Best CBD Oils That Work: 14+ Best CBD Oil Brands To Buy in 2024

CBD, or cannabidiol, has become a hugely popular remedy for treating a wide range of conditions.

People suffering from chronic pain, anxiety, insomnia, epilepsy, MS, and many other health disorders are turning to CBD because of its truly remarkable properties.

And the more scientists delve into its benefits, the more they learn about this amazing chemical compound and all the ways it can positively affect the human body.

No surprise, then, that CBD products are everywhere.

CBD sprays, CBD gummies, CBD tinctures, even CBD soft drinks—you can find CBD in just about everything.

But nothing beats CBD oil for concentrated, maximum-potency effectiveness!

Below, we’ve gathered together a list of the top CBD oils based on very specific criteria. These are the top-rated, best-selling, and most reliable CBD products on the market—the best investment of your hard-earned money into products you can trust will work.

Take the time to scroll down the list and make sure to read the Buying Guide and FAQ section to learn all there is to know about choosing the best CBD oil for you! 

BEST CBD Oils for 2024

1

Best CBD Oil Overall: Lazarus Naturals CBD Oil Tincture

Editors Rating

This high-potency CBD oil is as natural as it gets, using only organic ingredients with no added flavor. Not only do you get a high dose of CBD (50 mg per serving), but also included are natural plant-based oils and medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) that increase the absorption rate of the CBD oil, ensuring it kicks in faster.

It’s a relaxation-inducing, recovery-accelerating oil perfect for helping you manage chronic pain or get a better night’s sleep. For the price, you won’t find any CBD oil better!

Specs

• Potency: 50 mg per serving
• Notable Features: Also contains MCT and other plant-based oils for easy absorption

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2

Best Full-Spectrum CBD Oil: CBD Essence Full Spectrum CBD Oil Tincture

Editors Rating

This full-spectrum CBD oil contains a miniscule dose of THC (less than 0.3%), making it perfectly safe for you to use in your daily life while also providing the added pain-relieving benefits of a THC microdose. It’s produced in small batches using only top-quality organic hemp grown in the USA, and it’s lab-tested to ensure that it’s entirely free of pesticides and herbicides.

It’s also guaranteed fresh—produced just 24 hour before being shipped—and highly effective, with a faster-than-average time-to-effect.

Specs

• Potency: 10 mg per serving
• Notable Features: Fast-acting, kicks in quickly.

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3

Best Flavored CBD Oil: Penguin CBD Oil

Editors Rating

Looking for a CBD oil that lets you choose exactly how large a dose you want? Penguin CBD has exactly what you need. You have options ranging from as low as 8.3 mg per serving to 10X that dose, a whopping 83.3 mg of CBD per serving. Plus, with four great flavors to choose from (plus the natural taste), it’s hands-down the best-tasting of the CBD oils on the market.

The CBD oil is extracted from hemp organically grown in Oregon, using CO2 extraction for maximum potency and viability. It’s also rich in terpenes and flavonoids that will boost your health and make the CBD oil even more effective at helping you treat anxiety, insomnia, and chronic pain.

Specs

• Potency: Up to 83.3 mg per serving
• Notable Features: Comes in a range of potencies and delicious flavors.

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4

Best Organic CBD Oil: FAB CBD Oil

Editors Rating

If you care about the most organic products possible, FAB CBD is the CBD oil for you. It’s made using organic hemp grown in Colorado, and manufactured with a clean CO2 extraction process that eliminates impurities and produced a truly “green” CBD oil.

The bottles come in potencies ranging from 300 to 2400 mg, meaning you can size your dose according to your tolerance and daily activity. It’s a full-spectrum CBD oil that contains less than 0.3% THC, and provides other crucial health benefits thanks to the addition of MCT oil, terpenes, and natural flavonoids.

Specs

• Potency: Up to 2400 mg per bottle
• Notable Features: Contain natural flavorings, beneficial terpenes, and MCT oil.

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5

Best Value CBD Oil: Hemp Bombs Premium CBD Oil

Editors Rating

What makes Hemp Bombs so great? Simple: it’s the low cost of high-quality CBD oil! One six-pack costs you about what you’d pay for competing premium CBD oils, but Hemp Bombs never sacrifices quality for low prices. On the contrary: they use hemp sourced from American farms and produced within the US to ensure goodness in every drop.

Each bottle contains 3000 mg of CBD, or 50 mg per serving. There are six tasty all-natural flavors to choose from, making it easy to enjoy the truly health-improving remedy every day.

Specs

• Potency: 50 mg per serving
• Notable Features: Six-bottle value-packs more affordable than competing CBD oils.

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6

Best Lab-Grade CBD Oil: Take Spruce Lab Grade CBD

Editors Rating

This lab-grade oil is produced in the USA, using only natural hemp products made without pesticides or herbicides. It’s third-party tested to ensure maximum purity, and combines pure organic hemp seed oil with full-spectrum CBD oil that makes it highly bioavailable and fast-acting.

Each bottle comes with 750 mg of CBD oil, or 25 mg per serving (30 servings). The graduated dropper allows you to measure the precise dose you take every day. You’ll love the fact that it’s a great-tasting, vegan-friendly, gluten-free CBD oil available in all 50 U.S. states (including Hawaii and Alaska).

Specs

• Potency: 25 mg per serving
• Notable Features: Made in the USA by family-run business, lab-tested for purity. Ships to Hawaii and Alaska.

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7

Best CBD Oil for Enhanced Focus: CBD FX Focus Mushroom Energy Blend

Editors Rating

This CBD oil will help you concentrate on your daily tasks by not only relaxing your body, managing anxiety, and reducing pain, but also provide you with a dose of game-changing mushroom extracts. It contains cordyceps mushroom to provide an energy boost, chaga mushroom to boost your immunity, and lion’s mane to help manage stress.

Each bottle contains 100 mg of mushroom extract, along with up to 4000 mg of CBD. Though it’s a low-dose CBD oil, the energy-enhancing, brain-sharpening benefits are absolutely worth it!

Specs

• Potency: 2.5 mg per serving
• Notable Features: Contains mushroom extracts to maximize focus, energy production, and concentration.

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8

Best CBD Oil for Consistent Results: Nu Leaf Naturals Full Spectrum CBD Oil

Editors Rating

If you need a CBD oil that will work day after day, month after month, this full-spectrum CBD oil by Nu Leaf Naturals comes highly recommended. It’s a moderate-dose oil (up to 30 mg per serving), but you’ll find that it does an amazing job of providing the cannabinoids you need to manage stress, anxiety, pain, and insomnia.

In addition to full spectrum hemp extract (which contains under 0.3% THC), this oil also includes organic virgin hemp seed oil to speed up absorption. Also included are natural terpenes that increase the bioavailability and effectiveness of the cannabinoids.

Specs

• Potency: Up to 30 mg per serving
• Notable Features: Whole-plant extract, contains terpenes that maximize the effects of the cannabinoids.

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9

Most Relaxing CBD Oil: Royal CBD Full Spectrum CBD Oil

Editors Rating

This is the CBD oil to take if you need to unwind at night, or shut down a mind consumed by stress and anxiety. With 83.3 mg of CBD per serving, it’s potent enough that it will help you truly relax even on the busiest of days.

The CBD oil is made using 100% natural ingredients, but no added flavoring. Instead, you get the taste of pure, high quality CBD—a truly natural botanical flavor you may find surprisingly appealing.

Specs

• Potency: 83.3 mg per serving
• Notable Features: Interesting, mild botanical flavor contrasts with its high potency.

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10

Best Budget CBD Oil: CBDPure Hemp Oil 300

Editors Rating

No flavorings or added ingredients in this CBD oil—just pure natural and organic hemp oil in all its raw flavor. It’s a non-habit-forming CBD oil that is easy on even sensitive digestive systems, and highly bioavailable for rapid activation in your bloodstream.

The price tag is hard to beat—few other products around can match the budget cost of this oil—and it comes with a 90-day Money Back Guarantee that allows you to return the product if not satisfied.

Specs

• Potency: 10 mg per serving
• Notable Features: Natural and organic hemp oil, natural hemp flavor.

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11

Best CBD Oil Tincture: Joy Organics Tranquil Mint:

Editors Rating

This USDA-certified organic CBD oil tincture is one of the purest around, with a clean, natural flavor that speaks clearly of its high potency. Their bottles range from 30 to 75 mg per serving, and the combination of hemp extract and organic extra virgin olive oil ensures maximum absorption and quick time-to-effect. The addition of organic peppermint oil gives this tincture just enough minty freshness that you’ll enjoy it to the last drop.

Specs

• Potency: Up to 75 mg per serving
• Notable Features: USDA certified organic, made using no artificial colors, flavors, or ingredients.

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12

Most Potent CBD Oil: cbdMD CBD Oil Tincture Natural

Editors Rating

If you’re looking for a way to max out your daily CBD intake, this high-quality CBD oil tincture is exactly what you need. It contains more than 300% the CBD of the most potent products on our list—up to 250 mg in a single serving. That’s more than enough to deliver serious pain- and anxiety-reducing benefits in a hurry.

The tincture is easily absorbed and highly bioavailable, giving you a direct infusion of pain-killing cannabinoids to your bloodstream. It’s made using MCT oil and US-grown organic non-GMO hemp, is both gluten-free and vegan, and is lab-tested for purity.

Specs

• Potency: Up to 250 mg per serving
• Notable Features: Pure, potent, and highly bioavailable.

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13

Best Broad Spectrum CBD Oil: CBDistillery Broad Spectrum CBD Oil

Editors Rating

For those who want to get only CBD, this broad-spectrum CBD oil will be the safe THC-free solution for you. The oil contains both terpenes and other cannabinoids (including CBG), but none of the hallucinogenic THC that could impair your concentration or affect your ability to keep up with your daily activities.

It’s a moderate-dose CBD oil that delivers 33 mg per serving, with a total of 1000 mg in the entire 30-serving bottle. You’ll find that it’s a high-quality product produced from only American non-GMO hemp grown with natural farming practices, and it’s third-party lab-tested for safety and efficacy.

Specs

• Potency: 33 mg per serving
• Notable Features: Entirely free of THC, a pure CBD oil that is safe for all-day use.

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14

Most Versatile CBD Oil: Lord Jones Royal Oil

Editors Rating

What makes Lord Jones Royal Oil so versatile is that it’s formulated both as a supplement to be taken orally, but it’s also a great addition to your skincare routine. Mix it into your lotions or apply it directly to your skin, and you’ll find it does wonders to diminish pain and irritation, improves skin glow, and even helps to balance your skin pH.

It’s made using grapeseed and hemp oils, which provide both CBD and Omega-6 fatty acids that make it highly bioavailable and excellent for your skin health. Use it as a moisturizer or take it as a CBD supplement—whatever you do, you can trust it will work!

Specs

• Potency: 20 mg per serving
• Notable Features: Highly nourishing skin oil and safe for oral application.

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Over the last 5-10 years, CBD products have become more and more ubiquitous.

They’re popping up quite literally everywhere: health food boutiques, hair salons, beauty product stores, restaurants and eateries, even liquor stores.

With more and more of the amazing benefits of CBD being discovered every day, there is a massive increase in demand for CBD.

I want to take some time to talk about what CBD is, how it’s different from THC, and what exactly it can do for you.

I guarantee that once you get to the end of this section, you’ll be eager to get your hands on some form of CBD so you, too, can find out how it can change your life.

Let’s start with the basics, a question everyone asks at some point:

What is CBD Oil?

CBD stands for “cannabinoids”, chemical compounds that are naturally derived from cannabis sativa, also known as hemp or cannabis.

Note: The term “hemp” is used for any strain of cannabis sativa that contains under 0.3% THC content. Any cannabis sativa plant with a THC content higher than 0.3% is called “marijuana”.

CBD is just one of 100 different cannabinoids derived from the cannabis plant, but it’s potent and beneficial enough to become incredibly popular. Now, CBD oil (and other products) are everywhere and used for a variety of purposes (see the section “Benefits of CBD Oil” below).

To explain CBD oil simply: it’s oil extracted from the cannabis plant, then mixed with other easily digested “carrier oils” (such as coconut, olive, or hemp seed oil) and sold as an oral or topical supplement. 

CBD vs. THC

When most people talk about the cannabis sativa plant, immediately their mind goes to the “high-inducing” effects of marijuana. That is not the fault of CBD, but another chemical compound in the cannabis plant, called delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC.

Because both CBD and THC are cannabinoid compounds with the same chemical formula, they both affect the same system: the endocannabinoid system. This internal system plays various roles in your body—regulating sleep, fertility, mood, appetite, memory, and more.

However, there are some very crucial differences between the ways CBD and THC affect your endocannabinoid system, and the effects they cause.

THC is a psychoactive compound, which means it produced the “high” sensation that has made marijuana so popular. It acts on certain receptors in your brain that control feelings, mood, and pain. When the THC interacts with these receptors, it triggers the euphoric and relaxed feeling we call a “high”.

CBD, on the other hand, is not psychoactive. It won’t produce that “high” because it doesn’t interact with the same brain receptors as THC. It will interact with other parts of your brain—the parts that play a role in seizures, depression, and anxiety—but not the parts that trigger the euphoric feeling.

This is why CBD oil has become so much more acceptable and popular around the world, even among detractors who speak out against the negative effects of marijuana and THC. Thanks to CBD’s benefits (as you’ll see in the next section), it has the potential to improve quality of life without impairing cognition, rationale, and awareness in the way that THC does.

Benefits of CBD Oil

Now that we know what CBD is and how it’s different from THC, it’s time to talk about what it can do for you.

I’ve mentioned the “benefits of CBD oil” a number of times above because of how popular they have made CBD oil. Manufacturers in so many industries—from skincare to beauty to food to healthcare—are excited by what CBD can do for consumers, how it can improve their quality of life in so many ways. Which, of course, is how we end up with such a huge variety of CBD products!

Let’s take a few minutes to talk about what CBD oil can do for you. I’ll include some links to scientific studies where you can read more cold, hard data yourself (I find it fascinating, but not everyone does). However, for the sake of this post, I’ll keep the information simple and easy to understand.

Pain Relief

Likely the most common benefit of and use for CBD oil is managing pain.

Research suggests that cannabis has been used as a pain-reliever as far back as 2900 BC in Ancient China, helping to manage the pain of gout, malaria, muscle spasms, and joint pain.

The reason that CBD is such an effective pain management remedy is due to its effect on your endocannabinoid system. Your body produces endocannabinoids in response to pain (as well as helping to improve sleep, boost immunity, regulate appetite, and more), and these endocannabinoids bond with the cannabinoid receptors in your brain to register the pain sensations.

But CBD does something interesting: it basically “turns down” the sensitivity of these cannabinoid receptors to pain signals. It reduces the activity of the receptors, making them less sensitive to the endocannabinoids produced in response to pain.

In addition to “lowering the volume” on pain signals, CBD can also reduce inflammation, making it highly effective for treating pain like arthritis or gout (which are caused or worsened by inflammation).

CBD oil is used to treat a number of conditions and their associated pains, including:

• Nerve pain
• Back pain
• Multiple sclerosis
• Arthritis
• Rheumatic diseases like fibromyalgia

Interestingly enough, CBD oil is most effective at managing pain when it’s combing with a small dose of THC—as you’ll see in this study and this study. This is why some CBD oil-containing products formulated as painkillers or pain management remedies (such as balms, lotions, or topical treatments) also contain some THC.

The combination of THC and CBD is also used to treat MS and arthritis because of how effectively THC works with CBD to shut down the cannabinoid receptors that register pain sensations.

Fight Anxiety and Depression

CBD has been proven an interesting (and possibly highly effective) treatment for anxiety and anxiety disorders in a number of studies.

One study found that a 300mg dose of CBD oil before a public speaking test helped to reduce the anxiety of the participants about to stand up and speak before an audience.

In another study, CBD oil was tested as a means of treating anxiety-related disorders and social anxiety, and it was proven to be potentially effective.

On study from 2020 looked at CBD as a means of treating a combination of anxiety, depression, and psychotic disorders, and concluded that “preliminary clinical trials also support the efficacy of CBD as an anxiolytic, antipsychotic, and antidepressant”.

In regards to depression specifically, CBD oil has been tested as a therapy to manage symptoms. The research found some limited benefits in improve depression symptoms, but it could actually help to improve depression rates among those with drug use problems. Some studies have found that it can actually help to decrease dependence on drugs like heroin, as well as relieve the anxiety and depression associated with drug use and drug rehab.

For children and adults suffering from PTSD, CBD oil has also been proven quite effective.  It can treat both insomnia and anxiety resulting from PTSD, even reducing PTSD-induced nightmares.

This is just preliminary research into using CBD oil for anxiety and depression; there is still so much more to be discovered. Yet these initial findings are encouraging and offer hope for those suffering from mental health disorders that there may be a remedy to treat their problems.

Boost Heart Health

CBD has been directly linked to improvements in blood pressure and blood flow.

In one study, healthy men who took CBD saw a noticeable reduction in their resting blood pressure, and even after undergoing stress tests specifically designed to raise their blood pressure, the increase was smaller than prior to taking the CBD.

In another study, men who took CBD for 7 days saw a noticeable drop in their blood pressure, as well as decreased arterial stiffness and better blood flow.

This is HUGE!

Arterial stiffness is often the result of atherosclerosis, and stiff arteries are more prone to crack, which leads to the formation of blood clots that can block off blood flow and cause heart attacks and strokes. Add high blood pressure into the mix, and you’ve got a recipe for cardiovascular disaster!

But CBD can help to reduce the arterial stiffness and return them to their normal elasticity. This, in turn, can improve blood flow and help to lower blood pressure.

The end result: better cardiovascular health and a much lower risk of cardiac events and cardiac disease.

Protect Your Brain Health

One of the most interesting benefits of CBD oil is its ability to protect your brain against neurological disorders. Because of the way it interacts with the endocannabinoid system and the cannabinoid receptors in your brain, it has the potential (with further research) to lead to some pretty amazing breakthroughs in brain health.

Already, the results are pretty amazing. Studies into treating multiple sclerosis and epilepsy are showing hugely promising results.

One study found that people suffering from muscle spasticity as a result of MS were 75% less likely to experience spasms as a result of CBD. Not only was there this massive reduction in spasms, but CBD worked even on medication-resistant spasms.

CBD has also worked to reduce the epilepsies caused by Dravet syndrome. It’s been shown to improve the quality of life among people suffering from Parkinson’s Disease, even increasing their sleep quality.

CBD is even making its way into medications. Right now, in the US, the drug Epidiolex is a CBD-based prescription medication that is used to treat the seizures caused by both Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome. It’s also used to treat a rare genetic disease called tuberous sclerosis complex, which causes benign tumors to form in your body and brain.

In the UK, Nabiximols (also known as Sativex) is a cannabis extract that is sold as a “botanical drug” to treat MS and MS-related symptoms (nerve pain, spasticity, overactive bladder, etc.). While it’s not legal in the US, it’s available in countries around the world—including much of Europe, Canada, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.

Help Manage Cancer Symptoms

While CBD won’t directly have any impact on the cancer itself, it can help to manage the symptoms of cancer and cancer treatments.

For example, nausea, pain, decreased appetite, and vomiting are all known side effects of potent chemotherapy drugs and radiation treatment. CBD can reduce these symptoms, thereby decreasing the discomfort of the cancer treatment itself.

In one study, people who experienced medication-resistant cancer-related pain saw a huge improvement in their pain level as a result of a THC-containing CBD product.

Fair warning: there is only limited research into using CBD (and THC) for helping cancer pain managing their symptoms. As one study concluded, “Current evidence for use of medical cannabis and cannabinoids in cancer patients is weak. Healthcare professionals need to identify appropriateness, monitor, and document use of cannabis and cannabinoids similar to other drug therapies as well as educate the patients/ caregivers about potential benefits and risks.”

However, if the preliminary findings from the few small studies conducted are any indication, CBD and cannabis-derived products may be a useful remedy in the future to help manage cancer symptoms.

Who knows, it may one day even help to treat the cancer itself?

Possible Benefit: Improved Sleep

A number of studies have been done into using CBD to improve sleep quality and reduce insomnia (general insomnia, not just the insomnia associated with depression and anxiety disorders). Unfortunately, the results of these studies are limited, though show some minor promise.

One meta-analysis of 26 studies (clinical and preclinical) found “insufficient evidence to support routine clinical use of cannabinoid therapies for the treatment of any sleep disorder”.

However, it went on to add, “Promising preliminary evidence provides the rationale for future randomised controlled trials of cannabinoid therapies in individuals with sleep apnea, insomnia, post-traumatic stress disorder-related nightmares, restless legs syndrome, rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder, and narcolepsy. There is a clear need for further investigations on the safety and efficacy of cannabinoid therapies for treating sleep disorders.”

Another study found that “results indicate a potential therapeutic role for cannabinoids in the management of some sleep disorders”, though the data was collected from studies with small sample sizes.

That’s why I made sure you understand it’s a “possible benefit” of CBD oil.

CBD oil is known to reduce anxiety, which can make it hard to fall asleep and wake you up frequently throughout the night. It’s also been proven to treat anxiety-related insomnia, as well as combat depression (which is known to impair sleep quality).

However, until further studies are done that provide a concrete link between the two, we can only confidently state that improved sleep is a potential benefit of using CBD oil.

Side Effects of CBD Oil

We’ve gotten into all the positives, but of course we need to take a minute to talk about the negatives of CBD oil. Thankfully, they’re fairly minor!

Experts agree that “CBD is generally well-tolerated and is considered safe”. However, it has been known to elicit negative, adverse reactions (known as “side effects” to the general populace) in certain people.

The most common side effects are:

• Fatigue
• Appetite changes
• Weight changes
• Diarrhea
• Daytime drowsiness

There is some evidence suggesting that CBD could negatively interact with certain medications, such as sodium valproate (used to treat bipolar disorder and epilepsy) and clobazam (also used to treat epilepsy).

One study found that using CBD to treat childhood epilepsy led to possible risk of pneumonia, though this could be the result of the above-mentioned drug interactions.

So while CBD is perfectly safe for the vast majority of people in the world to use, it’s important that you understand these potential risks and side effects. That way, you can be on the lookout for any adverse reactions, and seek medical help if/when needed.

Factors to Consider When Buying CBD Oil

Now that we’ve weighed up the pros and cons of CBD oil, you’re probably more interested than ever in buying—and using—these amazing products for yourself.

As well you should!

CBD has the potential to offer a lot of amazing benefits (as you saw above) and is “generally safe” for most people. If you want to try it as a remedy to manage pain, reduce anxiety, or improve heart health, you’re in good company.

But don’t just rush out and buy the first CBD oil you find online or in stores. As Healthline makes abundantly clear, “the market is currently saturated with CBD products, many of which are low quality.”

In order to make sure you’re getting your money’s worth, we’ve come up with a list of factors to consider when buying CBD oil.

Type

There are three basic types of CBD oil products:

• Full-spectrum CBD, which contains CBD, up to 0.3% THC, and all the other compounds (terpenes and flavonoids) derived from cannabis.
• Broad-spectrum CBD, which contains no THC whatsoever, only CBD and the other beneficial compounds from cannabis.
• CBD isolate, which contains only CBD, no THC or any other compounds.

As I mentioned above, CBD mixed with some small amounts of THC can be more effective for managing pain. However, people in professions or careers where they are prohibited from using any drugs may want to steer clear of full-spectrum CBD because of its existing, though miniscule, THC content. Even that small amount may show up on a drug test.

Broad spectrum CBD contains all the benefits of CBD, along with the benefits of the other compounds derived from cannabis. Terpenes, flavonoids, and other cannabinoids can increase the positive effects of CBD.

However, if you want only CBD, your best choice is a CBD isolate.

Purity

The last thing you want in a supposedly “natural” supplement is to find out you’re taking a lot of chemicals and additives, not just CBD oil in its proper form.

That’s why it’s recommended that you steer clear of CBD oils manufactured abroad.

You see, most Western countries have standards of manufacture and labeling that maintain a certain level of quality. Countries like China, on the other hand, don’t have those standards, so manufacturers have free rein to use sub-par ingredients or add in whatever they want.

This isn’t to say that all products coming from such countries are of inferior quality, only that there is a higher risk of inferior-quality products coming from such countries.

With CBD oil, you want CBD that is derived from only high-quality cannabis plants, extracted using methods that maintain its purity.

The top-quality CBD products will typically state where their cannabis plants come from, and this is one factor to look for (on the manufacturer’s website) in order to be sure you’re getting the purest possible CBD.

Note: In the United States, the FDA doesn’t regulate CBD oil supplements, but it does regulate the cannabis plants from which they’re derived. They require that the plants contain less than 0.3% THC, which means that CBD oils made from American cannabis plants are also guaranteed to have less than the legal limits for THC. 

Added Oils

As I mentioned above, most CBD oils contain concentrated CBD mixed with “carrier oils” that dilute the CBD and make it more easily digestible.

Typically, the oils used are:

• Olive oil
• Coconut oil
• Hemp seed oil

However, there may be other oils mixed in, depending on what the manufacturer has access to and deems the “best” choice.

These oils are fully natural, so there’s no harm—unless you happen to be allergic! People with allergies may find that the CBD oil has negative side effects, not because of the CBD itself, but because of the added oils.

It’s worth taking a few minutes to research what other carrier oils are added into the CBD oils so you can know for sure you’re not taking anything that will trigger an allergic reaction, inflammation, or anaphylaxis.

Dosage

The dosage of CBD you want will depend entirely on your preferences.

Some people prefer a small dose (10-30 mg) because they are more sensitive to CBD, and a small dose is all it takes to manage their pain, reduce anxiety, or help them fall asleep.

Others, however, need a higher dose (80+ mg) because their bodies are naturally more resistant to CBD, or they have been taking CBD oils for longer and have developed a tolerance.

If you’re brand new to CBD oils, it’s recommended that you start out with a small daily dose to let your body get used to it. Once you’ve adapted, you can increase your dose (SLOWLY) until you find the amount that suits your needs best.

A small daily dose doesn’t mean you have to choose only low-dose CBD oils. You can choose high-dose CBD and just take smaller quantities—a half-dropper or quarter-dropper instead of the full dropper.

What matters most is that you know how much CBD you’re taking so that you make sure to stay within your safe limits. 

Independent Testing

There is little-to-no government or official regulation of CBD products because they fall under the umbrella of “supplements”. Without regulation, there is no safeguard in place to ensure that the CBD oils being manufactured are pure and safe.

This has been recognized as a problem—especially to consumers who want to be certain of the quality of their product—so most of the “good” CBD oil manufacturers will have their products third-party tested at independent labs.

They will proudly display “Third Party Tested” or “Tested at Independent Lab” on their website because it’s the closest they can come to concrete proof that their product is of the highest possible quality.

Some will also obtain a Certificate of Analysis (COA), which is further proof of quality, purity, and veracity. This document acknowledges the presence of any molds, pesticides, or heavy metals (which can harm you), as well as any other potential dangers (or the lack thereof) in their products.

The best CBD products will have this COA document displayed prominently on their website or available upon request. It’s not a must-have, but this transparency is a good sign that the manufacturer believes in and stands by their high-quality product.

FAQs:

Is CBD legal?

CBD is legal in the vast majority of the United States; however, there are some states that are more judicious in their regulation of CBD. You can find the complete list by state here.

In Canada, CBD oil is fully legal, though as of late 2021, the only place to legally buy it online was in the government-run BC Cannabis Store.

In the UK, it is completely legal, though must be “derived from an industrial hemp strain that is EU-approved”. It must also contain no THC—meaning broad-spectrum and CBD isolates are legal, but full-spectrum CBD may not be.

Is CBD oil safe?

For the vast majority of the world, CBD oil is perfectly safe. There are some known side effects and possible medication interactions (which I mentioned above), but overall, CBD should cause no adverse reactions.

How much CBD oil should I take?

This question is a source of great debate among experts and doctors alike. Because there is no regulation of CBD, there is no “official” government-emplaced standard. That means it’s up to the individual to choose their dosage.

One CBD supplement manufacturer has an interesting suggestion for dosage, however. Champions and Legends suggests: “0.25mg CBD multiplied by your body weight in pounds on a daily basis.”

So, let’s say you weigh 200 pounds. 200 x .25 mg of CBD = 50 mg of CBD taken per day.

VeryWellMind has dosage suggestions based on clinical studies examining the use of CBD for specific conditions. They suggest:

• 300 to 600 mg of CBD per day to treat anxiety
• 10 mg of CBD per day to treat bowel disorders
• 50 to 600 mg of CBD per day to treat cancer-related pain
• 75 to 300 mg of CBD per day to treat Parkinson’s
• 25 mg per day to combat insomnia and sleep loss
• 600 mg per day to manage psychosis

However, keep in mind that these are just suggestions. There is no official dosage, so it’s up to you to take the amount that is both safe and effective.

It’s recommended that you A) consult your doctor before taking CBD oil, and B) start off with a small daily dose (10-20 mg) and slowly increase over the course of a few weeks.