Apotheca Dispensary

UNDERSTANDING CBD PRODUCTS

CBD, or cannabidiol, is one of over 100 compounds called cannabinoids that are found naturally in cannabis plants.

CBD and THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) are the two most well-known cannabinoids and have vastly different effects on the human body. Unlike THC, CBD has no psychoactive effects. CBD is instead sought after for non-scientifically proven wellness benefits.

All of the CBD products you will find at Apotheca are derived from hemp plants. Hemp has been used as a textile, paper, foodstuff, and traditional medicinal ingredient for thousands of years. Hemp has seen a resurgence in the United States in recent years and the hemp industry is one of the fastest-growing businesses in the country. In 2017, hemp products across all categories were $1.9 billion. Hemp-derived CBD products made up $646 million of that total.

In the Apotheca store, you will find CBD products ranging from oils to creams to capsules. By far the most common products on the market are oil tinctures. CBD oil tinctures are made with hemp extract in a carrier fluid like hemp seed oil or MCT oil and are often blended with essential oils. These oils offer a quick, easy way of administering a dose of CBD. They are typically sold in 1oz bottles and are labeled by how many total milligrams of CBD are in one bottle.

Many brands offer starter kits or sample packs of their oil tinctures. These are a great place to start for new customers who aren’t sure what will work best for them. These starter kits typically include hemp extracts infused with a number of different ingredients like essential oils, as well as pure hemp products. This allows customers to explore multiple flavor profiles and potencies for an affordable price.

NEXT STEPS WITH CBD

CBD is used for a variety of reasons. Likewise, the preferred method of delivery varies from customer to customer based on their intended benefit.

In addition to tinctures, many customers report to receive benefits from topical salves and creams. These are applied directly to the skin and rubbed in like other skin care creams. Others prefer vape oils, which are heated up in a vaporizer pen and inhaled. Another alternative is gel capsules, which are swallowed and release CBD once the capsule is dissolved by the digestive process. Each delivery method has unique qualities and applications.

ADVANCED STEPS WITH CBD

There are a number of factors to consider when picking the perfect CBD product.

Customers using CBD for chronic conditions may increase their potency, buying oil tinctures with anywhere from 1,000-5,000 mg of CBD per one or two-ounce bottle. These products allow customers to continue with the same dose size (usually between 3 drops to 1 milliliter) while getting more CBD per dose.

It’s also important to consider if full-spectrum or pure CBD isolate is best for you. Full-spectrum products deliver a dose of CBD, and also include a wide range of other cannabinoids, terpenes, flavonoids, and other natural nutrients found in hemp. Many researchers point to the “entourage effect”—a process where all of these compounds together increase their effectiveness—as a reason to use full-spectrum hemp products.

While hemp products are legally required to have less than 0.3% THC by dry weight, a full-spectrum hemp extract still contains some THC (but not enough to be psychoactive). If that’s a concern for you, CBD isolate is the best solution to receive the benefits of hemp without any of the compounds you want to avoid.

Many customers seek a specific blend of cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids. To show which of the many compounds is found in a particular tincture, salve, or capsule, Apotheca requires every product be third-party lab tested. The reports generated by this testing show the amount of each cannabinoid in a particular strain. It is a good practice to do research on which compounds contribute to the benefit you’re looking for and find products rich in those cannabinoids or terpenes.

WHY CBD?

There is still much to learn about CBD and the way it interacts with the body. The most significant development in understanding CBD is the discovery of the endocannabinoid system.

This system, present in humans and every animal, operates as a “thermostat” for the body’s many functions. When you’re feeling too hot or too cold, too hungry or too tired, the body activates the endocannabinoid system to get back to equilibrium.

With their involvement in so many bodily functions, cannabinoid receptors are believed to be the most common receptors in the central nervous system. Some researchers speculate “modulating Endocannabinoid System activity may have therapeutic potential in almost all diseases affecting humans.” *

While your body produces signaling molecules and enzymes that interact with endocannabinoid receptors, phytocannabinoids (cannabinoids found in plants)—including CBD—also interact with this system. Researchers are actively working to understand how this interaction between CBD and endocannabinoid receptors could make the compound useful in treating a whole host of conditions, from epilepsy to chronic pain and inflammation.

The interplay between the body and CBD is one of the many complex topics we explore in greater detail on the Apotheca blog. Some of our CBD-centric topics can be found below.

APOTHECA IS HERE TO HELP

CBD is an exciting compound that has many applications. At Apotheca, our mission is to provide consumers accurate, detailed information so they can make the best decisions when it comes to their personal wellbeing.

We carefully select each product in our store based on the brand’s growing practices, extraction method, and consistent products. We select products made with organic hemp and natural ingredients. We are always testing new products and adding new brands to our store to ensure we have the best, most pure products available.