This scenario probably sounds familiar: You pull up to a gas station and see advertisements for vape juice and CBD oil. You might wonder if it’s legal to buy CBD at a gas station or if you should be spending your money on it. Does it really matter where you buy your CBD oil?
Yes. It really matters, and if you want quality stuff without the risks, you’ll do your homework and look for CBD oil that will fulfill your needs and expectations. Unfortunately, the CBD world is not as regulated as you might hope, so poorly made CBD oil or false CBD oil sometimes makes it into the hands of consumers. To avoid becoming a victim of this problem, learn where you should be buying your CBD.
Shopping Online for CBD Oil
There are hundreds of CBD oil shops, but not all will sell quality CBD. The disadvantage of buying CBD oil online is that you don’t get to hold the CBD oil in your hand or talk to the manufacturer. The advantage is you have plenty of information at your fingertips. If you want to find the best CBD oil for sale online, you’ll follow a few guidelines for sourcing good CBD oil.
- Read Customer Reviews
Customer reviews are windows into the proverbial soul of a CBD company. It gives unfiltered views of what the company is like, how good the products are, and if customers would shop there again. Because reviews are often anonymous or difficult to pinpoint who wrote them, consumers will typically be honest when writing them.
Always read consumer reviews before making a purchasing decision. Pay attention to the stated quality of the oil, the shopping experience, the customer service, the shipping speed, the packaging comments, and any other information that might be important for your unique customer experience.
Keep in mind that reviews can be fabricated, so check for non-native-English reviews with misspellings, a lack of negative reviews, and other signs that the reviews might have been purchased. If the review sounds authentic, it’s probably safe to trust it.
Check the Hemp Source
An important source of regulation in the CBD industry is the USDA’s involvement in the growth of industrial hemp. They have specific guidelines that help to keep hemp used for CBD and hemp seed oils safe for consumption. Specifically, industrial hemp must be grown organically without toxins, chemicals, herbicides, or pesticides.
Research the source of the industrial hemp that was used to make the CBD you’re looking to purchase. If it falls under the prevue of the USDA guidelines, you can usually trust that it will be safe for consumption, another point for the CBD company you’re researching.
- Read Third-Party Lab Reports
The CBD industry has taken it upon themselves to help regulate the safety of the industry for consumers’ best interests. One metric they use to set apart quality CBD oil companies from seedy ones is through third party lab reports.
CBD manufacturers and/or retailers are expected to submit batches of CBD oil products to a lab to analyze the CBD content, test for toxins, identify other ingredients in the oil, and other essential information.
As a consumer, you have a right to see these lab reports before purchasing oil from a company. It’s important to identify any objectionable content in the reports that would set the CBD oil you’re considering at a lower bar than other products out there.
You’ll also want to check that CBD is actually present in the oil and that it’s at the potency stated on the bottle. This information is essential because some companies will try to sell you “CBD oil” that contains no CBD at all. This supposed concoction would actually be hemp seed oil that the retailer is claiming to be CBD oil. Hemp seed oil is good for you, but without CBD, it won’t offer the same benefits for your health and wellness.
You’ll also want to check the THC content. When sold legally online in the United States, CBD cannot contain more than 0.3 percent THC. This means it won’t get you high and it’s generally believed safe for consumption.
- Read the Label
It’s also important to read the label of the CBD you’re looking to purchase. What are the ingredients listed? Is there anything foreign seeming that might raise a red flag? Can you pronounce the ingredients? If it seems like the CBD oil is filled with more ingredients that you can’t pronounce than ingredients that you can, it might not be great quality stuff.
You’ll want to look for all-organic and natural ingredients. You might also identify any ingredients that were added to enhance the effects of the CBD. For example, a CBD oil made for sleep might contain melatonin as well or CBD designed to boost your energy might contain specific B vitamins.
Buying CBD at a Gas Station or Locally
When you’re buying CBD that’s not in an online setting, like a gas station or a liquor store, it can be a little trickier to identify the quality of the CBD. You don’t have as much information at your fingertips to help you determine the quality and safety of the product. Because the FDA is not involved in the regulation of CBD at this time, it’s not easy to know if what you’re getting is good stuff.
It’s hard to say if locally sold CBD is safe, but you can try to do some research online on the brand or the store that’s selling it. You might be able to find reviews or other online resources to teach you about the quality and whether or not you should avoid it.
You might have better luck buying the best CBD oil at a cannabis dispensary in states where the sale of cannabis is legal. There, you can speak with a cannabis expert about your concerns, and you might even recognize some of the brands being sold there.
Just be sure to check the THC content when buying at a cannabis dispensary! It’s legal to sell combinations of THC and CBD there, so you might walk out of the store with a product that will get you high and that will be illegal to take across borders.
It’s not easy to choose quality CBD, but with these guidelines, you and help to avoid dangerous products or scams that won’t do you any good.
