How to avoid fake cbd
If you've bought a cheap CBD oil or purchased a hemp-based product from your local grocery store, odds are that you've come into contact with a fake CBD Oil, and even synthetic cannabinoids. Sure, it might work and get the trick done, but the truth is that you're likely running on fumes rather than premium fuel.
3 Reasons Why Fake CBD Oil is Everywhere
The recent CBD boom has been due to a combination of factors: a need for a healthy, all-natural alternative to pharmaceuticals, successful research confirming hemp's efficacy, as well as the recent lessening of social stigma surrounding hemp/CBD.
Having shared that, where there's a trend there's a plethora of opportunists, with less than honorable, borderline nefarious intentions to capitalize on unsuspecting consumers.
See below for an indepth analysis on fake CBD products.
1. It's a brand new industry
With CBD's seemingly sudden surge in popularity, companies and businesses all over the world started focusing their efforts towards joining in on the hype; whether that was through purchasing land for farming, building a grow house, or looking to foreign suppliers for creative solutions.
However, amidst the quick clamoring to come up with a product - not all businesses have upheld proper standards of care. And to add to a general lack of enterprise prudence for product quality, at this time, there are little to no restrictions or legislation when it comes to creating a CBD product.
2. There's the need for more regulations & legislation
Fortunately, the FDA is starting to catch on to how problematic it can be to have an in-demand product with little to no regulations. Last June, the FDA asked that experts within the scientific community come forward to start helping shape the regulations within the CBD industry.
Zoe Sigman, program director of Project CBD was at this recent FDA hearing and reported, “There are contaminants found in CBD products, which don’t contain what they say they contain”, adding that lab reports found evidence of pesticides, heavy metals, bacteria, and other less than savory compounds.
3. Lab-grown extracts are flooding the market
The concerns that experts like Sigman are having with the current state of the industry's limited quality controls are completely warranted. Not only is there the issue of product purity, but also the fact that manufacturers have found ways to artificially create CBD in a way that doesn't involve growing a plant at all. Synthetic Isolate CBD is chemically the exact same as CBD isolate, and is suspected to be the powdery counterpart at the root of the large majority of low-cost, ineffective products.
FAKE CBD CHECKLIST
Check where the CBD was grown
When purchasing a CBD product, the first order of business is figuring out where the hemp actually comes from. We advocate for consumers to make sure they're working with a business that is located in the United States. The best way to figure this out is to identify if the company has a website, visit the website and browse to find where the hemp is grown. Once you find where the hemp is grown, enlist a quick google search to identify the farming regulations in the hemp's country of origin.
View the lab results
Every company that has high-quality CBD will have the lab results to prove it; this verifiable proof is shown through Certificates of Analysis (COA). COA's verify the quality and potency of the product and can be found near the product listing, or by reaching out to customer service.
Beware of health claims
Have you ever heard the saying, "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."? This is certainly the case with CBD. For example, if a product is claiming to heal specific diseases or cure existing medical disorders - this is a major red flag. The FDA has warned that claiming CBD (or any other supplements for that matter) can cure major diseases and dysfunctions is strictly prohibited. Any company engaging in so-called "health claims" is grossly out of compliance with FDA standards.
Find out how the CBD was created
In order to transition a hemp plant into a CBD product on your shelf, it has to first be extracted via an extraction method. The two most popular extraction methods are supercritical CO2 extraction and alcohol extraction. Both methods work and are commonly argued about in regards to which is better, however, we always advocate for CO2 extraction as a more clean and effective method. Be sure to do your research to determine which is right for you.
Identify the type of extract the CBD features
Each time you buy a CBD product, it will feature a different extract type: the way the hemp is processed. There are three types of popular CBD extracts:
1. Full-Spectrum
Full-spectrum is an extract that features hemp in its most natural form, including: the leaves, flowers, and stalks of the hemp plant. Therefore, this extract is home to all of hemp's cannabinoids - CBN, CBD, CBG, THC, and more. However, remember that this extract always features under .3% THC to meet legal requirements, so it will not get you high. Due to this extract's wide array of chemical components it enacts an entourage effect, the term for when all the compounds within the plant work synergistically together for maximum benefit and effect.
2. Broad-Spectrum
Broad-Spectrum is an extract that contains pretty much the exact same components as a full-spectrum tincture, with the exception of the THC component. This extract is still capable of the entourage effect and it's perfect for those who are either THC sensitive or unable to consume small amounts of THC due to frequent work-related drug testing.
3. Isolate
Isolate CBD is created when a manufacturer separates CBD, a singular cannabinoid, from the rest of the over 100 cannabinoids in the hemp plant. So, whereas both Full-Spectrum & Broad-Spectrum can be seen as whole plant CBD, Isolate CBD is simply CBD isolated from the rest of the plant components.
Amazon CBD LAB RESULTS
CBD oil is not allowed to be sold on amazon
If you were to head to Amazon right now and type in, "CBD Oil", over 10,000 results would populate the page. But you'd soon notice that they aren't labeled, CBD oil. They'd instead say "Hemp Oil". This is because CBD oil is not currently allowed to be sold on Amazon.
This is a common labeling tactic that CBD manufacturers use to make sure they have have a product that is always in compliance with an ever-changing market. So, when you see hemp oil on Amazon, it could mean one of two things:
-
The bottle possesses oil from hemp and hemp seeds and has no CBD (most common)
-
The brand is using the word 'hemp' in place of 'CBD' for legality, though it is indeed, CBD oil
While we know this is a confusing distinction, whether labeled as hemp oil or CBD oil, all of our CBD products have always been and always will be full-spectrum CBD products.
That being said, our case is not the norm. Even though we temporarily labeled our products as hemp oil while selling on Amazon, we always had the lab results to back up our products.
How manufacturers are cashing in
Now, imagine a manufacturer is selling hemp seed oil in 2010. The product would be purchased by the few interested in using the oil for cooking or beauty purposes.
Now fast forward to present day, hemp-based products are all the rage.
Manufacturers selling that same hemp seed oil product now can simply omit the word "seed" from the product labeling and dupe people into thinking they're buying a CBD product from Amazon.
In turn, these manufacturers quadruple their margins from the traffic of consumers who don't know any better.
Infinite Chemical Analysis LAB RESULTS
Below are 12 of Amazon's top-performing CBD oils , which have been analyzed by Infinite Chemical Analysis, a third party laboratory.
Bioplow Hemp Oil
Wellgrade Hemp Oil
Canolane Hemp Oil
Pharvest Hemp Oil
Herbal Drops Cannable Hemp Oil
Hemp King Hemp Oil
Hemp Health Hemp Oil
WiseHelp Premium Hemp Oil
Organic Direct's Extra Strength Hemp Oil
Hempable Hemp Oil Herbal Drops
Cultivax Hemp Oil
Low/zero CBD content
All 12 hemp oils have LOW TO ZERO CBD content.
Additionally, notice that 9 of the oils read ND (Not detected) when it comes to CBD.
This wouldn't be a problem if they were just selling hemp oil, but one such product in this list is marketed as, "All-Natural Drops for Pain, Stress, Anxiety Relief, and Deep Restful Sleep".
How could this be true if there is no presence of cannabinoids in this tincture? And how could this simple hemp seed oil be providing such similar results to CBD oil? This is yet another obvious ploy to feed on consumer confusion.
Inflated MG concentrations
Your typical CBD product will show the amount of CBD on the front label as a number followed by the milligram abbreviation, MG. Some common concentrations of CBD are 500MG, 1000MG, and 2000MG.
However, in these lab results you'll notice extremely high numbers: 40,000MG, 50,000MG, and even an 80,000MG tincture.
Our question is, MG of what?
There is no CBD in these products and this is an obvious ploy to trick customers into thinking they are buying a high dose CBD oil.
What You should expect in cbd products
Lab-test results are the biggest thing separating you from a good quality and a bad quality product.
Third-party lab testing is the process of a company sending their products out to a private laboratory to verify the CBD content and purity (i.e. no chemicals or harmful bacterias). Thanks to third-party lab testing becoming an industry-standard for quality CBD and reputable brands, it's a lot easier to know who you can trust.
Here's what to look for in a thorough CBD results:
- How much CBD is in the product
- How much THC is in the product
- Details on the cannabinoid profile
Avoid Amazon CBD oils
As the results show, it's not in your best interest to be buying CBD or hemp oil from a non-reputable supplier. The truth of the matter is that Amazon is a breeding ground for disreputable CBD suppliers, which certainly must be the case if they allow shady business practices to be prevalent on their platform- because of false and dubious advertising.