Day: October 7, 2018

How CBD Oil is Made

 

CBD oil is a non-pschoactive concentrate that is derived from stalks and seeds of cannabis plants.  CBD is one of over 100 cannabinoids that you will find in cannabis plants.  Your body already has an endocannabinoid system with a complex network that deals with things like pain, mood, metabolism and appetite.  CBD oil can affect those systems and help keep them in balance.  CBD has been shown to be effective in reducing seizures, managing anxiety and dealing with chronic pain.  With legalization the demand for CBD oil has gone through the roof.

How CBD Oil is Made

Here is how it is made.

High CBD Plants

The first thing you need when it comes to making CBD oil are plants with high concentrations of CBD rather than THC.  You get the best CBD oil from plant strains that have an abundance of it with little tetrahydrocannabinol, that is the compound that gets you high.  Many manufacturers will extract CBD from hemp instead of the cannabis plants you are used to seeing.  Hemp has high concentrations of CBD, even then the amount of CBD can still vary a great deal.  Once these plants are harvested they are ready to use.

Extracting the CBD Oil

When the plants have been harvested they are ready to go for the extraction process, usually some kind of solvent is used.  The solvent acts as a separator that allows you to collect the compounds and essential oils that make up the stems and seeds of the plant.  Manufacturers will uses a CO2 process, CO2 is a non-toxic solvent that is approved as safe by the FDA and it is used a lot in the food industry.  The plant material is first ground up and then the solvent is forced through the plants.  This is how the CBD oil is extracted.  The solvent is then filtered out leaving you with just the CBD oil.  Here is a closer look at the extraction process.

Can You Make CBD Oil at Home?

In theory yes you can but you may end up investing a great deal in the necessary equipment and everything that you need.  On the other hand buying CBD oil is easy to do and cost effective.  In many cases CBD oils made from hemp are perfectly legal and you don’t need to be in a state where legalization is already in place.  CBD oil has little or no side effects and if you haven’t tried it already, you have nothing to lose.

Indica or Sativa Seeds

 

When you are looking to buy seeds, that’s when you are going to pick the strain of cannabis that you want.  Most strains are divided into two different groups, sativa and indica.  Which you choose will depend greatly on the effects that you are looking for.  Indica strains tend to be those that help you relax, whereas sativa strains tend to give you more energy.  If you are purchasing cannabis at a retail outlet then which you prefer is one of the first things the budtender will ask you.  Let’s look at the differences between the two.

Cannabis Indica

When you look at the cannabis plants themselves, Indica plants tend to be much shorter and they are bushier with wider leaves.  Indica plants will grow faster than their sativa counterparts and you will get a higher yield from the Indica seeds.  If you are a medical marijuana user then you may prefer Indica strains, they contain far less THC and they have a higher CBD count.  That makes Indica strains better for dealing with conditions like anxiety, PTSD and insomnia.  Here are some of the qualities of Indica medical strains:

  • Helps with insomnia
  • Muscle relaxation
  • Reduces chronic pain
  • Helps with mental relaxation
  • Boosts appetite
  • Increases dopamine in the brain (the happy chemicals)

Cannabis Sativa

Starting with the plants again, unlike Indica Sativa plants are taller and with narrower leaves, they may also be slightly lighter in color as well.  This type of plant will take longer to mature than an Indica plant and if you’re growing these seeds indoors be prepared to give them more light.  Sativa strains are used for medicinal purposes but this is the strain that is preferred by recreational users.  Sativa is the opposite of Indica in that there is more THC and less CBD in these plants.  Sativa is not the preferred strain when you are trying to sleep rather it makes you feel more energetic. Here are some of the qualities of Sativa strains:

  • Boosts creativity
  • Helps with depression
  • Helps with chronic pain
  • Boosts serotonin levels in the body
  • Best used in the daytime

The strain you choose is really all about personal preference and how you want the cannabis to affect you. There is also no reason why you can try cultivating both strains to see which turns out to be your personal favorite. You may use one strain to help you sleep and another to deal with chronic pain.