How To Start Shopping for CBD Edibles

Cannabis edibles (CBD edibles) today are enormously popular, so much so that whatever food or beverage you like probably has a CBD-infused version on the market – from cookies and candy, to coffee, wine and more. It may be that recent stressful times during the pandemic, including isolation at home, made already highly popular CBD products super-popular because so many people find that CBD reduces their stress. And enjoying CBD edibles does not necessarily come with getting high.

With so many people consuming CBD edibles, and perhaps beginning to buy them regularly, it is crucial that they have access to information on CBD safety, quality (including efficacy in producing the expected effects), and cost.

It is crucial to be aware that CBD edibles are not regulated like most of our foods and beverages. The buyer cannot simply assume that the product has been tested, inspected, and labeled accurately. Products that are regulated and tested can be found in every category, but the buyer is responsible for knowing how to find them and vet them.

What follows is a beginner’s guide to CBD edibles to help you buy products that meet your expectations. With a little knowledge and some effort into seeking the right seller, you can enjoy CBD edibles with confidence.

CBD is the chemical compound cannabidiol. Cannabidiol is just one of more than 100 compounds from the same plant that are classified as cannabinoids. CBD is sold in a variety of ways including oils, tinctures in dropper bottles, candies, and capsules. Many other foods and beverages you may like can also be found infused with CBD.

To understand the different effects that buyers seek from CBD edibles, consider that both the oil and other edibles contain  the CBD element in different forms:

“Full spectrum” products contain not only other cannabinoids from the same plant (Cannabis sativa), but other organic compounds and “flavonoids”—including, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is the chief mind-altering ingredient in marijuana. (Note that hemp plants like marijuana are a variety of Cannabis sativa, but with less THC. If your CBD edible comes with infusions from this hemp source, you are likely to get too little THC to experience its mind-altering effects.

“Broad spectrum” CBD products contain all the ingredients of full spectrum products, but with all THC removed.

“CBD isolates” are products that contain only CBD.

Shopping for edibles is relatively simple both online and in-store, but special care must be taken to get products that are not only safe but are accurately labeled. Remember, this market in much of the United States is not regulated like the manufacturing, labeling, and sale of other foods. The responsibility for finding what you want from sellers with safe and accurately labeled products is the consumer’s responsibility.

Here is a statistic to bring the problem into focus: if you are watching for a label that tells you the amount of CBD in your edible, expect to find the information you want on only one of every four packages (Leafreport). Not every product under every brand name was tested, of course. But this spot check of a sizable sample of products revealed that some two-thirds of the products had more CBD than advertised.

Shopping for your CBD products will be easy once you locate the products you want sold by a reputable seller. But when you are just beginning to shop, or seeking a new product, there are certain challenges to be aware of.

Some states have made CBD products legal, and those states tend to regulate them. If the products are legal for medical and recreational use, such states may have licensed dispensaries where testing the products is routine as required by state laws to ensure consumer protection. But federal law still categorizes cannabis and its constituents as illegal.

Therefore, if you are buying CBD edibles, it makes sense to purchase them in states where they are legal and therefore probably regulated by state law. When you don’t have that system of protection working for you, you must rely on your own research to identify a reputable seller.

Such sellers can have products tested in a reputable private laboratory. If they claim to do this, they should be able to show you the recent lab test for the product you are buying, known as a “Certificate of Analysis” (COA) that the seller obtains from the lab that tested the product.

The price of CBD products naturally vary from seller to seller.  All such products, whether candy or a beverage, will cost substantially more with the CDB infusion because of the expense of cultivating, producing, and selling cannabis (the higher-quality the more costly).

When you are smoking marijuana or vaping CBD oil, the effect is rapid because the CBD goes directly from your lungs into your bloodstream. When you take a bite of a CBD edible, the food must be digested before the CBD gets into your bloodstream.

The upside is that the same difference in speed of absorbing the CBD means that the effects of an edible CBD last much longer than the immediate impact from smoking. So, if it takes half-an-hour for the first CDB from an edible to get into your system, the benefit is that you will experience the effects for up to six hours.

So what are the effects? Oftentimes, people who are not using CBD medicinally are usually looking to feel relaxed. CBD can be used for a variety of illnesses and conditions, and a prescription drug (Epidiolex) for that is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

If you are consuming CBD edibles recreationally, some products are labeled with suggestions for how much to take. It’s generally best to start small because there is a relationship between what you eat, how much you eat, and how much reaches your bloodstream. For example, less than 10 percent of the CBD you consume will complete the trip through your gut and into your bloodstream.

One candy or a few sips of a beverage likely will produce no noticeable effects, so users may be tempted to consume more, but it is much better to slowly increase how much of a CBD edible you consume at one time and observe the effects.

• CBD products are widely available today, including across a spectrum of food products (yes, even CBD water), but the regulation of them for consumer protection—in the manner of other foods—is highly inconsistent.
• When you consume CBD or shop for the products, you are responsible, at the end of the day, for locating the right product from a reliable seller
• Buying in a state where CBD is legal, and thus regulated, takes a big burden off your shoulders, as does finding a company with a good reputation for third-party testing and willingness to share the results
• When you do start enjoying your  CBD edibles, start by consuming a small amount, then keep increasing it until you achieve the effect you want.

Planet  13 Dispensaries is the largest company in the world that takes responsibility for level of growing, producing, and dispensing cannabis products. Its dispensary operations are available in Las Vegas as well as its new Santa Ana dispensary.  Our mission is to build a recognizable global brand with a reputation for dispensing safe, high-quality, and innovative cannabis products. Planet 13 is the best OC dispensary, as well as Las Vegas.

Shoppers seeking this assurance of consistent, reliable quality can shop on our website for products to buy online or to locate our stores.

Planet 13 is the company that solves the problems of buying CBD and other products with confidence.

Be sure to check our website regularly for information, insights, and updates on all cannabis questions.