Finding The Right Hemp CBD Brand

Updated on October 30, 2021

Dylan Donaldson, the owner of Colorado Hemp Extracts in Boulder, Colorado, has two significant priorities while developing his hemp business. 

One is to guarantee that the locally grown hemp plants don’t retain any unsafe toxins present within the soil. The second is guaranteeing the right ratio of the plant’s two primary cannabinoids are present in all finished products: 

  • THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) is known for making people high.
  • CBD (cannabidiol) is gaining ubiquity because of its many potential health advantages.

Those two concerns – purity and consistency – are also two of the main questions buyers must consider when choosing from the vast number of CBD items now accessible the nation over. But finding this information isn’t always as easy as it should be because the CBD marketplace remains under-regulated. 

Because no non-prescription CBD items have been endorsed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), shoppers must depend on third-party testing to decide the quality and process of a specific CBD brand and product. And in many cases, that means relying on brands to be open and honest about their testing procedures and results.

Third-Party Testing: What Is It? And Why Is It Important?

Third-party testing is a process in which manufacturers and consumer packaged goods (CPG) businesses send samples of their CBD items to research facilities for testing. These chemical investigations ensure hemp producers and sellers comply with crucial regulations meant to protect consumers. 

Unfortunately, many brands forgo or under-utilize third-party testing, with a recent study out of Oregon showing that 54 percent of all registered hemp farms are out of compliance. When a hemp farm is out of compliance, it introduces the possibility that their products contain harmful toxins, too much psychoactive THC, or too little CBD (which can affect the accuracy and consistency of doses you receive as a consumer). 

Reliable testing is one reason why it’s so important to buy products from manufacturers you trust. Many companies, like Boulder-based Colorado Hemp Extracts, make third-party testing a cornerstone of their approach. And a few third-party laboratories go past state regulations to test for a wider variety of toxins such as pesticides, heavy metals, and micropollutants. 

Third-party testing is critical to the rapid expansion of the CBD and hemp industries:

  • CBD products must have the proper amounts of all components to meet state and customer standards.
  • The majority of CBD products on the market today are derived from mass-produced hemp plants. However, their mix is often augmented by using agrochemicals that may survive the cannabis extraction process and wind up in CBD products accidentally. Third-party CBD testing assists in identifying these unwanted components and determining if products meet all required safety limits.
  • To date, no legal criteria for CBD item production have been created. Within the absence of government-instituted monitoring, high-quality third-party testing can help to ease client confusion about the security benchmarks maintained by respectable CBD manufacturers.

Tips For Finding The Right Hemp CBD Brand

  • Choose Your Reason For Using CBD 

The first question to ask is why you want to take CBD, as different products provide different potential health advantages.

  • Oil tincture droplets placed underneath the tongue may provide fast results without smoking or vaping. 
  • Applied to the skin, topical CBD lotions can provide localized relief, but the rate of absorption may vary from person to person. 
  • CBD edibles – like gummies, capsules, and other foodstuffs – are likely to require 30 minutes or more to absorb.
  • Check the THC Content of the Product

If you need pure or broad spectrum CBD to avoid any potential THC (like you find in full spectrum products) or because you might be tested at work, checking the THC content of the productis particularly vital. If you don’t have to worry about drug testing, you might prefer full spectrum hemp products that include small amounts of THC to boost CBD’s therapeutic effect (while THC levels are too small to get you high).

  • Make Sure the CBD Is Present

Before buying a hemp product, double-check that the item contains CBD, or cannabidiol. Because of changing (or lacking) rules and regulations, a few products labeled as “hemp” don’t actually contain any cannabidiol (CBD) and instead include hemp seeds, hemp seed oil, or Cannabis sativa seed oil. These synthesized chemicals won’t provide the same benefits as CBD.

  • Check the Ingredient List for Any Allergens

Examine the ingredient list thoroughly to guarantee that you are not allergic to anything. Many CBD products include functional ingredients and/or a carrier oil to help facilitate CBD absorption in the body. As a result, coconut oil, grapeseed oil, MCT oil, olive oil, or cold-pressed hemp seed oil may be included as a primary ingredient in the item.

  • Find Out Where Hemp Was Grown

Many CBD products offered online and in retail stores are derived from hemp rather than marijuana. The majority of hemp utilized in CBD products sold in the United States is imported from other countries where regulations may not be as strict as hemp grown in states like Colorado. 

So, while trying to find CBD products made from hemp, look for locally grown options, like those from Colorado. If that information isn’t readily available on the brand’s packaging or website, ask your local dispensary, CBD reseller, or call the company directly to inquire.

Where To Buy CBD Products

You’ve got hundreds of online and in-person options when shopping for CBD products. To make things easier for you, Colorado Hemp Extracts is a great place to get sustainable CBD products. Because they’re vertically integrated, they’re able to provide pure, laboratory-tested hemp products at lower costs than many alternatives, including hemp CBD Tinctures, Gummies, Lotions, and Capsules, all of which are locally produced and reasonably priced.

The Editorial Team at Healthcare Business Today is made up of skilled healthcare writers and experts, led by our managing editor, Daniel Casciato, who has over 25 years of experience in healthcare writing. Since 1998, we have produced compelling and informative content for numerous publications, establishing ourselves as a trusted resource for health and wellness information. We offer readers access to fresh health, medicine, science, and technology developments and the latest in patient news, emphasizing how these developments affect our lives.