How do consumers find truly legitimate CBD products from transparent companies that are high quality and safe to consume?
by Doug Schraufnagle and Brandon Ghidossi
At the end of 2018 hemp was removed/rescheduled from the controlled substances act (CSA) and is now fully protected under the “hemp farm bill act” as an industrial commodity indefinitely. This is an incredibly wonderful thing for those of us in the cannabis industry supplying products to those in need and for all of the consumers looking to procure “hemp CBD” products for personal use.
As with everything in life though there are pros and cons to be had and not to sound pessimistic, but rather, instead in an attempt to spread education and awareness for the benefit of all (especially the consumers) we are going to uncover the truth of what’s really happening in the CBD industry currently.
There is a “green rush” going on and with the current rescheduling of hemp federally it has fully opened the floodgates and lots of people/companies are cashing in on it. The major issue however is that whenever the desire to make money overshadows truly caring for the peoples health and well-being, the byproduct can be disastrous.
CBD products are currently not regulated very well at all. The only regulations that exist currently are that hemp derived products must contain less than 0.3% THC (federal law) and if sold inside individual state dispensaries, it is up to that particular state to determine the laws and regulations that those companies providing CBD products must be compliant with (which is usually just requiring lab test results and batch information that can still be dishonestly edited from the original version by distributors and manufacturers).
Some regulation is better than no regulation but more often than not that regulation is overseen by those that do not consume or understand cannabis or the cannabis industry on an intimate enough level to be able to provide solid laws and regulations that make any sense. Not to mention they are not usually in a position to be able to verify legitimacy and efficacy of the documentation and products they are screening.
The biggest issues that consumers and retailers are facing today when purchasing from CBD companies is the “true transparent nature” of information and documentation provided by those companies themselves. I’m not saying that companies are blatantly lying to consumers, or that manufacturers and distributors are not qualified enough to be making and selling these products to the public, but it is pretty bad out there. Surprisingly there are way more dishonest transactions occurring in the CBD industry today than what there should be.
It is very confusing for consumers and retailers to make the correct purchasing decisions and to be able to verify that they are purchasing from companies providing the highest quality, safe and effective versions of this wonderful healing plant we have access to. The only way to get closer to knowing the truth is to require that those companies provide all of the necessary documentation proving to consumers that their company and products can be trusted and are safe to consume (3rd party labs, COA’s on all ingredients in the products, etc.)
Most companies do not lab test because outside of dispensaries, states do not generally require it. So why would they lab test then? Lab testing costs quite a bit of money and businesses that only care about money and not the people are not going to spend extra money doing the right thing for the consumers. IF YOU DO NOT ASK FOR AND RECEIVE A 3RD PARTY LAB TEST THAT CAN BE VERIFIED BEFORE PURCHASING A PRODUCT, YOU CANNOT GUARANTEE THAT WHAT YOU’RE BUYING HAS ANY VERSION OF THE CANNABIS PLANT IN IT AT ALL.
Believe me there are tons of companies out there selling fake CBD products (especially online). Not to mention the misuse of terminology on most companies products that does not directly correspond with what is actually in the finalized version of their products. When it says “full spectrum” on the product label and it’s only a CBD isolate or says 0% THC not utilizing the entire spectrum of cannabinoids in the plant, it’s not actually a “true full spectrum product” (which has all of the phytocannabinoids present including terpenes left unaltered from the original extraction and is the most medically effective version available currently on the market).
As each day passes more and more companies hit the market and more and more unsafe and unverifiable ingredients are purchased to manufacture those products. Be smart and safe. Spend time to get to the bottom of what you’re really putting in your body and if it’s truly the best and safest stuff. The healing properties of the cannabis plant and your body will take care of the rest. Our simple and all-natural ingredients let you feel the difference.
Much love and healing,
Team Harmonious CBD
