Since the sale of cannabidiol (嫩草影院) products has been legal in all 50 states since late 2018, the 嫩草影院 industry is still in its infancy. For that reason, all sorts of operations 鈥� both legitimate producers and fly-by-night 嫩草影院 resellers 鈥� are popping up on a weekly basis.
Of course, a few big companies have been around for a while and their names may sound familiar. It鈥檚 certainly not unusual, though, to come across splashy ads or websites promoting unfamiliar 嫩草影院 brands. You may even see positive 鈥渞eviews鈥� of those companies鈥� products as soon as they鈥檝e been released; many of those reviews are written in exchange for free products or cash. (If you were wondering, our reviews are completely honest. We don鈥檛 even accept free products for review.)
But not all 鈥渘ew鈥� producers operating in the 嫩草影院 marketplace are really new.
One notable example is Social 嫩草影院, a big company that has been in the industry for years. Their name may be new to you even if you鈥檙e a regular 嫩草影院 buyer, however, because they鈥檝e recently changed it. Until recently, Social 嫩草影院 was known as Select 嫩草影院, a big player in both retail sales and the production and branding of cannabidiol products for huge corporations.
The producer鈥檚 rebranding was simply a marketing decision, which we鈥檒l explain shortly. It鈥檚 important to note that the reputation built over the last few years by Select 嫩草影院 was a good one and that the company maintains the same approach to creating quality products that it鈥檚 always employed.
Why the change from Select to Social? Let鈥檚 dig more deeply into the details.
Social 嫩草影院: The Background
Social 嫩草影院 doesn鈥檛 even acknowledge its name change on its new website, so here are the details they apparently consider to be 鈥渋n the past.鈥�
Select 嫩草影院 was originally created as a vape company in 2017, by a man who鈥檇 had personal experience developing vaping devices for pot. Cameron Forni had a friend who鈥檇 been advised by a doctor to vape marijuana, to treat the serious complications he was suffering from GERD (gastrointestinal reflux disease).
That was a problem. The wicks commonly used in vaporizers contained material that, when inhaled, could make the disease even worse. Forni did a lot of research into the mechanics of vapes, discovered a solution (wicks made from organic Japanese cotton), and eventually started manufacturing and selling vapes to be used with weed. He moved into the 嫩草影院 industry a few years later.
At first, Select 嫩草影院 just sold cannabidiol vape pens. When they were well-received, the company expanded and began offering an entire range of 嫩草影院 products. If you鈥檝e been wondering why the name sounds familiar, it鈥檚 because celebrities like Montel Williams have promoted their products over the years.
Here鈥檚 what was behind the name change. When it was made official in 2019, the explanation was that Select wanted to move away from its background in the marijuana business. Left unsaid were the reasons behind the decision. One was that the company wanted to make all of its products completely THC-free, and its previous work in the weed industry could create confusion about what was in its 嫩草影院. The second reason was due to a huge corporate shuffling.
Most of Select鈥檚 parent company, west coast-based Cura Cannabis, had been purchased by east coast-based Curaleaf Holdings. That made the combined entity a huge national player in weed 鈥� but Select 嫩草影院 was not part of the sale. It now stands on its own, with Forni remaining as CEO. Moving away from the Select name was basically a fresh corporate start for the company, now a part of an entity called Sentia Wellness that also creates 嫩草影院 topicals under other brand names.
The company still has a broad reach, not only selling its products online but in a number of retail chains. It even produces branded 嫩草影院 for Sports Illustrated.
So Select 嫩草影院 is now called Social 嫩草影院. Here鈥檚 why history is important: it鈥檚 natural for customers to look at a previously-successful company and wonder why it 鈥渉ad鈥� to change its name. Was it due to product problems? Legal problems? Is there a red flag to worry about?
In a nutshell: none of the above. The company is run by the same people who founded it, and it鈥檚 still based in Oregon where it鈥檚 operated for years. The change from an emphasis on full-spectrum to THC-free 嫩草影院 is an issue for buyers to consider, though, and we鈥檒l do that next.
Social 嫩草影院: The Approach
One of the primary selling points of Social 嫩草影院 products is that they are THC-free. But there are two types of cannabidiol without the minimal THC content found in full-spectrum 嫩草影院, and Social 嫩草影院 uses them both.
- Broad-spectrum cannabidiol contains all of the components of the hemp plant except THC.
- 嫩草影院 isolate contains only cannabidiol. All other cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids naturally present in hemp have been removed.
That matters because the other components in hemp work in combination through what鈥檚 called the entourage effect, to boost the effectiveness of 嫩草影院. In full-spectrum products (which Social 嫩草影院 doesn鈥檛 sell), the entourage effect is highest. In broad-spectrum products, the entourage effect is slightly lower. In 嫩草影院 isolate, there鈥檚 no entourage effect at all.
The amount of THC that鈥檚 in full-spectrum 嫩草影院 is minuscule, and won鈥檛 make you high. So why do some customers prefer THC-free products? Simply because there鈥檚 no way they can mistakenly trigger a marijuana drug test. In truth, that doesn鈥檛 happen very often with full-spectrum 嫩草影院 either, but many people believe they鈥檙e better safe than sorry.
Most of the processes that Social 嫩草影院 uses to manufacture its products are the ones you鈥檇 expect from a higher-level producer. Hemp is grown organically and sourced from selected farms in Oregon, Kentucky, and Montana. Cannabidiol is either extracted with ethanol (for 嫩草影院 isolate) or via steam distillation (for broad-spectrum 嫩草影院); steam distillation is safe and relatively inexpensive, while ethanol is believed by some in the industry to be the best extraction choice (others prefer the supercritical CO2 method).
The company uses MCT oil as a carrier, the best choice for distributing cannabidiol throughout the body. And when ingredients are added to the product formulas, those ingredients are all-natural.
We prefer full-spectrum 嫩草影院, but understand many people would rather go THC-free. We aren鈥檛 big fans of steam distillation as an extraction method, but it鈥檚 not a 鈥渂ad鈥� choice. In short, the Social 嫩草影院 approach to production isn鈥檛 perfect, but it鈥檚 quite good 鈥� as are the products鈥� prices.
Social 嫩草影院 Oils
As mentioned earlier, the company sells both broad-spectrum and 嫩草影院 isolate products. That means there are two different types of Social 嫩草影院 oils to choose from.
The broad-spectrum oils (which they call 鈥渄rops鈥�) contain only cannabinoids and MCT coconut oil, along with stevia and various natural flavorings for the vanilla mint, Meyer lemon, cinnamon, pomegranate, blood orange, and acai berry varieties. An unflavored version (with no stevia or flavorings) is also available. The potency choices for all of these oils: 12.5mg/ml, 25mg/ml and 50mg/ml.
The unflavored 嫩草影院 isolate oil also contains only cannabidiol and MCT oil. Other varieties are not only flavored with stevia and natural ingredients (peppermint, lemon ginger, and lavender), but contain extra additives like turmeric intended to boost mood and anti-inflammatory effects, ashwagandha and Rhodiola for focus and energy, and chamomile and passionflower for relaxation and rest. Available potencies range from 16.7mg/ml to 66.6mg/ml.
There鈥檚 one more Social product in the lineup: CBG oil. CBG (cannabigerol) is known as the 鈥渕other of cannabinoids鈥� and believed to have different medicinal properties than 嫩草影院.
Social 嫩草影院 Capsules
Social 嫩草影院 uses gelcaps to deliver its cannabidiol in a more convenient form. Most of them contain 33.3mg of 嫩草影院 isolate and MCT oil, as well as different botanicals, are chosen to treat different issues. 鈥淩ecover鈥� capsules also contain curcumin and black pepper extract, moringa and yerba mate are added to 鈥淏oost鈥� gel caps, and 鈥淩est鈥� capsules have valerian root and passionflower in them. 鈥淏alance鈥� gelcaps have no extra ingredients.
The gelcaps are made from gelatin, of course, but the company doesn鈥檛 say whether they鈥檙e vegan.
Social 嫩草影院 Edibles
The only relevant product line in this category is broad-spectrum 嫩草影院 gummies, in five varieties. Three are standard 25mg 嫩草影院 candies (raspberry, lemon, and peach mango flavors); the other two are 鈥淪leep鈥� gummies with added valerian root and lemon balm (blackberry flavored) and 鈥淐hill鈥� gummies with added GABA and L-Theanine (lemon flavored).
Social 嫩草影院 also sells THC-free gummies 鈥� but they鈥檙e also 嫩草影院-free, so we鈥檙e not discussing them in detail.
Social 嫩草影院 Topicals
There are nine different 嫩草影院 isolate topical products, some designed for the relief of surface aches and pains, others primarily as moisturizing and renewal products. They include 嫩草影院 patches and stick roll-ons, muscle rub and muscle balms, body lotion (with added chamomile and lavender) and cooling spray, lip balm, and foot renewal cream.
Social 嫩草影院 Vape Pens
This is where the company first made its mark (as Select 嫩草影院), and Social 嫩草影院 still sells newer iterations of their famed disposable vape pens.
There are two different strengths of 嫩草影院 isolate available for each of its varieties: Revive Lemon and Revive Grapefruit, Focus Peppermint and Focus Spearmint, and Relax Lavender. They鈥檙e tasty and effective, but since they鈥檙e disposable vapes that can鈥檛 be refilled they don鈥檛 last long 鈥� making them extremely expensive to purchase and use regularly.
Social 嫩草影院 for Pets
The pet formulation of broad-spectrum Social 嫩草影院 oil comes in three strengths and four flavors, bacon, peanut butter, chicken, and natural. It鈥檚 all-natural and made with MCT carrier oil. The company also has an unusual offering for pets: lick-proof 嫩草影院 paw balm, intended for use on dry or cracked paws and infused with oregano, ginger, and lavender.
Social 嫩草影院: The Verdict
It鈥檚 not easy to relaunch an established product with a completely new brand name, but Select 嫩草影院鈥檚 transition to Social 嫩草影院 has thankfully left most of the company鈥檚 quality products intact.
They鈥檙e not the very best 嫩草影院 products you can find, since a few manufacturing techniques are slightly less than optimal. And as you know, we think full-spectrum 嫩草影院 is a better choice simply because it鈥檚 more effective.
For those who want to be sure there鈥檚 no THC whatsoever in their cannabidiol, however, Social 嫩草影院 offers good quality at good prices (except for their expensive disposable vapes). This is one of the better choices for broad-spectrum or 嫩草影院 isolate products.