What Is a Certificate of AnalysisWhat Standards Make The Best CBD?
There is a lot of debate in the Hemp Industry surrounding what standards make the best CBD. The most effective, efficient, and safest ways to extract CBD from the Hemp plant are in debate.
CBD was first extracted in 1946 by Dr. Walter S. Loewe and has been steadily researched for its medicinal properties. In 2018 CBD hit the nonprescription market and the industry boomed. At this time the amendment to the 2018 Farm Bill removed CBD and hemp from the list of “scheduled” drugs banned by the Controlled Substance Act. With this sudden boom in production and availability, there became many grey areas on what is the best method for extraction. Below are the best ways to determine what standards make the best CBD.
Best Extraction Process
We believe that the best extraction process currently available is CO2 extraction. To simplify, Supercritical CO2 Extraction is true to its name. It extracts using CO2, common to our environment. The other two most common methods are Butane and Ethanol extraction. Ethanol is chosen because of the simplicity of the extraction process & the ability to remove chlorophyll. Butane has the ability to extract a high yield of specific Cannabinoids and filter out the unused plant matter. It is debatable if CO2 extraction produces the most CBD per pound of hemp. It is not debatable that this method is the safest for consumption and produces the smallest environmental footprint. Also, though all solvents should be removed during the extraction process Ethanol & Butane are not natural to the human body or our natural environment. For these reasons, we believe that CO2 extraction produces the best CBD.
How to Know What You’re Buying
The best method to determine what you are buying is to ask three questions. The answer should only be CO2 extraction, we do not recommend purchasing anything else. The second question should be “Where is the certificate of analysis?” This is a 3rd party lab report on what is actually in the CBD you are purchasing. To understand how to read this report please refer to our previous blog “What Is a Certificate of Analysis.” If the report is not available or does not match up with the product label you probably should not purchase it. We keep these reports for the products sold by 502 Hemp available on our website under the Certificate of Analysis tab.
How & Where The Best Hemp Is Grown
We use hemp grown organically in Kentucky for all of our proprietary products. Some companies get their hemp from a variety of different sources in an effort to save money. This low bid process allows for pesticides & inconsistencies in the end product. We third party test our hemp to ensure that there is nothing harmful in the plant. Always ask where the hemp comes from. If they don’t know, we don’t recommend buying it.
Taste Test
In our experience, most people who do not receive the desired benefit from CBD are those who do not take it consistently. The most common reason for this is the taste. The “natural” flavor of CBD to be appealing to some. The bitter nature of the chlorophyll left over after extraction, it is not for those with a sensitive pallet. For this reason, flavors commonly referred to as terpenes are added to make CBD more palatable.
We have created boutique flavors at 502 Hemp in an assortment of varieties. In our oils, we have everything from a sweet Orange Dreamsicle to a Bourbon all natural flavor to please a variety of consumers.
We believe that having standards is important. Asking questions and being a knowledgeable consumer is extremely important. To determine what standards make the best CBD for you these factors are critical. If any one of these is missing you may be better off to keep looking.
