what is cbd oil?

A-list stars can’t get enough of this wonder supplement, but not all CBD oils are created equal. Here’s how to find one that works.

It’s

undoubtedly the supplement of the moment. Jennifer Aniston takes CBD oil for joint pain; Brazilian model Alessandra Ambrosio uses it to induce sleep and calm her nerves; and Kim Kardashian West threw a CBDthemed baby shower last year, at which guests were encouraged to blend their own CBD bath oils.

Other celebrities are taking things further still by joining the growing band of so-called ‘cannapreneurs’. Whoopi Goldberg has co-founded a line of cannabisinfused wellness products, Whoopi & Maya, specialising in cannabis and CBD-infused bath and body products, while lifestyle entrepreneur Martha Stewart partnered with the marijuana company Canopy Growth, to develop CBD products for pets.

There’s no doubt about it: CBD is big business. So much so that market research company, The Brightfield Group, predicts that the medicinal CBD market will grow from US$590 million (R8.7 billion) to US$22 billion (R326.5 billion) by 2022. In the UK alone, the CBD market is set to skyrocket to £1 billion (R19.2 billion) per annum by 2025 if the growth continues at the current pace, according to a report commissioned by the country’s Centre For Medicinal Cannabis (CMC).

But unfortunately, since not every business in the CBD gold rush has its customers’ best interests at heart, not all CBD products are created equal. And with few rules and regulations to keep the booming industry in check, CBD has evolved into a multi-billionUS-dollar Wild West. A report last June by PhytoVista Laboratories, a reputable lab for testing cannabis oils and hemp products, turned up worrying results after testing more than 30 CBD products available in the UK for the CMC. Sixteen contained less CBD than advertised, and eight of these contained less than half the amount they claimed on the bottle. One product – which had a R1 747 price tag – contained no CBD whatsoever.

does cBd live up to the hype?

Not to be confused with medical cannabis, CBD is made from hemp, a variety of the cannabis plant that doesn’t make you high. It’s low in tetrahydrocannabinol (known as THC, it’s the main psychoactive compound in marijuana that gives the high sensation). In the right dose and form, CBD really can help manage – but not cure

– a huge range of health issues, according to Dr Dani Gordon, integrative medicine physician, a world-leading expert in CBD and cannabis medicine, and author of

The CBD Bible. That’s because CBD

(short for cannabidiol) works on the endocannabinoid system, the body and brain’s main balancing system. “It works on many very diverse pathways,” explains Dr Gordon. “That’s why we’re seeing it used on so many things, from pain to skin.”

WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN CBD SHOPPING:

know what’s in it

These days, most of us won’t eat a cereal bar without first checking the label, and we should adopt the same level of care when buying CBD. “Any reputable company will offer you a Certificate of Analysis (COA),” says Dr Gordon. “This is done by a third party lab that shows that what you get inside is the strength it says it is, whether it contains isolate of full-spectrum CBD and which other plant compounds are in there, and finally that it doesn’t contain any of the things you don’t want in there, like moulds and pesticides.” The batch number of the product should be on the bottle, which can be researched on the brand’s website. If you can’t see the COA certificate on the company’s website, email them to request it.”

KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FULL-SPECTRUM AND CBD ISOLATES

“When you go shopping for CBD you’ll generally come across three different options: CBD isolates, full-spectrum hemp oil, and broadspectrum hemp oil; it’s the latter two you want to go for,” says Dr Gordon. “This means the whole plant has been used, as opposed to an extracted isolate, which seems to work better because lots of the plant’s different chemicals work symbiotically together.”

So why don’t all companies use the whole plant? It’s because the more purified form of CBD – the CBD isolate – is cheaper. “It can be made from lower quality plants, which are then processed to get rid of the contaminates, isolating just the CBD,” explains Dr Gordon. “CBD is a commodity like any other cash crop and the price of isolate has come down quicker.”

check the strength

The milligrams of CBD should always be stated on the label. “If you don’t see it, don’t buy it,” says Dr Gordon. “A percentage without the milligrams doesn’t tell you anything.” So what kind of numbers should we be looking for? “A lot of standard brands offer 300mg to 2 000mg, which can be in a 30ml, 40ml, or 60ml bottle. If you see a very high amount, check it’s not an isolate by looking at the COA.”

Most companies state a suggested dose on the bottle, but there’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to CBD. “It depends what you’re using it for,” says Dr Gordon. “Start low and go slow. For a chronic condition, you should be taking it daily. It isn’t a quick fix.”

choose cBd brands with integrity

A brand’s motivation matters, and for every charlatan CBD brand there are as many with their hearts – and certificates – in the right place. “There needs to be more rules and regulations,” says co-founder of premium CBD brand Kloris, Kim Smith. “There’s so much hype and marketing, it’s quite confusing for the customer. At Kloris, we selfstandardise and go above and beyond to make sure it does what it says on the tin – and, equally, that there’s nothing in there that shouldn’t be,” says Kim.

A former music-industry PR and artist, whose own personal health experience with CBD led her to start the company, Kim had found that CBD helped her period pains and anxiety, but that not all brands helped to the same degree. This led her to research and learn everything she could to try and find out why this might be. Fortunately, she had a head start with two plant scientists in her partner’s family. “It’s all so new. The endocannabinoid system was only discovered in the ’90s and we were in a unique position to pick these plant-science minds,” she says.

The key trick when shopping for CBD is to keep an eye out for those companies with the integrity to self-regulate. At least until regulations catch up with the booming CBD market, the old maxim stands: buyer beware.

“CBD is made from hemp, a variety of the cannabis plant that doesn’t make you high”