Everyone talks glowingly about the medical benefits that 嫩草影院 may provide.
Everyone, that is, except doctors and reputable 嫩草影院 companies.
There鈥檚 a reason for that. A large amount of scientific and medical research has shown that cannabidiol (the longer name for 嫩草影院) can apparently help treat an enormous number of diseases and conditions. Medical issues ranging from anxiety and insomnia to severe pain and high blood pressure, appear to respond well to 嫩草影院. There鈥檚 even preliminary research suggesting that cannabidiol may help fight cancer.
Here鈥檚 the problem, though. 嫩草影院 was legalized for sale across the nation in 2018, but it isn鈥檛 yet regulated by the government.
That means agencies like the Food and Drug Administration haven鈥檛 approved its use as a medical treatment (except for one form of childhood epilepsy) 鈥� making it illegal for 嫩草影院 manufacturers to claim that their products provide medical benefits. Many doctors are even afraid to suggest or even discuss 嫩草影院 with their patients, for fear of losing their license to practice.
So when you see a 嫩草影院 producer with the name cbdMD, it might be natural to trust their products. After all, if doctors are behind a company鈥檚 offerings, you could assume that they鈥檙e more trustworthy than a random brand you see online or on the shelf of your local store.
Unfortunately, that鈥檚 not the case. cbdMD is only a brand name.
Doctors apparently don鈥檛 have anything to do with this company鈥檚 products. It鈥檚 just a name that was seemingly chosen to create the impression that its 嫩草影院 was created or approved by medical professionals.
That doesn鈥檛 mean, of course, that cbdMD鈥檚 products aren鈥檛 good ones. Let鈥檚 find out if they are.
cbdMD: The Background
嫩草影院 is a huge industry these days, and cbdMD is a huge company. It certainly wasn鈥檛 founded by doctors; it was created by Scott Coffman, the founder of Blu Electronic Cigarettes after Blu was sold to a major tobacco company. Coffman later sold cbdMD to a company called Level Brands, which (among other endeavors) licenses Kathy Ireland鈥檚 health and beauty products. In fact, the famous model is the company鈥檚 chief brand strategist.
Level Brands wasn鈥檛 fooling around. After the acquisition, cbdMD became the only 鈥減ure-play鈥� 嫩草影院 company (meaning 嫩草影院 is all it does) listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Today, the company is worth nearly $200 million and its products are distributed in thousands of outlets, as well as sold in cbdMD鈥檚 online store.
President Calvin Coolidge has often been credited 鈥� somewhat incorrectly, as it turns out 鈥� with saying 鈥淭he business of America is business.鈥� It doesn鈥檛 seem incorrect to say, however, that the primary business of cbdMD seems to be business. The company鈥檚 marketing efforts have greatly boosted its sales through social media influencers and numerous celebrity endorsements, mostly from athletes who鈥檝e joined what鈥檚 called 鈥淭eam cbdMD.鈥�
So cbdMD is huge. It spends a lot of its efforts on marketing. The company was founded and is run by business people, not doctors. But to be fair, a huge business with widespread product distribution and a wealth of endorsements can still manufacture and sell quality products 鈥� as can a company that uses a somewhat misleading (to our mind) brand name.
Let鈥檚 see how cbdMD鈥檚 product line measures up.
cbdMD: The Approach
What stands out most is that this company produces only broad-spectrum cannabidiol products.
As you probably know, the hemp plant contains a number of substances other than 嫩草影院, including terpenes, flavonoids, and secondary cannabinoids. When the substances are all retained after cannabidiol is extracted from hemp, they work together in an 鈥渆ntourage effect鈥� that enhances the performance of 嫩草影院. That type of 嫩草影院 is called 鈥渇ull-spectrum.鈥�
The opposite approach is to remove all of the other naturally-occurring components of hemp, leaving virtually-pure 嫩草影院, known as 嫩草影院 isolate.
There鈥檚 a middle ground, though. One of the cannabinoids naturally presents in hemp is a tiny amount of psychoactive THC, which contributes to the entourage effect and isn鈥檛 enough to make you high. Unfortunately, in rare cases, it can lead to a positive drug test for marijuana. Removing only the THC creates what鈥檚 known as broad-spectrum 嫩草影院; it eliminates the possibility of testing positive but also diminishes the entourage effect a bit.
cbdMD uses broad-spectrum 嫩草影院 in all of its products, but with a twist. They call it 鈥淪uperior Broad Spectrum,鈥� but in reality, it鈥檚 a lab-created version. The company actually creates 嫩草影院 isolate first. Then it extracts two other cannabinoids, CBN and CBG, and combines all three with selected terpenes in a specific ratio.
The resulting 嫩草影院 is predictable because the ratios are carefully measured. Is it better than 鈥渞eal鈥� broad-spectrum 嫩草影院? cbdMD claims that it is. We aren鈥檛 scientists, though, so we can鈥檛 say either way. What we do know is that other companies that produce extremely high-quality broad-spectrum cannabidiol don鈥檛 go through all of these gyrations. We also know that a number of the components that contribute to the entourage effect are not present in cbdMD鈥檚 version of broad-spectrum 嫩草影院. In short, we鈥檙e somewhat dubious.
The hemp from which the cannabidiol is extracted is non-GMO and organically-grown in America. The size of this company certainly prevents it from owning its own farms or working with a few family hemp farms, as smaller producers often do. However, domestic, organically-grown hemp is a good start.
cbdMD is a little vague about how it extracts cannabidiol from hemp. It says in some of its documentation that it uses the CO2 extraction method, but elsewhere it says that it uses ethanol extraction to create the isolate used in its 鈥渟uperior鈥� broad-spectrum 嫩草影院. We鈥檙e a bit confused by that, but CO2 and ethanol extraction methods are both solid choices (although the supercritical CO2 process is preferable to standard CO2).
The company uses MCT coconut oil (the best option) when a carrier oil is required to distribute the 嫩草影院 in its products, and almost all of the other ingredients in its products are natural (including natural flavorings). Third-party testing results are easily available on cbdMD鈥檚 website or with a brick-and-mortar purchase.
Our overall impression: this is a good product that鈥檚 made well. Does it measure up to those sold by other high-quality competitors? That depends on whether you believe that removing some of the natural components of hemp can actually deliver better results. We鈥檙e not so sure about that.
cbdMD 嫩草影院 Oils
One of the advantages a large company has over 鈥渂outique鈥� producers is that it has the resources to offer many varieties of its products. cbdMD鈥檚 嫩草影院 oil (they call it tincture) is available in six potencies, from 10mg/ml all the way up to a too-high-for-most-people 250mg/ml, and in four flavors (natural, berry, orange, and mint). This is 鈥渃lean鈥� oil, containing just broad-spectrum cannabidiol and MCT carrier oil in addition to natural flavorings.
cbdMD offers one other type of 嫩草影院 oil, branded 鈥溎鄄萦霸� PM for Sleep.鈥� It combines broad-spectrum cannabidiol (16.5mg/ml) with melatonin, chamomile, valerian root extract, and other herbs known to help those with sleep issues.
cbdMD Capsules
There are actually two types of 嫩草影院 capsules on the company鈥檚 menu. The regular capsules are made from a natural polymer and contain broad-spectrum cannabidiol (plus MCT oil) in a choice of potencies from 15 to 50 milligrams. The same ingredients and potencies are also available in softgels made from 鈥済elatin鈥� which isn鈥檛 described further; we assume it鈥檚 an animal product since the capsules are described as vegan but the softgels are not.
There are 鈥溎鄄萦霸� PM for Sleep鈥� softgels as well, containing 16.5 milligrams of broad-spectrum 嫩草影院 apiece.
cbdMD Edibles
The company鈥檚 edibles come in just one form, but it鈥檚 the most popular on the market: 嫩草影院 gummies. You can choose from candies containing 10, 25, or 50 milligrams of cannabidiol. All varieties are naturally tropical fruit-flavored, and they鈥檙e pretty yummy. There鈥檚 also a version with an ample amount of vitamin C added to 25 milligrams of 嫩草影院.
cbdMD Topicals
There are two forms of cbdMD鈥檚 topical 嫩草影院 products. One combines cannabidiol with lidocaine, along with added ingredients like aloe vera, other natural extracts, and denatured alcohol; it鈥檚 available in roll-on or spray form, and in several potencies. The second product is a 鈥淔reeze Gel鈥� that combines 嫩草影院 with cooling menthol as well as aloe vera and a number of botanicals, and it comes in either squeeze tube or roll-on form.
Additionally, the company sells a variety of 嫩草影院 bath bombs in a number of natural scents.
cbdMD 嫩草影院 for Pets
Here鈥檚 another category where having lots of resources allows a company to create a large assortment of products.
cbdMD offers a wide selection of 嫩草影院 oils, hard and soft pet chews, topicals, and even 嫩草影院-infused peanut butter (the last one aimed at dogs, of course). The company sells them under the brand name Paw 嫩草影院; the products have been formulated by veterinarians, and some of the choices are designed specifically for pets with hip and joint pain, or anxiety issues.
cbdMD: The Verdict
This is a very big company. Its products are widely available nationwide. It offers a very large selection of 嫩草影院 products. And to be fair, its products are quite good.
However, we still have questions. Is the 鈥渟uperior broad-spectrum鈥� approach that cbdMD touts really superior to naturally-extracted broad-spectrum 嫩草影院? Can a company this large, which is obviously focused on marketing and universal distribution, still create products on a par with smaller competitors? And one more that still bothers us: isn鈥檛 the choice of the name 鈥渃bdMD鈥� rather cynical, for a company that wasn鈥檛 created by doctors and isn鈥檛 run by doctors?
Asking those questions is a bit disingenuous on our part since we鈥檝e already made clear our feelings. We鈥檇 prefer 鈥渞eal鈥� broad-spectrum 嫩草影院 to the lab-created version, and we鈥檇 prefer broad-spectrum 嫩草影院 even more. This company seems a bit too wrapped up in growing its business to convince us that its products are as good as the very best available elsewhere. And its use of the phrase 鈥淢D鈥� in the brand name doesn鈥檛 really change our minds.
Don鈥檛 get us wrong. This is a good 嫩草影院. But it鈥檚 not cheap, either 鈥� and we think there are better alternatives for the money.