If you are looking into using CBD oil for any number of reasons, you want a high quality product that you can trust. Consumers put a lot of trust in companies to provide products that contain what the manufacturer says it contains - however one survey of online bought CBD oil products found that a majority had incorrect levels of CBD, some had more than specified, some had less. Needless to say, this raises some issues.
What is CBD oil?
CBD has taken the world by storm as a new supplement that can be taken in various forms. While the body of evidence is still growing, there are plenty of indications that cannabinoids extracted from the hemp plant can be beneficial for a number of issues. While cannabis is known for it's psychoactive effect, it has been studied since the 1940's, when CBD was first discovered in cannabis sativa plants from Minnesota.
CBD is short for 'cannabidiol' and is a compound found in the cannabis plant family. It is typically the second most common of the cannabinoids - the compounds unique to the cannabis plant - the first of which is tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC for short. CBD Oil has a good safety profile and no abuse potential, according to the World Health Organization. This, plus the potential benefits, is why it is legal to buy CBD oil in the UK.
THC is known for is psychoactive effects, and is why cannabis produces a 'high' when smoked. The second most common cannabinoid is CBD and unlike THC, it has no psychotropic effect (i.e. it doesn't get you high). THC is why the cannabis plant is illegal in many places, and medicinal cannabis (often termed 'medical marijuana') is strictly controlled.
The interesting thing about getting cannabinoids out of the hemp plant is that the plant type determines the compounds available. In the case of CBD products, hemp plants are often used because these are cannabis plants with less than 0.3% THC in!
Types of CBD Oils
CBD oils have been available for a while on the UK retail market as food supplements but CBD based medications have been established for a few uses, like treating epilepsy and aiding chemotherapy. As CBD is found alongside THC (a controlled substance in the UK) CBD producers are held to a high standard for what level of THC is acceptable for UK products. Any product with over 1mg THC per container, regardless of how large, is illegal.
The hemp plant contains more than just THC and CBD including many other beneficial compounds such as terpenes and flavonoids. These work with CBD to produce something called 'the entourage effect' - the action of compounds synergising to increase their effectiveness. However, not all CBD products contain all of these extra compounds so don't get the full effects of the cannabinoids, terpenes and flavonoids working together.
CBD Isolate - These products contain just the compound CBD, likely extracted from hemp plants to avoid including any unwanted THC. This is the closest you get to pure CBD.
Broad Spectrum CBD - These products contain CBD and these other beneficial natural ingredients: terpenes and flavonoids. This means broad spectrum cannabidiol oil benefits from the entourage effect!
Full Spectrum CBD - These products contain everything found in the hemp plant (and can be made from other cannabis strains), so that includes CBD, the terpenes and flavonoids and the psychoactive THC.
Watch out for other products with similar names! Hemp oil sometimes means CBD oil, but sometimes is confused with hemp seed oils, which are two different things. Hemp oil is likely to be a full-spectrum CBD product so contains CBD, THC and the other compounds, whereas hemp seed oil is made from pressing hemp seeds and doesn't contain cannabinoids. A quick Google of the term will demonstrate how these terms are often used, incorrectly, interchangeably: so make sure to read the ingredients when purchasing cannabis products!
What benefits does CBD oil give?
CBD oils are being used to treat a number of illnesses, help with medications and otherwise improve people's quality of life. CBD Oil is able to do this because CBD interacts with receptors on many cells in our body, and this connection network is known as the endocannabinoid system.
While more research needs to be done on CBD, it appears that the endocannabinoid system plays a role in regulating our body's communication. From reducing the firing of neurons in muscle spasm, to reducing inflammation of injuries or muscle soreness and even reducing the perception of pain, the early evidence for the use of CBD oil in a wide variety of health issues is incredibly promising.
Other ailments that treatment with CBD oil may improve include:
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High blood pressure
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Neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's and multiple sclerosis
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Migraines
And the list goes on!
The problems with inaccurately labelled CBD Products
Firstly, the UK recognises CBD Oil being used to treat an ailment as medicinal and dosing plays a huge part in medical treatment. Inaccurate labelling makes precise dosing difficult; while the typical doses used for CBD won't present side effects in most people, someone trying to find an effective dose may have trouble, especially if they switch to a different manufacturers' product.
Secondly, many of the CBD oil products examined contained higher levels of THC than stated on the label. This was true of one brand of CBD products that were on the shelves in Holland and Barrett stores across the UK. While the levels of THC were unlikely to cause a 'high' in an adult, it may have been enough to impact a young teen or child.
With some of these products containing more THC than allowed, they could potentially cause a positive result on a drug test which could result in loss of employment if you are subject to drug tests at work, or being disqualified from competition if you are a high-level athlete.
CBD Oil you can trust - SMOKO CBD
To ensure you are buying a CBD product that contains what the label says, you will need to check if the manufacturer has lab test certificates available for viewing. If they don't, there is no guarantee that you are getting what they say is in the product.
At SMOKO our CBD oil products' independent third party lab tested certificates are available for our customers to view online - so you know you can trust SMOKO CBD when you buy CBD oil from us.
We achieve a high purity of broad-spectrum CBD products using a cryogenic CBD extraction that ensures we have all the goodness from the CBD, terpenes and flavonoids - but are THC free! We don't use British cannabis, and instead use cannabis sativa L hemp plants grown in Oregon, USA - but our CBD products are made in the UK!
CBD Products
There is a wide variety of CBD products on the market, partially due to the three different types of CBD products, but also due to the way the body absorbs it.
For some ailments it makes sense to use a CBD oil infused topical cream or gel. Applying CBD topically gets it through the skin but not into the capillaries beneath so it doesn't get into the blood and distributed around the body this way. This works for surface level issues like acne, eczema, potentially muscle soreness and joint issues.
Other ingestible CBD products gets cannabidiol into the blood which will affect the endocannabinoid system, helping to provide benefits not seen with topical versions. This includes CBD oral drops, CBD tinctures and CBD gummies. The benefits include reducing blood pressure, increasing insulin sensitivity, helping improve sleep quality, possibly improving focus and concentration, and helping with anxiety and depression.
One most popular way to consume CBD is to vape it! This gets CBD into the bloodstream fast and is probably the most efficient method, however getting a dose can be a little tricky. In the UK, the maximum legal tank size is 2ml, so you will be dosing in this volume but trying to consume it all in one 'dosing session' may be beyond the realms of possibility. Instead, it is likely to take some time to get through your tank of CBD e-liquid. It may be that this is a great way to top up the levels of CBD in your system, but may work best with an ingestible form of cannabidiol.
CBD Dosage
Assuming you have an accurately labelled product, like SMOKO's CBD oral drops, getting started with dosage is fairly straightforward.
The only medical preparation/medication that utilises CBD is Epidiolex which is used to treat rare forms of epilepsy, to great effect. Evidence indicates that a small number of sufferers may eliminate their seizures altogether, and many others will significantly reduce the frequency of their seizures. This medication uses a starting dose of of 2.5mg per kilo administered twice daily, so for a 60kg adult that would mean taking 300mg per day.
With other CBD products, finding the precise dosage that works for you requires a little experimentation. It's always a good idea to start your dose low and then increase as necessary.
Oral drops use sublingual dosing (under the tongue) and at SMOKO we have a range of strengths: 500mg, 1000mg and 2000mg. That means a single drop from our 500mg strength CBD oil oral drops gives you about 1.6mg per drop and we recommend two-to-three drops per dosing, giving you between 3.2mg and 4.8mg. Do this twice a day to start with, and increase to three times if necessary.
From there, you can increase to the 1000mg bottle and reduce back to a few drops, and after a while if you find you want to up the dose you can jump to the 2000mg strength and reduce the number of drops back to one or two, a couple of times a day.
Another great way to get your CBD is to eat CBD gummies! These are tasty little treats (that you can pop in the freezer for an extra chewy experience!) that contain a set amount of CBD. At SMOKO, our CBD gummies contain 25mg of broad-spectrum CBD each and you get 10 in a pack, so a whole packet contains 250mg of CBD.
This variety can help you to get CBD when you need it in a couple of different ways, but as both forms pass through the digestive tract, keep in mind it will take a little time to take effect.
Highest Quality lab tested CBD Oil UK Conclusion
SMOKO is a cannabidiol oil shop you can trust. You can check out our CBD testing certificates on our website so you can see for yourself that we can indeed put our money where our mouth is when we say we provide the best CBD oil in the UK!
If you want to buy CBD oil, it is worth talking to a healthcare professional. CBD Oil can interact with other medications so if you are currently taking prescribed medicine you don't want to mess with it... unless you are taking opioids, in which case CBD oil may be able to help you reduce the strength of the opiate medication - just check with a doctor first!
*2024 Update - Don't miss out on our limited-time offer of a FREE* pack of CBD Gummy Bears when you buy any of our amazing CBD products!
