBD because it offers several similar benefits without impairment. Since CBD is legal at the federal level, those users also won’t be breaking the law by using it.

The Cannabis plant is home to over one hundred cannabinoids, which is the category that THC and CBD fall under. These chemical compounds differ in their chemical makeup and how they interact with the body. The bottom line? You’re not going to get high off your CBD oil. Even full-spectrum oil, which does contain THC, doesn’t contain enough to produce a “high”.

3. It Has Dozens of Benefits

CBD’s benefits are widespread and we’re learning new things about this amazing compound every year. As the market expands, so too do the opportunities (and the funding) for research into the effects of CBD oil on the body and mind.

Some studies have suggested that CBD is effective at treating certain anxiety disorders, improving mood and appetite, and even reducing the effects of conditions like depression. Not to mention, it helps mitigate stress, lower pain levels, and has even been shown to have a positive effect on heart health and blood pressure.

Since CBD has been considered illegal for so long, the research is only just starting to catch up with several decades of criminalization. That being said, we’re excited to learn what the next case study will show us about CBD.

4. Not All CBD Is Created Equal

From the quality of the hemp your CBD is sourced from to the extraction process and the carrier oil used, not all CBD is created equal. In an industry that has little to no federal regulation (except for stringent guidelines on THC content), it’s difficult to identify a standard that all CBD producers should adhere to.

Customers in the market have had to turn to the top providers for any kind of quality standards, and with the right purchase decisions, we can have an effect on the quality of products available. Buying only CBD oil that has been sourced from high-quality, organic, USA-grown hemp is a start.

Not all countries follow the same guidelines when growing hemp, and, being a bioaccumulator, hemp absorbs pretty much whatever is in the soil around it; including toxins from pesticides and pollution. That’s probably not something you’d want to ingest or put into your body, right?

Until the FDA steps in and takes the reins, we’ll have to depend on the industry’s top providers to continue to deliver high-quality CBD that adheres to strict standards. Hopefully, this will act as an example to the other businesses in this space and help improve the overall health of the industry.

Either way, CBD isn’t going anywhere; in fact, the industry is booming.

5. The Industry Is Booming Right Now

That’s right, the CBD industry is hot, with projections for the next few years of sales falling somewhere in the 22 billion-dollar range. In the first two years following the passage of the Farm Bill, the industry has grossed well over a billion dollars. As more information spreads about the effects of CBD, the demand grows, and the producers are doing everything they can to keep up.

Investors and startups alike are all looking to get a piece of this pie while it’s still hot. Whether or not the 22 billion-dollar projection is accurate or not is a matter of speculation, but what is abundantly clear is that Americans love their CBD products.

Where there’s demand, there’s an endless flow of cash, investors, and new products being created every year.

The Bottom Line

CBD isn’t harmful, doesn’t get you high, and isn’t some strange chemical made in a lab. It’s a naturally-occurring chemical compound that has dozens of legitimate uses in both personal and medical environments.

With a healthy market projection and growing demand, it’s clear that CBD oil and dozens of other CBD products will continue to drive sales and make an impact on our daily lives.