If you’re interested in CBD oil – the non-psychoactive compound in marijuana widely touted for its wide range of healing properties – but don’t know where to start, you can get in touch with any of our herbalists to help get you started. With our Ask the Herbalist program, you can email our herbalists – or live chat them by pressing the blue chat button at the right hand bottom of this page – with any questions you may have.
Read on for the most common questions our herbalists receive about CBD and our Plant Alchemy products.
What is CBD?
Cannabidiol or CBD is a non-intoxicating component of the cannabis plant with enormous therapeutic potential. Although CBD doesn’t make people feel high like THC does, it’s causing quite a buzz among scientists, health professionals, and medical marijuana patients who are using CBD-rich products to treat a wide range of conditions – chronic pain, cancer, Crohn’s, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, PTSD, cardiovascular disease, anxiety, antibiotic-resistant infections, multiple sclerosis, schizophrenia, and more. Cannabidiol can change gene expression and remove beta amyloid plaque, the hallmark of Alzheimer’s, from brain cells.
What does the scientific research have to say about CBD?
Academic research centers in the United States and elsewhere are currently studying the effects of CBD on these and other ailments. Scientists refer to CBD as a “promiscuous” compound because it confers therapeutic benefits in many different ways while tapping into how we function physiologically and biologically on a deep level. Extensive preclinical research and some clinical studies have shown that CBD has strong anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticonvulsant, anti-depressant, anti-psychotic, anti-tumoral, and neuroprotective qualities.
Which is better, CBD or THC?
Cannabidiol and THC ( TetraHydroCannabinol) work best together. CBD enhances THC’s painkilling and anticancer properties. Even a small amount of THC can make CBD more effective. Plant Alchemy CBD products have no more than the legal limit of THC (which is 0.3%). While there is enough THC to potentiate CBD’s curative qualities in Plant Alchemy CBD products, the effects are not psychoactive.
What’s the best way to take CBD?
CBD-rich cannabis oil products can be taken sublingually, orally (as edibles, lozenges, beverages, tinctures, and gel caps), or applied topically. Concentrated cannabis oil extracts can also be heated and inhaled with a vape pen. Inhalation is good for treating acute symptoms that require immediate attention; the effects can be felt within a minute or two and typically last for a couple of hours. The effects of orally administered CBD-rich cannabis oil can last for four hours or more, but the onset of effects is much slower (30-90 minutes) than inhalation.
What is the optimal dosage of CBD?
An effective dosage can range from as little as a few milligrams of CBD-enriched cannabis oil to a gram or more. Begin with a small dose of high CBD/low THC oil, especially if you have little or no experience with cannabis. Take a few small doses over the course of the day rather than one big dose. Use the same dose and ratio for several days. Observe the effects and if necessary adjust the ratio or amount. Don’t overdo it. Too much THC can amplify anxiety and mood disorders. And although CBD has no known adverse side effects, too much can be less effective than a moderate dose. “Less is more” is often the case with respect to cannabis therapy.
Is it safe to inhale hemp CBD oil fumes from a vape pen?
Many cannabis- and hemp-derived CBD vape oil products include a thinning agent, which dilutes the oil that is heated and inhaled by vape pen users. Beware of vape pen oil that contains propylene glycol. When overheated, this chemical additive produces formaldehyde, a carcinogen, as a byproduct, according to a 2015 report in the New England Journal of Medicine. Why do so many vape oil products contain this thinning agent? It’s because of the dubious quality of the extracted material from which these unregulated cannabis oil products are made.
Does CBD have any adverse side effects? What about drug interactions?
CBD is a very safe substance, but patients taking other medications should check with their doctor about drug interactions, which are more likely when consuming high doses of single-molecule CBD products.
Is CBD legal?
CBD is legal to be bought in all 50 states of the U.S. Plant Alchemy CBD products are fully tested and verified by third party analytical labs, and contain no more than 0.3% of THC, which is the legal limit for THC in CBD.
Can I give my pet CBD?
CBD is safe for other mammals, and can provide anxiety and pain relief for our furry friends. Learn more about that here.
Where is Plant Alchemy CBD sourced from?
Our plants are grown in both field and greenhouse environments in Colorado. Our hemp is cultivated using living soil organic principles, leveraging strictly organic inputs and in full compliance with the controls defined by the Colorado Department of Agriculture. Our plants are some of the highest CBD cannabis varieties currently known.
What is the extraction process for Plant Alchemy CBD products?
All of our extracts are produced in a state-of-the-art laboratory and are free of any residual solvents for the purest oil possible. Our extraction facilities is one of the very few licensed and certified facilities in the State of Colorado focused on whole-plant, non-psychotropic cannabinoid processing of botanical material.
Are Plant Alchemy CBD products organic?
Yes. All our plants are grown using a true living organic cultivation methodology. We feed the soil so the soil can feed the plants.
Are Plant Alchemy CBD products sustainably grown?
Local inputs are leveraged wherever possible to avoid the carbon impact associated with shipping amendments across the country/world. Cultivation environments are operated on closed-loop permaculture principles to recycle and reuse wherever possible.
Are Plant Alchemy CBD products free of pesticides?
We pride ourselves on the cleanliness and consistency of our products – whether in botanical form or concentrated oils. All essential oils and biological pesticides used are OMRI certified and are non-toxic. All products are tested by 3rd party analytical labs using a variety of testing methodologies and are free from pesticides, molds and harmful microbes.
How potent is Plant Alchemy CBD?
With potency ranging from 500mg-100mg, our concentrated, full-spectrum CBD oils have 2x the cannabidiol concentration of foreign sourced hemp products.
Can I order Plant Alchemy CBD products and have them shipped to another state?
As long as CBD products contain no more than 0.3% of THC, they can be shipped across states. Plant Alchemy CBD products are fully tested and verified by third party analytical labs, and contain no more than 0.3% of THC, which is the legal limit for THC in CBD. Therefore, shipping our product from state to state is legal.
Learn more about our Plant Alchemy line of CBD products.
