CBD (cannabidiol) is popping up in natural food stores, grocery markets, gas stations and vending machines. We see CBD in capsules, lotions, over the counter vape cartridges, beverages and beauty products. The explosion of CBD products can be a good thing as shoppers become familiar with the benefits of CBD. However, the discerning CBD shopper knows that all CBD is not the same.
Are Dispensary CBD Products Different From CBD Sold In Regular Stores?
First, it is important to realize that most CBD purchased outside of dispensaries is grown from industrial hemp – a wonderful plant that could help save the world as a sustainable crop with an astonishing variety of biodegradable uses. Hooray for industrial hemp!
Yet the wise and astute CBD shopper knows something else about industrial hemp and that’s called “bioaccumulation.” Industrial hemp is a terrific bioaccumulator which means it easily absorbs chemicals in soil – both good chemicals and bad. Considering that growing industrial hemp can absorb enough contaminants in the soil to clean a toxic waste site, you might want to know more about the plant from which your CBD was extracted.
Here’s where the Massachusetts Cannabis Control regulations are especially important. Cannabis you purchase in a Massachusetts dispensary has been tested by licensed, independent labs for safety and potency. CBD online retailers and stores might display their test results, but the testing standards for contaminants in products sold by Massachusetts dispensaries are considered by cannabis professionals and regulators to be among the most stringent in the industry. For instance, across the Bay State, legal cannabis products are tested for bacteria, fungi, mycotoxins, pesticides, and residual solvents at thresholds unmatched by other states. You can feel confident that CBD sold in Massachusetts dispensaries has been grown under careful conditions and is thoroughly tested.
Inaccurate potency testing is also seen in the general CBD industry along with products that have almost no CBD at all when tested by third party labs. Take care to examine the milligram (mg) per dose of CBD on the label. Sometimes products bought in unregulated retail outlets show the total weight of the capsule, edible or vape cartridge but much of the weight comes from substances other than CBD. There may be very little of the actual CBD compound we desire. Hence, a 10 mg capsule might only have 2 mg of actual CBD.
And speaking of CBD ingestion, if you take your CBD in a capsule or edible, ask your Clear Sky Wellness Advisor about other ways to use CBD. Swallowing CBD has low “bioavailability” – meaning that most of the CBD is destroyed by your liver and eliminated before it gets to your bloodstream. Now that you know that all CBD is not alike, come in and talk to us about high quality CBD products!
Jean Welsh, EdD
VP, Learning & Development
