CBD For Beginners
A CBD Guide For Everyone
Whether or not you are already a CBD user doesn’t matter when it comes to exposure to this incredibly popular substance. The last few years have seen a dynamic increase in interest, usage, and research into CBD and other non-THC cannabinoids found in hemp and other the other plants of the cannabis family.
Cannabidiol, also known as CBD, is the single largest chemical compound by volume that is found in the hemp and cannabis plants. A cursory search online will reveal endless articles, tons of academic research, and an infinite supply of personal testimonies about how CBD has helped with some very serious conditions.
Our goal here is to examine CBD from a fairly high level, address some of the most common questions and misconceptions about CBD, and to provide the kind of information that will hopefully help to make you a more educated and responsible consumer when it comes to the CBD products that you choose to enjoy.
By continuing to read, you can expect us to address the following:
What Exactly is CBD?
Cannabidiol — referred to as CBD from here on out — is an organic chemical compound that is naturally found throughout the plant and animal kingdoms. CBD is a member of a family of organic chemical compounds called cannabinoids, of which there are at least 113 different varieties, including the much more famous and controversial tetrahydrocannabinol — or THC. However, unlike THC, CBD is non-psychoactive — meaning that it won’t get you “high” at all. As a matter of fact, some current studies are suggesting that CBD might actually have an inhibiting effect on the psychoactive qualities of THC.
Something that many people do not know is that the human brain actually makes its own CBD, just not a lot of it. All vertebrae mammals produce and consume CBD through a physiological-regulatory system called the Endocannabinoid System, or ECS.
How Does CBD Work?
When CBD connects with CBD receptors in the ECS, it is taken into the brain, processed, and begins taking effect on your body. Like the central nervous system or the lymphatic system, the ECS serves a specific purpose within your body: to regulate and maintain balance or homeostasis — that is to keep everything balanced and running in a healthy way.
Essentially, CBD acts as a small but important signal to your brain to regulate negative occurrences within your body. That’s the reason that we produce it naturally, and that is the reason that we are able to ingest CBD and enjoy the positive benefits of it in a relatively quick manner. So far, research has connected the effects of increased CBD to the ECS on mood, memory, appetite, pain perception, motor control, sleep effectiveness, and more.
Although we are still learning about the ECS, it is already abundantly clear that like everything else in our bodies, the ECS can wear down over time, failing to produce enough cannabinoids to effectively regulate our physiology, and this can cause potential health problems.
How Do I Know How Much CBD To Take?
This can be a little tricky. An important thing to note about CBD is that it is not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration of America: the FDA, so consumption guidelines can be a little hit or miss. However, you will notice that every single food-grade CBD product that you purchase has a recommended dosage. Why is that?
By law, any product that is produced for human ingestion must have a recommended serving or dosage labeled on it. In the case of your CBD products, this probably doesn’t make much sense given the wide variety of uses these products are deployed by consumers for. But, the law is the law, so you’ll find dosing recommendations that may or may not be helpful.
We’ve re-created a chart from HowMuchCBDShouldITake.com, but we encourage you to visit their site as it is a very helpful resource. As a general rule, the larger you are and the more severe the condition or symptoms you are looking for relief from, then the more CBD is needed to achieve the desired effect. But don’t worry, you can’t overdose on CBD.
Please keep in mind that this table is a starting reference guide. Chances are good that you will need to take a little less or a little more than what is listed, but this should help you find the right general area without the waste and frustration of too much unnecessary trial and error.
Can You Overdose on CBD?
As we mentioned above, you cannot overdose on CBD. Sadly, there is a lot of tension and hesitation in people’s minds about CBD because of the association that they make with THC. And although the two are related, they are completely different chemical compounds with completely different effects and benefits.
CBD is more like a vegetable or fruit — it is an essential part of what the body needs to maintain a healthy balance and operate at an optimal level. You can’t really have too much of a thing like that, but you can absolutely have too little.
Common Misconceptions About CBD
As mentioned above, because of the close association that people make between CBD and THC, there is some fear about whether or not these products are safe for you. Oddly enough, CBD may be able to help provide some relief from that fear.
Below, we will cover six of the most common misconceptions about CBD and provide the truth about these completely legal and natural products.
CBD Gets You High
Although most people know by now that THC is the psychoactive chemical compound in cannabis that produces a “high, “ this was a long time coming. Getting over the negative associations that we all had with THC from years of watching the US government wage the War on Drugs left many people feeling anxious about anything that might cause them problems. Thankfully, CBD won’t get you high.
Yes, it is true that full-spectrum CBD does contain trace amounts of THC, and yes it is true that all of the products offered by Amberwing Organics by NJ Farms are full-spectrum CBD products, so why won’t these get you “high?”
Simply put, there just isn’t enough THC present to even threaten you with a psychoactive experience. Full-spectrum CBD products, like those offered in our online store, contain less than .3% TCH by volume. That is just over one part per thousand, and significantly less than is needed to induce a “high”
If you are ironically paranoid about the THC content in your CBD products, you can find isolate and broad-spectrum CBD products that have completely filtered out the THC, but you’ll miss out on many of the other great cannabinoids that often get tossed out with the proverbial bathwater in such a process.
CBD Will Cause You To Fail A Drug Test
Please make sure to read the entirety of this one, because there are a few items to address here.
First and foremost, CBD won’t show up on your drug test because CBD is a legal compound that the body produces naturally. So if you are taking a broad-spectrum CBD product or something like a CBD crystalline isolate, then you can drug test 100% worry-free.
In the case of a full-spectrum CBD product, you should also be okay, but there can be exceptions. As stated earlier, full-spectrum CBD does contain trace amounts of THC, and while standard daily dosages won’t typically draw a red flag on a drug screening, people who take much higher than average doses might find themselves in a hot spot.
At the end of the day, simply be aware of what kind of CBD product you take, how much of it you take, and you can safely determine if you think it might be a potential issue on a drug test.
We would be remiss to mention that if you are not someone who enjoys a bath, CBD bath products need not be lost on you. If you have a mother, a sister, a sweetheart, a “besty”, a daughter, or a buddy who needs to take a break, a CBD bath bomb is a great gift to give.
There’s No Research To Back Up The Claims About CBD
Sadly, while the CBD industry has managed to largely overcome the stigma of being THC’s distant cousin, we are still struggling to get people to buy into the legitimacy of CBD and the science behind it.
The truth is that there have been tens of thousands of research hours put into CBD for everything from understanding how it is processed in the body to whether or not it provides viable and tangible relief for specific illnesses and medical conditions. However, since CBD is not regulated by the FDA, it remains illegal for anyone to make any kind of claim about its ability to treat or cure medical conditions of any kind, in any dosage.
That leaves many people feeling like CBD can’t be as good as people claim it is, or the government would put the time and resources into proving to its citizens that this is a safe and helpful product. If you want our advice, don’t wait up. Go do your homework yourself and make your own decision. There are a lot of great resources out there from reputable organizations and reliable third-party verification teams.
Just don’t fall into the trap of thinking that CBD is just an expensive essential oil.
Bigger Doses Equal Better Results
This is a completely natural assumption to make. After all, if you need to drive further, then you need more gas. If you are hungry, then more food will do a better job of filling you up than less food. The problem is that CBD just doesn’t work that way.
CBD has bi-phasic properties, meaning that small doses and large doses behave differently within the ECS. So while a larger dose will affect you differently, it might not provide the feeling or effect that you are searching for. We recommend using our dosing table — which can be found above — as a starting point, changing up your dosage by small amounts each day until you find what works best for you.
CBD from Marijuana is Superior To Hemp CBD
This is just blatantly false. Both marijuana and hemp both provide an acceptable source of CBD. However, people seem to be confused about what differences in quality, legality, etc. exist between the two, if any.
The only thing that we can think of is that the mental image of a marijuana plant is that of a bushy, dark green, and heavily flowered thriving plant. Search for images of hemp and you will typically see a taller, thinner, and more stringy plant.
You’re thinking of female marijuana plants and seeing male hemp plants. When it comes to hemp farming, male plants are used for fabric, while female plants — virtually indistinguishable to the untrained eye from female marijuana plants — are used for harvesting CBD.
All CBD is The Same
So by the logic above, CBD is CBD, right? Wrong. While we believe that CBD from either source is suitable to meet the needs of the ECS, the quality of the CBD that you are getting is what matters, and quality is directly affected by plant type, farming techniques, the extraction process, and more.
All of the products from Amberwing Organics by NJ farms are made from the highest quality hemp, grown and processed domestically to provide our customers with the elite-level CBD products that they deserve.
Find High-Quality, Organic Hemp CBD Products Online From Amberwing Organics by NJ Farms
We hope you found our guide to CBD useful and hope that you will also find exactly what you’re looking for among our line up of quality CBD oils, Gummies, Topicals and Pet Products — all made from the best ingredients with the best practices, all right here in the United States. Shop online
