Cannabis + Usage Options

My famous Cannabis Serum has stirred up a couple questions – and even got me booted from a deal with a major big box retailer (… Hemp Seed Oil is NOT the same as THC or CBD extractions!). So I thought this was the perfect time to talk about all the wonderful pakalolo products 😊!

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Cannabis is a beautiful healing plant with hundreds of valuable components, that’s why we have so many different options when it comes to using it. Between CBD, THC, oils, extracts, Hemp, and legalities….. oof, it’s easy to get confused.

Cannabis contains over 400 useful compounds, and 60+ cannabinoids; those are the compounds that act on our bodies natural “endocannabinoid” system and heal us.

The main two compounds we know are THC + CBD – they can be used individually or together to balance each other out. Since we developed a method of pulling THC + CBD apart, there has been a massive flood of cannabis products on the market. They are all different preparations of the same plant.

WHY ARE THERE SO MANY DIFFERENT CANNA PRODUCTS?

We rely on plants for nearly everything – which it is important to value plants, nature and protect our rainforests (they are home to our most valuable compounds, both discovered and undiscovered).

Plants can be used in many ways – whole, as tinctures, extracts, poultices, infusions, decoctions, powdered, in tablets or capsules, burned in smudges, or inhalants and more. Each preparation method allows us to customize the potency of the herbal remedy, so an extraction or tincture is generally of higher potency and will contain more of the desired active compound.

We can make light extractions at home, or pharmaceutical companies can make a super potent extraction with fancy equipment – think caffeine pills vs. coffee, or willowbark vs. aspirin. A whole cold-pressed oil or a tea / infusion can be used as a quick remedy and an extract can be used as a supplement, medicine, or an active ingredient depending on the strength.

Therefore you’ll see Hemp CBD extracts promoted for supplemental or medicinal use, and Hemp Seed Cold-Pressed Oil for beauty, moisturizing, rebalancing or as a omega fatty-acid supplement. Both have incredible benefits, but each have a slightly different makeup and can be used differently.

MARIJUANA INFUSED OIL (THC) VS. HEMP SEED OIL VS. CBD OIL

Products are typically marketing for nutritional or medicinal products and beauty products. We have several types of Cannabis and their primary uses and differences – mainly we know of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) that causes the high, and Cannabidiol (CBD).

Indica-dominant strains tend to have a higher cannabidiol content than the sativa plants in which THC content is higher – and then there is the raw cold pressed oil made from the neutral fatty seeds.

MARIJUANA INFUSED OIL

Cannabis infused oil is typically referring to edibles – which can be made with CBD oil or THC oil – but typically we think of an infused oil as a THC containing oil infused by heating the marijuana flowers in fat. This is not a true “extract”, it’s more of a variation on how to consume / metabolize the marijuana.

There are companies that used infused oil, like Foria, for medicinal benefits – but unless youre a medical patient or live in a recreation-legal state, you’re highly unlikely to be able to purchase an infusion containing THC. So, any “hemp oil” or “hemp oil extract” product should not be confused with this.

PURE COLD PRESSED HEMP SEED OIL

Like other cold pressed oils (Olive, Grape Seed, Corn, Avocado, Sesame, Peanut) we take the seeds/nuts and press them to express the oil. The seeds of hemp contain nearly no THC, and a small amount of CBD – the value of hemp seeds is in the protein, fatty acids and fiber… but only the seeds are used and they aren’t as potent as the rest of the plant.

Hemp Seed Oil is incredible for dietary and beauty purposes, which is why I created the Cannabis Serum. Hemp Seed Oil is non-comedogenic, meaning is won’t “clog pores” by hardening in your follicles and it’s easily absorbed by the skin.

It helps heal and support inflammatory skin conditions like eczema, psoriasis and dermatitis by being anti-inflammatory and light. Read more about the skin benefits of Hemp here.

HEMP EXTRACTED CBD OIL

CBD is extracted using the whole hemp plant – it provides relief without the psychoactive effects, or the “high” caused by THC.

This is incredible for medicine, because without the high, there are more uses – for anxiety, pain management, inflammation and more. We only had the ability to separate CBD from the rest of the Canna plant since 2012 (thanks Israel, you a real one)… so that really opened the flood gates for CBD based products.

In order to separate CBD from the THC and other parts of the plant, we have to extract it - the result is a medicinal strength concentrate of the CBD compound. So, what is the extraction process like?

Well, much like other herbal extractions, we first pick the most potent strains, those plants with the most CBD content. Then there a couple different common methods –oil extraction, isolate extraction, alcohol extraction, ethanol, CO2…. I know, that sounds like a lot, but they are just methods of pulling the compound into a solution and burning off the solution to get the medicine!

The best kind of CBD product to get: full spectrum, USA grown. I would recommend that the product have a good complimentary ingredient like MCT oil (a potent extraction from coconut oil) because it regulates lipid metabolism, or a small ratio of THC if you are able to use that.

Avoid products that are “hemp seed oil” – CBD products should at least have “Hemp Seed Extract”.

Dosage will depend on your needs and tolerance, but it’s best to take small doses throughout the day (2-3 times, or as needed) rather than one single large dose.

I would love to hear what you all think! If there are any questions, comments or recommendations comment below 😊!

Some more reading material -

Cannabis, a complex plant: different compounds and different effects on individuals. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3736954/

List of Major Cannabinoids in Cannabis and Their Effects. https://www.leafly.com/news/cannabis-101/list-major-cannabinoids-cannabis-effects

From Clone To Concentrate: CBD processing. https://www.projectcbd.org/industry/clone-concentrate-how-cbd-oil-made