It’s CBD Awareness Month! As CBD is becoming more mainstream, more and more people are becoming aware of its existence, but that still leaves lots of questions. You might have heard what CBD is good for – it can be great for skin, for pain, for improved sleep – but you don’t know how CBD can work with the body. Maybe you know that CBD is regulated, or that there are lots of different types of CBD, but you don’t know why.
Well this CBD Awareness Month, we want to explain all of this and help CBD awareness spread. The more you know about CBD, the better you’ll know if it has potential to help you.
What is CBD?
CBD is a short way of saying cannabidiol, which is a chemical compound found in the hemp plant. There are actually lots of these compounds (all different kinds of cannabinoids) all found in the plant. At Voyager, we isolate CBD from these other compounds – a process that leaves us with a fine white powder. One reason for this is that by only using CBD isolate in our products we can ensure that all of our products are THC free (0.0%) – but more on that later.
Our hemp is grown in the USA – where most good quality hemp is grown. Hemp is not marijuana, but it is a member of the same plant family – cannabis sativa. Even though they are biologically similar, hemp and marijuana are different. Marijuana is bushy and produces buds, while hemp is more tall and thin.
Hemp is great because it gives us CBD, but hemp has a number of uses. Its fibre is more eco-friendly than cotton, and hemp seeds are excellent sources of national omegas. We use these hemp products in our pet range, including collars, dog toys, and pet nutrition products. If the history of hemp interests you why not have a look at our blog on the story of hemp and all of its many uses?
Once we have our powdered CBD we combine them with other ingredients to make our products. We use fractionated coconut oil for our CBD oils, or natural skincare ingredients for our bath range. We love working with CBD as it’s super versatile. You can take it through your skin or by ingesting it, and we can put it into a wide range of products to make taking CBD a pleasurable experience.
CBD is a natural, plant based ingredient so it’s great for vegans or anyone who prefers to supplement their wellness with botanical products.
How Does CBD Work?
So how does CBD work? CBD is a phyto-cannabinoid (meaning that it’s a cannabinoid that comes from a plant) but did you know that we also have cannabinoids in our body already? These are endo-cannabioids, and the endo-cannabioid system is a system in the body that works as a kind of a chemical messenger system that sends signals around the body. It controls a number of functions such as digestion, sleep, and pain just to name three of many.
The endocannabinoid system has two different receptors – CB1(which are concerned with the brain) and CB2 (concerned with the immune system). The theory is that by taking CBD we’re supporting the endocannabinoid system and this will improve overall health and wellness.
It’s important that we point out that we make no medical claims about CBD – it is not yet fully proven that CBD can be used to treat or cure any condition or illness. However, the work done so far looking into the potential benefits of CBD has produced positive results.
Why is CBD regulated?
You might have heard that there are some UK regulations in place for CBD in the UK. These became more stringent in April of this year to make sure that CBD sellers are selling safe and legal products but hearing that CBD is regulated can make it seem quite daunting!
The good news is that at Voyager we’re fully dedicated to being compliant with UK regulations, so you’re in the right place. Now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk about why those regulations are in place (and how we follow them).
Remember what we said earlier about all of our products being CBD isolate? By isolating CBD we’re making sure that our products are THC free (0.0%). THC the psychoactive cannabinoid that is sometimes sought after for the ‘high’ that it can trigger. These side effects can include a loss of focus, increased appetite, difficulty with thinking and problem solving, and changes in mood amongst others.
We’re not here to pass judgement on anyone who seeks that sort of experience, but if you need to drive, go to work, take care of children, or have any number of responsibilities then this compromised state of mind could be seriously problematic. This is why THC over a certain amount is illegal to sell in CBD products. THC shows up in drug tests too for up to months after the initial dose, which is another important consideration.
To learn more about the differences between CBD that contains THC (called full spectrum) and CBD isolate, take a look at our blog for a more in depth look at the two.
It has been discovered that some CBD sellers are dishonest about the amount of THC in their products, and that they actually have more than the legal limit. Others contain less CBD than stated on the label. This is why regulating the CBD market is important.
As CBD Awareness increases, we’re seeing it be embraced more and more. In a huge step forward, the Tokyo Olympics this year was the first to allow its athletes to use CBD products (as long as they were THC free!). This shows that more CBD awareness leads to more acceptance, which could be a huge benefit to those who find that CBD helps them.
As part of CBD Awareness Month, we want to encourage customers to be aware of what they’re taking. All of our CBD products have lab reports available online so that you can make sure that you know what you’re taking.
What CBD product is right for me?
As we’ve already touched on, CBD is very versatile which means that a wide range of products can be made with it. This might make you wonder how you’ll be able to figure out what works best for you. Some of our products have benefits that others don’t, be that in the other ingredients used, its convenience, or just how it fits into your lifestyle. Each one of our products are unique and have their own benefits.
We’ve also got a list of tips to get you started. Don’t be afraid to experiment with CBD in finding what works for you. If you’re still struggling to choose where to start though, why not get in touch with us on social media, by phone, or by popping into our shop in St Andrews? You’ll get the chance to talk to one of our helpful and knowledgeable staff who can help you pick.
