Buying a novel and vastly unregulated product like CBD means that consumers need to be extra careful. While most of the world has standards as to what kind of CBD is legal to circulate, many countries are still struggling to enforce those standards.
Take the United States as an example. In 2019, FOX 11 bought dozens of CBD products around Los Angeles and New Jersey, then took them all to be tested by a specialized laboratory. The test results showed that only one of the products contained the amount of CBD advertised on the label and that five of the products contained no CBD at all.
Regulatory challenges are the main reason why many US states banned the sale of CBD edibles and drinks altogether. If you’d like to make sure you are getting what you are paying for, there are some steps you can take.
1. Verify the seller
CBD may be available at your local grocery store or head shop. There is nothing inherently wrong with CBD being sold on store shelves. Most countries have strict regulations on CBD products, and they can take a long time before they are even approved for sale.
That said, it’s still a good idea to write down the name of the producer, or take a picture of the label, and then check online for some background information. Legitimate producers will likely have at least a homepage with some basic safety information, including information on how the CBD was extracted.
2. Look for information on the grower
One good way to check if a seller’s information checks out is to verify if the grower listed on their website exists and vouches for the seller. Again, it is often easy to find this information online. Or, if you are really determined, a couple of phone calls can banish any doubt.
CBD oil can be created without the help of fancy equipment, by the way. However, without the proper industrial equipment, the best way to separate the CBD from hemp in a large scale is by using powerful solvents. Those include butane, ethanol, or hexane, all of which may contaminate the CBD if poorly handled.
If you are looking to make CBD yourself or buy it from a friend, use olive oil to extract the CBD, or use the plant itself to make CBD tinctures.
3. Dig for legal documents
Legitimate CBD sellers will be eager to show you their legal papers, especially if they run an online store. It’s hard to get permission to sell CBD, after all, and legitimate sellers understand that transparency builds trust. If you can’t find any relevant documentation on a seller’s website, that’s a red flag. If you do find documentation, make sure the company’s registration number matches an entry in the government’s database. That can usually be confirmed by using official websites.
4. Read reviews
At the end of the day, reviews are still one of the most powerful tools consumers have to protect themselves. Look for information on review aggregators and CBD-related blogs, as well as sites that aggregate customer complaints. The downside of this method is that it will often provide little information on small, local producers. But if you are looking into a big international seller like Cibdol.com, finding information online is easy.
Leave a Comment