- by Dean Pagliaro
The online CBD market can be tricky to navigate. Swimming through customer reviews and Reddit threads to find the best ones could take forever and will likely add to the stress that made you want to try CBD in the first place. That’s why we’ve done the work for you. CBD is available in physical retail stores, but your options are likely to be limited. And if you don’t live in a super populated area, you may not be able to find it IRL at all.
Most online retailers will offer a selection of oils, tinctures, capsules, vape juices, drinkable syrups, topical creams, and gummies, so even the pickiest folks should be able to find a form that they can tolerate. Some retailers also offer special pet products for dogs and cats who need to chill as well.
Heads up: Remember that farm bill that we mentioned? While it does legalize hemp and hemp products, the FDA still isn’t psyched about brands encouraging customers to put CBD in food or brands claiming that their CBD products are dietary supplements. However, it’s nearly impossible to find one online CBD retailer that doesn’t do one or the other.
In attempts to get around this, most retailers will have a disclaimer emphasizing that none of their products are approved by the FDA and are not intended to cure or treat any diseases. Remember that survey we mentioned at the beginning of the article? Edibles were the most popular CBD product of the people who have tried it before. ‘Nuff said.
Hemp-derived CBD products fall under one of two categories that speak to how much of the plant was used:
Isolates are the purified, THC-free stuff. This means that the CBD has been isolated and other cannabinoids and terpenes have been filtered out, giving most isolate products a light or clear color. They won’t really smell or taste like anything, which can be good if you’re grossed out by the hemp scent or are just picky in general. Many times, you’ll see these labeled simply as “THC-free.”
Full spectrum is the mixed, heavier-duty stuff. This means that the oil, capsule, or whatever you’ve chosen was made from the entire plant and contains cannabinoids other than CBD, terpenes, and fatty acids naturally found in cannabis.
The majority of users, unless they’re super paranoid about THC, seem to prefer full spectrum products over isolates simply because, well, they just work better. When all of the cannabinoids, terpenes, and all of that other good stuff team up, they work together in synergy to offer the human body more relief, creating what scientists have coined as the entourage effect.
Full-spectrum CBD should be fine and dandy in most places, but should be used with caution in states that are less lenient. You should probably stick with isolates if:
You live in a state that’s strict about cannabis without a medical marijuana card or where CBD is only legal if there’s 0% THC
You get drug tested (or could get drug tested) regularly at work
Your body has had a negative reaction to THC in the past
