What to Consider Before Purchasing CBD Products Online
Over the counter, the marijuana business is complicated. This is due to a lack of harmony in the laws regulating it across jurisdictions. Due to these discrepancies and the general convenience of e-commerce, online purchases are booming in the CBD market. While e-commerce has excellent advantages in the CBD industry, it also has its pitfalls if you don’t know how to go about it. We have put together a list of what to look out for in an online selling platform and products on offer to ensure you get the best CBD oil and the best of whatever CBD product you want to buy.
Customer and Expert Reviews of Both the Product and the Manufacturer
One of the most significant limitations you will experience when buying CBD online is the inability to see the product and seek clarification from shop attendants. The online alternative for this is reading customer reviews and also reviews from experts. The online platform where the product is on sale will have a section where previous customers comment on their experience when ordering and shipping. They will also comment on their experience when using the product. If there is a considerable percentage of negative comments, it would be good to consider a different vendor or product depending on the reviews.
You can also tell whether products are good or bad, depending on which experts review them and what the reviewers say about them. Some premium expert platforms only review the best quality products, and you are therefore unlikely to find unsafe, backstreet CBD products reviewed there. The experts on platforms such as American Marijuana understand CBD products thoroughly. Their analysis and rating of the products should tell you all you need to know about them.
Quality Control Measures
The CBD industry is not well regulated by the government. This lack of regulation leaves a lot of room for quacks to produce inferior quality products. Manufacturers, therefore, must put in place measures to ensure the interests of consumers are protected. The best products to buy online are those with the following attributes.
Made from American Grown Organic Hemp
The quality of CBD products is mostly dependent on the quality of hemp. Hemp is a bio-accumulator, which means that it stores within itself whatever is in the soil in which it grows. Thus, if it comes in contact with pesticides and chemical fertilizers, it retains them, and they ultimately find their way in the product.
American standards for organic farming are extremely stringent, and hemp grown in the country wouldn’t have toxins. Your CBD product will most likely be safe.
Extracted Using Supercritical CO2 Method
The hemp extract used in manufacturing your CBD will have to be gotten from the hemp somehow. One way of obtaining the hemp extract is by using a solvent. The hemp extract dissolves in the solvent, and the mixture of the two is then distilled to separate the hemp extract from the solvent. Sometimes the distillation process isn’t exhaustive, and the hemp extract retains some solvent residue. This residue is not meant for consumption, and its presence makes the product unsafe. The CO2 extraction method doesn’t use solvents at all, and it, therefore, eliminates this problem.
Third-Party Testing
As mentioned, there are few regulations in the CBD industry. As a result, research has shown that a large percentage of CBD product labels are inaccurate. The best way to reassure customers is by having the manufacturer’s claims on the contents of the products verified by an independent entity. The manufacturer engages the services of an ISO 17025 certified lab to analyze their product. A Certificate of Analysis for each batch should be made public to see precisely what is contained in the product you buy.
The legality of the Product Where You Live
Make sure it is legal to use CBD products where you live. This will help you avoid having run-ins with the law when your product is shipped to you.