Does CBD Come from Marijuana?

March 23, 2020

It’s a question on many people’s minds. Heck, it’s a barrier to some people’s decision to try CBD in the first place. Thankfully, though, CBD does not typically come from marijuana. And our CBD comes from industrial hemp! Now that that’s established, let’s look at how this misconception got started...and where the truth really lies. CBD’s Early Misunderstandings Marijuana’s CBD Content Hemp’s CBD Content The Best Way to Take Daily CBD

CBD’s Early Misunderstandings

We’ll be honest: CBD got a bad wrap early on. Why? Because it was mistakenly conflated with marijuana! Even CBD’s initial discovery, which happened in the 60s, seemed to be tied to marijuana, as researchers identified the cannabinoid’s presence within a hexane-extracted concentrate. But the reality is that hemp is nature’s best source of CBD, by far. [reference 1]

Marijuana’s CBD Content

Many myths and misconceptions carry just a little bit of truth in them...and the whole CBD & marijuana thing is no different. As always, the truth is pretty nuanced. Myth: “marijuana” contains plenty of CBD, and it’s used in the production of many mainstream CBD products. Truth: “marijuana” contains small amounts of CBD and other non-psychotropic cannabinoids. Most conventional high-THC, low-CBD cannabis strains contain less than a few percentage points of CBD. Some strains, in fact, contain more terpenes than they do trace cannabinoids. That’s because modern cannabis has been selectively bred to provide higher and higher, well, highs — not to produce health benefits. At least not for the most part.

Hemp’s CBD Content

Hemp, on the other hand, is nature’s best source of CBD...by far. Mature hemp flowers can contain up to 22% CBDa by dry weight, and when it’s processed this CBDa can be used to produce a whole lot of CBD oil. Myth: Hemp is mostly made up of CBD...in fact, it’s the only natural source of CBD! [reference 2] Truth: Several plants produce some amount of CBD, and many plants produce similar compounds, but hemp’s ultra-high CBD concentration makes it the best candidate for CBD oil production. And hemp is a good source of more than just CBD. It’s also incredibly high in terpenes (like beta-caryophyllene, that work alongside CBD to activate the endocannabinoid system) and flavonoids (like cannflavin A, which researchers suspect may be more anti-inflammatory than aspirin). Hemp contains CBD — and it also contains synergistic compounds known to boost CBD’s overall absorption.

The Best Way to Take Daily CBD

First thing’s first: the best way to get your daily dose of CBD is to diligently take a hemp-derived CBD product. Sure, you could get your CBD directly from the hemp plant itself. But there are several drawbacks to his method; for one, smoking isn’t exactly ideal. Also, you wouldn’t know exactly how much CBD you were taking. CBD oil is to hemp what fish oil is to salmon. Choose to take the concentrated, refined form, and all sorts of concerns tend to fade away. Still need help finding out what type of CBD product you should be taking? Not to worry — our CBD Quiz is here to help.