How To Shop For CBD Products

How To Shop For CBD Products

Within the last ten years, Cannabidiol (CBD) has become incredibly popular. In fact, in 2018, the CBD product market size was estimated to be worth an astounding 1.34 billion USD with an estimated compound annual growth rate of 32.6%. To put it simply, the CBD marketplace is here — and it is here to stay.

Because the CBD product marketplace has grown tremendously and the opportunity of becoming a stakeholder in this lucrative industry was seen by millions, there is an incredible growth in emerging CBD product manufactures. While it might seem like a good thing that the industry is growing at such an incredible rate, there are some caveats.

Because the CBD industry is not actively regulated by a federal government agency like the Food and Drug Administration, there is a great number of CBD manufacturers that go largely unchecked — leading to products from some CBD manufacturers being labeled as “Snake Oil CBD,” or CBD that has been marketed in a deceptive way.

The simple fact of the matter is that some CBD manufacturers are good, and some are bad. There is really no in-between.

Good CBD Manufacturers Versus Bad CBD Manufacturers — What’s The Difference?

In the CBD industry, you either establish yourself as a credible manufacturer and producer of CBD products or a bad one. There are many factors that influence whether or not a CBD manufacturer finds success or not, and it is not like other industries when it comes to how a manufacturer can succeed in producing high-quality products.

For one, business experience is a must. If a new manufacturer just hops into the CBD marketplace, they will likely find that there are many hoops that need to be jumped through before a CBD business can become successful. Additionally, a high-quality CBD manufacturer will have to establish proper industry contacts to become successful — as relationships with growers and third-party labs is a critical part of establishing a reputable brand.

If a CBD manufacturer does not have business experience and established quality connections, it is likely that the product will end up being a snake oil — and that can become a danger for you — the consumer. Because both good and bad CBD manufacturers exist, it is important for you, the consumer, to understand how to properly shop for CBD products.

How To Shop For CBD Products

At Pure CBD Now, we care about the industry because we are a part of the industry. As an online CBD marketplace that carries over 25 reputable CBD brands, it is important for us to provide product transparency to our customers — and part of that is discussing how to shop for CBD, as well as what you should look for when you are looking for a CBD product that you can trust.

Since the beginning — on the bubble of the CBD industry’s burst into the spotlight — Pure CBD Now has been providing our customers with high-quality, affordable, and lab-tested CBD products. While you can trust that our products are made by reputable CBD manufacturers and have been tested by third-party labs, we thought that it might be fit to discuss some of the things you should look for and consider when you are shopping for CBD products. Continue reading to learn more.

Choose A Deliverable

Oil, vape kits, tinctures, cremes, capsules, drinks, waxes, and edibles. At Pure CBD Now, we have it all.
Oil, vape kits, tinctures, cremes, capsules, drinks, waxes, and edibles. At Pure CBD Now, we have it all.

The first thing that you need to consider when you are shopping for CBD products is what deliverable you prefer. One of the great things about CBD is that it can be consumed in a variety of ways — with each deliverable having its own benefits to you as a consumer.

When choosing what CBD deliverable that you would like to use, it is important to ask yourself why are you trying to take CBD. Are you taking it to feel generally more relaxed? Are you taking it to supplement your chronic discomfort relief regimen? Are you trying to take it as a fitness recovery aid? For each reason behind you choosing to consume CBD, there is a deliverable that will best fit your needs. Below, we have listed a few of the popular CBD deliverables, as well as what situation that you might decide to use each one.

Check To See If It Contains THC (And If So, How Much?)

Don't accidentally consume THC. Check the label to make sure of what you are putting into your body.
Don’t accidentally consume THC. Check the label to make sure of what you are putting into your body.

Most beginner CBD users think of CBD as the non-psychoactive cousin of THC — thinking that they are completely separated. While yes, that is true, most CBD products contain trace amounts of THC. In fact, there are regulatory THC-level cutoffs that CBD manufacturers must comply to that state that each product should have less than .03% THC if it is to be labeled as a CBD product. If a product has more than .03% THC, it is no longer considered to be a CBD product — it is instead considered a CBD-rich THC product.

“So if most CBD products contain trace amounts of THC, will I fail a drug screening?”

While most CBD products do contain THC, you will not necessarily fail a drug test (although there is always the possibility). That being said, if you are consuming an excess of 1,000 milligrams of CBD products daily — which is upwards of six times more than the average person consumes — there is a good chance that you could register a false positive in a drug screening.

Find Where It Was Grown

Was the industrial hemp used to make the product grown domestically or internationally
Was the industrial hemp used to make the product grown domestically or internationally? Locally grown tends to be better.

CBD is most commonly sourced from industrially-grown hemp. In fact, if you are shopping for CBD products online, it is more than likely that hemp is the plant that it was sourced from.

While it is important to know what plant your CBD has come from, it is equally as important to know where the plant itself was grown. The most common places for hemp to be grown are Colorado, Oregon, or Kentucky if the growing operation is based in the United States or it is imported from overseas.

When you are shopping for CBD products online, it is important that you consider where the hemp was sourced from — because there is a large gap in quality. If the hemp was grown in the United States, it was likely held to rigorous growing and harvesting regulation — after all, it was not long ago that farmers faced legal resistance for growing hemp. However, if it is grown internationally and imported to the United States, the quality of the hemp is not guaranteed because it is not subjected to any federal testing. So be sure to do your research and see where your CBD product’s hemp was grown.

Understand The Terms On The Label

Get to know the slang and lingo used to describe and define CBD products.
Get to know the slang and lingo used to describe and define CBD products.

It is to be expected that when you become interested in the idea of consuming CBD products that you are unaware of all of the terminology that you might find on the label. After all, CBD is unlike most other products that are available to consumers online.

Some common terms that people are unaware of are usually associated with the extraction and manufacturing processes of CBD products. Rather than ordering a product, opening it and seeing foreign terms like “CO2 extracted” or “Ethanol extraction,” it is important that you research the terms before you buy the product — after all, it is knowledge that will more than likely have an impact on what products that you decide to use and what products that you choose to pass on.

Another common term that you might run into on your search for the best CBD product is “hemp oil” — a term that can be confusing when you thought that you were buying CBD oil. Hemp oil can be many things. In fact, sometimes hemp oil is just another way to say CBD oil that has been made with the leaves or flowering tops of the hemp plant. However, hemp oil can also refer to hemp seed oil, an oil that is more commonly used in CBD wellness and beauty products like lotions and body rubs.

If you are shopping online for a CBD product and notice a word or term that you do not recognize, consider looking it up before ordering it. After all, the definition of the unknown term can be the difference between you wanting the product and you not wanting the product.

Look For A Product With A Clear Ingredients List

Get to know what you are about to put in your body. Don't trust secretive labeling.
Get to know what you are about to put in your body. Don’t trust secretive labeling.

When you are buying a product that you plan on consuming — whether it be by smoking, eating, lathering, or any other form of consumption — it is important that you know what is in the products. In fact, it is important to know what is in everything that you consume, not just CBD products.

CBD products are not so different from other products when it comes to labeling. The general rule of thumb is that it is best practice for a manufacturer to list every ingredient included in the product. That being said, if a CBD product does not clearly list its ingredients, it could raise questions about the legitimacy of the product, or the product’s manufacturer.

Ask If It Is Lab Tested

Make sure that the product has been tested before ordering and consuming it.
Make sure that the product has been tested before ordering and consuming it.

One of the most important things that you should do when shopping for a new CBD product that you haven’t tried in the past, it is important that you check to see if it has been lab-tested. Some online CBD marketplaces like ours, here at Pure CBD Now, will clearly state whether or not the product has been tested by an unbiased third-party lab. Others, however, will not.

Believe it or not, CBD products are not required to be lab-tested by a third-party laboratory. In fact, they aren’t required to be tested at all. Because of this, illegitimate CBD manufacturers have the ability to sell their products online without having to tell consumers what is in the product.

Now, we aren’t saying that all products that have been tested are snake oil because that simply isn’t true. However, we are saying that if you want a high-quality CBD product that you can trust, we urge you to consider looking for a product that has been tested at a third-party lab. At Pure CBD Now, we take the quality of our CBD products very seriously — and that is why all of our products are lab tested. If you are interested in checking out the test reports for any of the products found on our online CBD marketplace, you can find downloadable lab test results here.

Shop For CBD On A Trusted Online Marketplace — Visit Our Online Store Today

If you are looking for a high-quality CBD product that you can trust, the best way to do so is to shop on a trusted online marketplace like ours, here at Pure CBD Now. It is our goal, as a CBD product manufacturer and an online CBD marketplace, to provide our customers with a premium inventory of CBD products ranging from CBD vape oils to CBD vape kits, CBD smokables, CBD tinctures, CBD rubs and creams, CBD for pets, CBD edibles, and even more CBD products.

If you have any questions about our products, we urge you to contact us today.