Welcome to our Receptra Naturals review! After the customary round of product testing, communication with the Receptra team, site usability testing and more, the CBD insider editorial team has arrived at a final score for Receptra Naturals. We gave Receptra Naturals a score of 92.7/100, which earns them entry into our highest tier of brands. Specifically, we use a 27-point system to ensure that each CBD brand is given ample opportunity to prove themselves across all the major dimensions that affect product quality, consumer experience, and overall brand value. Here are our major categories, each of which are weighted based on their impact on the total user experience:
To learn more about how we rate brands, we invite you to check out this simple guide. Before we get into Receptra’s early start in the CBD industry, a quick look at some of our favorite products. Serious Relief Tincture, 33mgSerious Relief Tincture, 33mgNot content to stick to the basic three-ingredient list, this tincture incorporates turmeric, grapeseed oil, and more plant-based enhancements. Our testers noticed significant reductions in post-exercise soreness at two doses a day. Plus, it’s more than affordable for the quality. Pet CBD ChewsPet CBD ChewsOur canine testers took to these peanut butter and bacon-flavored CBD chews almost immediately. The ingredients list touts a range of gentle, natural ingredients like organic flaxseed, pea protein, and natural flavoring. After one day of use, we noticed less barking, scratching, and chewing among our testers. Serious Relief Targeted Topical StickSerious Relief Targeted Topical StickEasy on the menthol and loaded with natural extracts and vitamins, this topical is well-equipped for skin health. It goes on smoothly and absorbs quickly. Shortly after applying, we noticed less discomfort in the targeted tissues. Receptra Naturals Review: Table of Contents
How Receptra Got StartedFounded in 2015 in Greenwood Village, Colorado, Receptra was well-positioned to steer the CBD industry towards legitimacy, an opportunity they capitalized on with high-quality products and ethical standards. All the while, the brand has been heavily committed to educating consumers on the truth about hemp products, providing one of the most robust education portals we’ve seen from a brand. The Receptra team is so hands-on, they themselves help to plant and shuck the crop. They apply this same grassroots approach to their surrounding communities, partnering with professional athletes and participating in various philanthropic initiatives to support the hemp industry and improve general quality of life for said communities at the same time. What Makes Receptra Unique?Three distinct pillars differentiate Receptra Naturals from competitors. Product Efficacy: This brand derives their hemp extracts solely from the hemp flower, as opposed to also using “aerial parts” (stalk, stems, etc.) like most other brands. This is important because the flower is the most cannabinoid- and terpene-dense part of the hemp plant, and while it’s more expensive to do it this way, Receptra drew this line very early in their course. Also, Receptra leans on botanicals like valerian root to provide a broader range of effects while synergizing with the cannabinoids for greater potency. Our team is consistently impressed with the effectiveness of Receptra’s CBD products to the point where we awarded the brand’s CBD oil and CBD topical “best of 2020” titles. Transparency: Receptra provides an interactive COA (certificate of analysis) that teaches consumers how to read and understand them, a testament to the company’s goal to educate consumers. Every product also comes with a QR code that will directly access the product’s corresponding COA when they scan the QR code with their phone. Philanthropy: Receptra has partnered with several athletes, including more than 30 MMA fighters, winter sports athletes, professional skateboarders, current and retired NFL players, and hockey players from the NHL down to the high school level. The company has also launched a giving program called Receptra Gives, which sent proceeds from Receptra’s CBD pet sales to help displaced animals that were affected by the California wildfires in November 2018 among other efforts. In addition, Receptra works with Mission K9 Rescue to help fund the relocation of working military and police dogs to put them in good homes. Finally, Receptra has teamed up with Trees for the Future, a nonprofit organization working to end hunger and poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa. This partnership used proceeds from Receptra’s sales to help plant trees and educate farmers on sustainable farming techniques. These philanthropic efforts are part of the reason Receptra Naturals was ranked as one of Forbes’ Top 25 CBD Companies of 2019. Receptra Naturals CouponWe have negotiated with Receptra to offer exclusive Receptra Naturals coupons. Using code CBDINSIDER20, readers can save 20% off sitewide. Our Receptra ReviewEach of the following criteria were measured using a mixture of our personal experiences with Receptra products, the website, support services, and our correspondence with the team. We’ll begin where we always do: the ever-important matter of quality. QualityMax Score = 35 points. Ingredients are just the beginning when it comes to product quality in the CBD space, which is really an amalgamation of formulation quality and variety, packaging and labeling, testing protocols, and much more. In other words, we’re aiming for the whole process behind end product quality, as each step therein can affect said quality. Product QualityThe packaging containing our Receptra CBD gummies, topical sticks, dog chews, and tinctures was durable and easy to use, including the boxes, dropper lids, and container lids. The labeling contained basic product info (concentration, ingredients and supplement facts, certifications, use instructions), the occasional blurb explaining the product, and a QR code for convenient access to third-party testing results. As for additional ingredients, Receptra’s products contain everything we want to see (high-quality hemp extracts, botanicals, and carrier oils) and nothing we don’t (added sugar, fillers, preservatives). The hemp is grown and cultivated organically, and all extracts are derived from the flower, which earns top marks for hemp quality and sourcing. We typically award full points in the formulation variety department for brands that offer some permutation of a “relax,” “relief,” and “active” product, a standard we modeled after Receptra’s catalog. Finally, Receptra offers both broad-spectrum and full-spectrum CBD extract types, which covers both the THC-friendly and THC-averse crowds looking to benefit from the entourage effect. Testing and CertificationEvery product batch is tested by Pacific Botanical Laboratories, who provides an in-depth certificate of analysis featuring the tested product’s cannabinoid density, residual solvent, heavy metal, mycotoxin, microbe, and pesticide content. The brand is GMP (good manufacturing practices) certified, a strong regulatory standard that ensures Receptra maintains safe and ethical practices. Receptra also is LegitScript certified, which means their products are made from legally cultivated hemp products that are in compliance with federal and state regulatory standards. Extraction MethodAlong with CO2, ethanol extraction is considered the gold standard of the CBD industry for its safety and efficiency. We’re referring to the method by which Receptra removes cannabinoids from the hemp plant to create their extracts, a process that drastically influences the quality, purity, and safety profile of the end product. Standard ethanol extraction is an easy 100/100 here. TransparencyMax Score = 12.5 points. We’ve positioned this subset of our review criteria to deduct points the moment a customer feels the slightest suspicion that a brand is strategically withholding information. Transparency is trust, and though we don’t expect CBD brands to share every mundane detail of their logistics, customers at least need to know where the hemp is from, where it goes from there, who leads the brand, and a few other points outlined below. Info AccessibilityBetween the outer boxes, the inner containers, and each product page on the website, it’s pretty hard to miss the QR codes/links that take customers to lab reports. We also want to commend Receptra for doing what only one other CBD brand we’ve reviewed has done—sending customers directly to batch-specific lab reports after scanning the code (skipping the middle step where you have to enter the batch number). Product information is equally accessible, as every product page contains plenty of supportive information that delves beyond product specs. The “about” page provided some important information about Receptra’s history, founder Rusty Scott, and the company’s supply chain, but we made a small deduction because no other leaders were mentioned or pictured. Supply Chain TransparencyIt was refreshing to be able to grasp the gist of the entire supply chain from just 1-2 places on the Receptra website, where we usually have to dig more. As mentioned, the hemp is grown organically in Colorado, after which it is cultivated by Receptra prior to extraction. Both for their transparency in this matter and for the supply chain itself, we award full points here. Website ExperienceMax Score = 7.5 points. Simply put, as we don our secret shopper personas, we simply want to browse products, learn about CBD (both general info and product information), and check out without feeling any major speed bumps in the process. We award brands that make this process as seamless as possible on their site, and provide a wealth of information while keeping the clutter and distraction to a minimum. Product Navigation and PurchasingIt helps in this regard that Receptra doesn’t have a massive product catalog; it was very easy to quickly browse through all products and/or apply filters to get where we wanted even faster. The overall ecommerce functionality of the site is smooth, allowing us to view product specs, add to cart, and check out without scrolling for too long or dealing with multiple splash pages. If you’re a repeat buyer, you can even add to cart from the category page without clicking through to the product page if you like, which ups the convenience factor. The site also performed perfectly on mobile devices, so it’s top marks for product navigation and purchasing. Site ContentAs mentioned, the Receptra site has a solid “learn” section, with a number of foundational pieces centering on basics (what CBD is, how it works with the body, etc.) as well as a blog called “The Daily Dose” that is continuously updated with actionable content. Moreover, all of this information is neatly tucked away in a single section; learners and/or consumers don’t have to bounce around between product pages, the “about” page, and so forth to get a complete understanding of CBD. A five-minute audit was all it took to check all the major boxes in terms of foundational topics (and some more advanced topics), so it’s definitely full points for this factor. Customer ServiceMax Score = 10 points We approach each CBD brand’s customer service as an opportunity for them to not just help customers with issues, but to also educate them while promoting their values as a brand. As such, we grade brands based on the availability and number of support services available (including shipping and return policies), but also the degree to which those services helped us with our fake problems/questions. Contact Options and ResponsivenessReceptra has the big three—live chat, email, and phone support—which is an easy A as far as availability is concerned. Diving deeper into responsiveness and accommodation, we were able to quickly get responses from each service, but the phone service went to voicemail. Since the voicemail recording itself was actually pretty helpful, and since we received a call back in a matter of minutes, we only made a small deduction here (5/100) points. Shipping and Return PoliciesHere’s another case in which Receptra rides the golden standard(s) to a tee, offering a 30-day full refund policy and free shipping with a reasonable window (five business days). We’ve seen very few brands top these three points, so it’s full points for flexible and accommodating shipping and return policies. ValueMax Score = 10 points. Assigning points for each CBD brand’s prices based on our analysis of the market was the more straightforward part, but it didn’t address the question, “What are you getting quality-wise for that price?” In other words, we had to counterbalance this objective measure with a subjective one, which is the ingredient quality relative to price. Pricing and Ingredient QualityA month’s worth of a standard CBD oil tincture (1500mg) costs just over $100 at Receptra, which translates to roughly $0.07 per milligram of CBD. This is by no means an unfair price point when other brands are taken into account, but some top-tier competitors have made a stand at $0.04/mg, so Receptra earned 28.75/100 points on the raw price end. Considering the clean ingredient lists, cannabinoid-dense extracts, non-cannabinoid botanical enhancements, and high testing and extraction standards, we awarded the maximum possible points for ingredient quality relative to price (90/100), which helped the brand recoup several points in this category. Brand ValueMax Score = 25 points. This category covers a lot of ground, but the overall intention is to capture the total effect a CBD brand has on its customers, competitors, local and global communities, and the CBD industry at large. We’re always open to considering non-conventional indicators of brand value if they produce positive change on these levels, but our general framework emphasizes these points:
Here’s how Receptra performed across these points. Product InnovationMore than just developing botanically enhanced CBD products before many of their competitors were, Receptra is also innovative in how they educate customers about creative approaches to CBD. Specifically, the “CBD recipes” blog category on their site shows customers how to seamlessly slip some CBD into about two dozen recipes, from “sleep tea” to apple cider bundt cakes. As mentioned, they were integral to the development and popularization of sleep, relax, and active formulation, and even after others made it to the party, Receptra still does it better. Community, Research, and Legislative InvestmentIn our correspondence with the Receptra team, we learned that they regularly attend industry events and have contributed to the hemp policymaking process with the aim of raising standards and removing bad actors who were cutting corners on safety and other key issues. Considering they send their own people to handpick the hemp and extract from the flower, it’s more than fair to say that they maintain superior supplier oversight. The brand’s institutional knowledge is evident throughout their product offering and their educational portal. Receptra has participated in several philanthropic efforts, including partnering with Trees for the Future in 2019 to donate one tree for every sale, as well as other partnerships with Boarding for Breast Cancer and Mission K9. Our Receptra Naturals Review Overall RatingAll tallied, Receptra earned an overall rating of 92.72 out of 100 points. Here are some takeaways to sum up our review:
After accounting for the usual ding in the value category (most brands lose at least 3-4 points there), we can’t single out a single area in which Receptra took a large deduction. As such, we highly recommend Receptra to anyone looking to benefit from CBD, not just because their products are dependable, but because they invest in educating their customer base. Receptra Product ReviewsWe sampled several topical products, CBD oil tinctures, and gummies from Receptra. Here we will highlight our experiences with several of these products, factoring in concentration, value, taste, and more. ConcentrationWe sampled Receptra’s Serious Relief tincture, featuring a full-spectrum hemp extract with turmeric at a concentration of 33mg of CBD per milliliter (990mg total). This is slightly above our cutoff for effective CBD tincture concentrations, providing a solid dose at just one dropper. Here is the cannabinoid breakdown according to the certificate of analysis for our sampled product, expressed in milligrams per milliliter of oil: CBC: 1.62mg/mL The supporting cannabinoid concentration is well above 10% of the CBD density when you factor in THC, which is excellent. The CBD is slightly under-delivered, but not to the extent that we would dock credit. The addition of turmeric, a potent anti-inflammatory that speaks to the “relief” aspect, plays off the entourage effect for even greater benefits. ValueThis tincture retails for $84.99, which reduces to approximately $0.086/mg. As expected, this enhanced formulation runs a little bit more expensive than the “standard” oil we used in the review portion to assess Receptra’s pricing, but staying under a dime a milligram for anything this powerful is still reasonable. Considering some of the competition, there’s room to drop this a penny or two per milligram, but it’s certainly not an unfair price point by any means. PackagingThe packaging was consistent with the other products we reviews; the outer box and inner container featured QR codes for lab reports, basic product info (ingredients and supplement facts), seals and certifications, and usage directions. The box, darkly tinted tincture bottle, and dropper lid were all durable and easy to use throughout our sampling period. Overall, the only critique we can offer is the same we did above—utilizing the space with a small blurb or two for new customers would have been helpful. IngredientsHere is the ingredient list for the Serious Relief 33mg/dose tincture we sampled, which came in Fresh Berry flavor: Hemp flower extract, organic hemp seed oil, organic MCT oil, organic avocado oil, organic extra virgin olive oil, organic grapeseed oil, organic sunflower oil, ReceptraTM hemp extract, turmeric (curcumin), organic flavors (mint, berry). Two things stand out starkly in this ingredient list: the sheer amount of ingredients and the fact that they are almost all organic. Most tinctures stick to a pretty common motif of “carrier oil (MCT), hemp extract, natural flavoring,” but this product adds in polyphenol-rich olive, avocado, sunflower, and grapeseed oil among other plant-based ingredients. Considering these are all organic, that price point is looking all the more impressive. TasteWhile we enjoyed the taste because we like the way natural hemp tastes, customers looking to the Fresh Berry flavor to mask this effectively may find that the hemp still gets through. If anything, the berry was more evident in the aftertaste, but that first dropper-full is almost all hemp. That said, the berry is pleasant and not too sweet, and the oil is characteristically thick and buttery. EffectivenessAfter one day of use, taking a single dose in the morning and the evening, we were very pleased with this tincture’s effectiveness. We noticed two major benefits: calmness and post-workout recovery. About two hours after our morning dose, we felt less susceptible to the inevitable distractions that come from working at home, and less anxious in general. It was easier to enter and stay in a flow state, yet we didn’t feel sluggish or sedated. The recovery aspect was most evident the morning after rigorous workouts. The standard muscle soreness was still evident, if not slightly reduced, but the biggest difference was in nagging aches and pains from old sports injuries (stiff ankle, hip pain, etc.) that normally flare up after said workouts. Overall, this tincture delivered on its promises and then some. Pros & ConsLet’s start with the pros:
And now the cons:
ConcentrationWe sampled the Serious Relief and Serious Rest CBD gummies, which come in 33mg and 25mg concentrations (per gummy), respectively. Both products come in 30-count tubs, and the Serious Rest gummies are advertised as having three milligrams of CBN added into each gummy. Here is the cannabinoid breakdown for the Serious Relief gummies on a per-gummy basis:
And for the Serious Rest gummies, which were reported on a milligram-per-gram basis:
Both of these reports indicate a sizable concentration of supporting cannabinoids that exceeds 10% of the CBD density, which is excellent. The Serious Relief gummies under-deliver slightly on the CBD, but not to a therapeutically relevant degree. Other than that, this is exactly what we want to see on CBD gummy lab reports. ValueThe Serious Relief gummies, which provide 990mg of CBD in total, retail for $59.99, which reduces to $0.06/mg. The Serious Rest gummies, yielding 750mg of CBD and 90mg of CBN, retail for $54.99, which reduces to $0.07/mg. Especially for gummies, which tend to surpass CBD oils in price, these are definitely competitive price points. They aren’t lackluster formulations either; the supporting cannabinoid content clearly steers each product toward its intended use. PackagingBoth of these products came in darkly tinted tubs with threaded lids, and the Serious Rest gummies had a childproof locking mechanism (push down and turn). The labeling included all of the basic information we needed plus the QR code for third-party lab reports, but once again, we found ourselves gauging the available space and wanting an extra blurb to introduce the products to new customers. Overall, the packaging was durable and easy to use, and having a QR code that takes you straight to the lab reports is excellent. IngredientsHere is the ingredient list for the Serious Relief gummies, which came in Ginger Peach flavor: Full-spectrum hemp extract, ginger extract, turmeric extract, tapioca syrup, sugar, pectin, natural flavor (ginger, pech), alcohol, citric acid, sodium citrate. The non-organic tapioca syrup and the 3mg of added sugar per gummy make us a little tentative on the sugar situation, but everything else looks optimal, including the turmeric extract. Here is the ingredient list for the Serious Rest gummies, which came in Mountain Strawberry flavor: Hemp flower extract, organic cane sugar, water, tapioca syrup, pectin (pectin, sucrose, citric acid, sodium citrate), full -spectrum hemp extract, natural flavors, citric acid, lemon oil, cannabinol. The sugar is toned down to one milligram per gummy, and for gummies, the use of artificial ingredients and preservatives is very low, so we’re happier with this ingredient list. TasteThe Ginger Peach of the Serious Relief gummies may be our favorite flavor yet, complementing the shot of sugar with the unmistakable zing of the ginger. Ginger is a bit divisive in its own right, but if you like it, it’s very likely you’ll enjoy these delicious gummies. Ironically, the less sugary Serious Rest gummies in Mountain Strawberry tasted way sweeter than the former, almost to the point where we had to pause between gummies and drink some water. It could definitely be toned down on the sweetness, but the flavor behind it was very tasty as well. EffectivenessAs we had hoped, the Serious Relief gummies closely mirrored the effects of the above tincture, allowing for a less painful return to consecutive workouts. When taking two gummies at a time, we noticed the effects taking hold on the same day, especially on the rare occasion that we actually stretched after exercising. The Serious Rest gummies were a little tougher to gauge on the first few days of sampling, but after we stopped taking them, we noticed it took longer to fall asleep. This speaks to the subtlety and “background” nature of a well-balanced CBD product. Pros & ConsLet’s start with the pros:
And now for the cons:
Recommended ProductsHere’s a balanced listing of some of our favorite products from Receptra. Seriously Relax + Lavender TinctureSeriously Relax + Lavender TinctureFormulated with natural, potent ingredients like limonene and lavender, this tincture is made to work with your body. It’s perfect for de-compressing before bed, especially for heavy screen users. We also like how it’s available in a half-ounce bottle for people trying the product out. Serious Wellness CBD TinctureSerious Wellness CBD TincturePacking in 50mg of CBD per dose, Receptra’s original full-spectrum hemp extract brings value and effectiveness. This tincture is perfect for people who benefit the most from hemp. The simplistic formulation uses only MCT carrier oil and hemp. Serious Relief GummiesSerious Relief GummiesOur testers loved the ginger peach flavor of these CBD gummies. More importantly, we noticed marked improvements in post-exercise soreness. We attribute this success not only to a high-quality hemp extract, but the use of turmeric and ginger. All Products Sold by Receptra NaturalsReceptra has a relatively small offering of products that includes tinctures, topicals, pet chews, capsules, gummies, and pet products. The brand has decided to stick with just a few categories to enhance the company’s ability to provide the most efficacious products possible. What seems to make Receptra’s products work particularly well is their use of the hemp flower instead of hemp stalks and seeds, which leads to more highly concentrated products. What’s impressive is that despite the high concentrations, Receptra has some of the most affordable products in the CBD market, and that’s by design. Receptra Naturals CBD OilsReceptra offers multiple variations of its CBD oil, including:
Best Use: These extracts are meant to enhance your general health and protect your well-being, likely making these extracts best used to decrease anxiety, elevate your mood, and help you sleep better. Receptra Naturals TopicalsReceptra has a relatively small lineup of CBD topicals, but the products they do have are the best on the market. In fact, the Receptra Naturals Targeted Topical was considered the best CBD topical of 2020 by our team. Here’s a list of Receptra Natural’s CBD topicals:
Best Use: The topical products are best for soothing aches and discomfort as well as caring for your skin. Receptra Naturals CBD CapsulesCurrently, Receptra offers two sets of CBD capsules: Serious Rest and Seriously Relax. Best Use: CBD capsules offer the same benefits as CBD oil but contain preset amounts of CBD. They are ideal for quick consumption and during travel. They tend to be slightly less effective than CBD oil. Receptra Naturals GummiesReceptra offers two kinds of gummies: Serious Relief (33mg/gummy) in Ginger Peach and Serious Rest (25mg/gummy) in Fresh Berry. Like many of their tinctures, these full-spectrum CBD gummies contain supporting botanicals that build on hemp’s effects. Best Use: CBD gummies are ideal for newcomers to CBD who don’t prefer the hemp taste, or simply anyone who prefers an edible format that allows for consistent dosing. Receptra Naturals CBD Pet ProductsReceptra offers a pet tincture in two strengths: 16mg/serving and 25mg/serving, as well as CBD dog treats at 5mg/ea. Best Use: This is best for calming uptight animals, relieving aches and discomfort, and improving a pet’s overall well-being by balancing its endocannabinoid system. How to Contact Receptra NaturalsTo contact Receptra Naturals, use their contact form, email ([email protected]), or call at 303-223-1663. ConclusionFrom their procedures to their mission, Receptra has impressed us tremendously. Receptra’s process for creating hemp oil is excellent and clean, providing consistent products by using the best possible ingredients, following best practice protocol, and constantly testing products to ensure quality. Besides creating some of the most high-quality CBD products on the market, the Receptra team wants to provide everyone with the opportunity to live a healthier life by educating them about the benefits of taking CBD on a daily basis. After a comprehensive review of Receptra’s operations and testing their products, we are proud to recommend Receptra Naturals. ConclusionWe hope you found this review helpful. Our goal is to find and test the best brands so you don’t have to, allowing you to buy with confidence from trustworthy businesses. If you’ve tried a product from Receptra Naturals, tell us about your experience in the comments below! Disclaimer: The content on this site is for informational purposes only. We are not medical experts and nothing should be construed as medical advice. Be sure to speak with your physician before taking CBD or any other treatment. via The CBD Insider https://thecbdinsider.com/review/receptra-naturals-review/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=receptra-naturals-review
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Welcome to our Charlotte’s Web Review! As one of the most experienced and prolific CBD brands to shape the industry, Charlotte’s Web requires little introduction to CBD newbies and veterans alike. Still, like everyone else, we’ve been tracking their evolution throughout the CBD boom, meaning they get plugged into our comprehensive ranking system. According to that system, we gave Charlotte’s Web a score of 86.8/100. The major categories we assign points for in this comprehensive, 27-point brand review include the following:
For anyone who has yet to familiarize themselves with the brand, we’ll start with a bit of background. Recommended ProductCharlotte’s Web CBD Oil (60mg)As their most concentrated, full-spectrum CBD oil, this product is both valuable and easy to use. The high presence of non-CBD cannabinoids gives the entourage effect a better chance to take hold, a difference that our testers noticed. We also like that it comes in mint chocolate, lemon twist, and orange blossom flavors, offering something for everybody. Next, we can’t ignore the rapid rise of CBD gummies, and thanks to these tasty and effective Calm Gummies, we don’t want to. Recommended ProductCharlotte’s Web Calm GummiesBoosted by lemon balm and another highly balanced cannabinoid extract, these gummies are no gimmick. At doses of three or more gummies, are testers noticed a balanced, focused sense of calm that persisted for hours. The lemon lime flavor is among the sweetest, yet most natural-tasting we’ve sampled. Next, our favorite balm from Charlotte’s Web brings a potent extract at a solid value. Recommended ProductCharlotte’s Web Hemp-Infused Balm With CBDBoosted by lemon balm and another highly balanced cannabinoid extract, these gummies are no gimmick. At doses of three or more gummies, are testers noticed a balanced, focused sense of calm that persisted for hours. The lemon lime flavor is among the sweetest, yet most natural-tasting we’ve sampled. Charlotte’s Web Review: Table Of Contents
How Charlotte’s Web Got StartedBased in Boulder, Colorado, Charlotte’s Web was founded by the Stanley Brothers—a group of seven brothers raised by a single mother—in 2011. The brand (and the CBD movement that ensued) centered around young Charlotte Figi, who greatly benefited from Charlotte’s Web’s CBD products as she battled a form of childhood epilepsy. Charlotte’s inspiring story, the tenacity of the Stanley Brothers and a feature on Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s documentary entitled Weed helped Charlotte’s Web gain recognition early on. From that point on, Charlotte’s Web was regarded as one of the forefathers of the CBD movement and a brand that everyone could trust. Speaking to that image, the company grows much of their hemp themselves on Colorado farms (with supporting family farms in Kentucky and Oregon). What Makes Charlotte’s Web Unique?Aside from becoming the first major CBD brand, Charlotte’s Web differentiates themselves with philanthropy, clinical research, and high-quality processes. Philanthropy: From mentoring black-owned CBD and hemp startups to campaigning for hemp accessibility for communities and families that rely (or could rely) on hemp products, Charlotte’s Web has been focused on supporting the industry and giving back to communities since the beginning. They’ve also achieved B Corp Certification, a designation awarded to brands who adhere to a set of social and environmental responsibility standards. Research Participation: Charlotte’s Web has been actively involved in multiple studies involving their own products to assess the effectiveness of CBD and other cannabinoids. They’ve also been called on by the FDA to participate in studies assessing CBD’s effects on the liver, which will ideally provide key insights the agency needs for creating a regulatory pathway. Our Charlotte’s Web ReviewWe tested several Charlotte’s Web products, made our usual rounds of the brand’s website, and spoke with our contacts in the company to complete this review. Speaking of, each of the six categories mentioned above our weighted based on their impact on product quality and safety, user experience, the CBD industry as a whole, and more, totaling 100 points. If you’d like to learn more about how each category and the criteria within it are scored, we’ve created a simple, detailed guide. As always, we’ll start off with the key issue of quality. Quality
Max score = 35 points. Two companies can arrive at the same ingredient list in very different ways, and moreover, ingredient quality isn’t the only factor that can affect user experience. For these reasons, we also assess how and where the products are sourced and manufactured, tested, packaged, and more. Product QualityThe packaging and labeling on this shipment of products and all others we’ve sampled was durable, informative, and easy to use. Between the outer boxes and the inner containers, everything we wanted to see was there: supplement and ingredient facts, general product info, QR codes for quick access to lab reports, and so on. Charlotte’s web offers full-spectrum and broad-spectrum extracts, and they offer some permutation of each of the three formulation types we look for (relax, relief, and active), though not in CBD oil form. They use clean ingredients, many of which are organic, and no harmful preservatives. Testing and CertificationCharlotte’s Web’s products are tested by a reputable, ISO-accredited third-party lab called Eurofins. Also earning an easy A in the subcategory of industry certifications is Charlotte’s Web’s US Hemp Authority and USDA Organic certifications. Extraction MethodCharlotte’s Web uses CO2 and ethanol to extract CBD and other hemp-borne compounds (terpenes and other cannabinoids) from plant biomass. As these two methods are regarded as the safest and most effective, it’s full marks for hemp extraction quality as well. TransparencyMax score = 12.5 points. We designed this category to award brands for clearly providing key points about their products, processes, lab results, and supply chain structure, all of which signal authority and trustworthiness. If a customer has to dig for more than a minute to find this information, we consider it a speed bump in the total user experience and dock points. Info AccessibilityBoth in terms of the products themselves and the team behind them, Charlotte’s Web is very transparent with their audience, sharing everything you would want to know about who they are, what they do, and what’s in their products. However, they are the only top-tier brand we’ve reviewed to not directly present third-party lab results (i.e., on Eurofins letterhead) to their customers, instead having their quality assurance department create separate reports claiming to contain the same results. Since there is no signature from Eurofins analysts on any of the Charlotte’s Web reports, there’s no way to authenticate the information, which is why we applied a hefty deduction here. Supply Chain TransparencyFinally, we don’t expect a thesis on all the finer points of the supply chain, but we at least want to see a neatly packaged, customer-facing breakdown of where the CBD comes from, where it is formulated and tested, and any other steps in the supply chain. While Charlotte Web was forthcoming with this information, we made a small deduction (15 out of 100 points for this factor) because the information was a bit harder to find on the website. Website ExperienceMax score = 7.5 points. As an online publication, we know all too well the pitfalls of bad website development, whether you’re moving hundreds of products a day and/or simply presenting information to an audience. Beautiful design is good for a few points, but we’re more pragmatically minded in this case, prioritizing product navigation and purchasing functionality as well as the quality/quantity of educational content. Product Navigation and PurchasingBefore officially entering the e-commerce section of the site, you can hover over the shop link to reveal a drop-down menu that allows you to shop by product type (CBD oil, CBD gummies, etc.) as well as a few introductory blog posts to inform a smarter purchase. Once you’ve landed on one of their attractively designed and minimalistic category pages, you still have access to category, price, and health benefit filters. Clicking through on product images takes you to a similarly designed product page, offering all the information you need and easy fields for selecting quantities/concentrations etc. Browsing on mobile was just as seamless, with no noticeable bugs. Site ContentBetween their thorough, yet concise breakdown of all the important questions (what is CBD, how does it work, etc.) on their CBD 101 page as well as their many well-written blog posts, Charlotte’s Web definitely checks the box for consumer education. Moreover, customers don’t have to bounce around to seven different blog posts to learn what CBD is, how it works, the difference between hemp oil and extract, and so on—it’s all on the CBD 101 page. Customer ServiceMax score = 10 points. How a CBD brand or any other responds to customer questions, comments, and concerns is highly indicative of their true intentions. It’s easy to sing your own praises through a few lines of web copy because web copy works for free. Rather, what we’re looking for are the three major support channels (messenger, phone, and email) with helpful and responsive human beings on the other end. Contact Options and ResponsivenessCharlotte’s Web offers email, phone, and messenger support channels, but the messenger isn’t live. Because they technically had all three services, and because the non-live chat was still loaded with helpful information, we just took ten points off out of 100 for this factor. However, responsiveness was a different matter altogether. The quoted response time for queries sent through the messenger (when looking for a human response) was 72 hours, and we held on the phone for half an hour before hanging up, both of which are definitely too long for customers who have several brands to choose from. As a result, Charlotte’s Web lost 3.5 percentage points off their overall score. Shipping and Return PoliciesCharlotte’s Web maintains a 30-day customer satisfaction guarantee on all their products, which we consider to be the gold standard, so they received full points for return policy. Products ship in 7 business days and for a flat $9 shipping, which isn’t unreasonable on either front. However, since we’ve seen other top-tier brands beat both of those numbers, we just shaved 5/100 points off for this factor. Overall, these are the fair, flexible and accommodating shipping and return policies you would expect from a brand that is confident in their products. ValueMax score = 10 points. How much do the products cost? How does the ingredient quality compare to this cost? That’s it. Pricing and Ingredient QualityA month’s supply (1500mg) of Charlotte’s Web’s standard CBD oil tincture costs exactly $100 after we reduce the closest concentration (1800mg) to this quantity, which equates to slightly less than $0.07/mg. According to our scale, which we developed with the help of thousands of respondents in our US CBD Consumer Report as well as an in-depth analysis of market prices, this earns 32.5/100 points for raw price. This doesn’t mean $0.07/mg is far too expensive—especially for a brand like Charlotte’s Web—it just means all CBD is too expensive with the exception of the very top quartile of this range. Also, Charlotte’s Web was able to make up a solid block of points in the “ingredient quality relative to price” factor, earning 80/100 for their clean, organic ingredient lists. Brand ValueMax score = 25 points. Charlotte’s Web = 23.75 points. This category seeks to answer a fairly open-ended question: How is this brand changing the CBD industry, its local community, and the world? As you could imagine, there are many efforts that could fit here. To be as broad as possible, we award points for any significant action a brand takes towards medical study participation, hemp industry legislation, community and industry events, industry memberships, general philanthropy, and more. We also consider institutional knowledge and product innovations to be integral to brand value, since these can influence others in the space to up their standards. Product InnovationCharlotte’s Web has every popular CBD product type, many of which were developed very early on in the CBD boom, which earns them a solid chunk of points for product innovation. After acquiring Abacus Health Products, maker of the CBDMedic line of topical products for arthritis pain, Charlotte’s Web was able to offer more targeted benefits for their consumers as well. Community, Research, and Legislative InvolvementCharlotte’s Web has been involved in multiple studies, many involving their own products, and at least one in direct response to FDA requests for information. Their work with the US Hemp Authority has helped shape CBD legislation, and they’re continuing to work towards clearer standards. Considering the Charlotte’s Web team literally works hands-on with the hemp itself, they also earn full points for supply chain oversight. Their work with Realm of Caring, and the very impetus of the company itself (in support of Charlotte Figi) speak to an ongoing commitment to philanthropy. In other words, full points for community, research, and legislative involvement. Our Charlotte’s Web Overall RatingAll totaled, Charlotte’s Web earned an overall rating of 86.81/100. Here are some highlights to sum up our review:
They checked some very important boxes (safety, quality, and brand value), but were dinged for technical issues that could be easily improved on for major score improvements (into the 90s, most likely). Overall, Charlotte’s Web is a top-tier brand that we recommend to anyone looking for CBD products. Charlotte’s Web Product ReviewsConcentrationThe gummies we sampled came in a 30-count jar of 5mg gummies, yielding 150 total milligrams of “plant-based cannabinoids,” per the label. Charlotte’s Web also offers 60-count and 90-count sizes at the same concentration, yielding 300mg and 450mg of cannabinoids, respectively. Here is the cannabinoid breakdown per the COA for the 300mg tub we sampled, expressed in per-serving (two gummies) values:
As expected, our product passed all tests for microbials and heavy metals. Overall, this is a solid report, especially for people who like to emphasize non-CBD cannabinoids, since CBD makes up less than two-thirds of the overall cannabinoids. ValueHere are the prices per size:
While most of Charlotte’s Web’s products are priced somewhere in the middle of the market, the gummies are slightly more affordable at larger concentrations. It also helps that you don’t have to go beyond 2000mg, or even 1000mg to reach this discount. PackagingThese gummies come in a darkly tinted plastic tub with a threaded lid. On the labeling were included a blurb about the product, supplement facts and other ingredients, use suggestions, a QR code for accessing third-party lab results, and other standard info (concentration, flavor, etc.) Everything we wanted to see was there, and the product blurb helped to prime us for the experience. IngredientsHere is the ingredient list for these gummies: Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis), hemp extract (aerial parts), tapioca syrup, beet sugar, fructooligosaccharides (FOS), water, natural flavors, MCT oil, pectin, less than 1% of: malic acid, spirulina extract (color), sodium citrate dihydrate, organic lemon juice concentrate, citric acid, organic sunflower lecithin, tapioca starch. There’s no getting around the use of some form of sugar and at least one or two preservatives when you’re making a gummy, but that doesn’t mean these ingredients are all the same. Indeed, this list shows us the right way, using safe preservatives and avoiding high-fructose corn syrup. TasteThis is one of the better tasting gummies we’ve tried; the lime was very zesty and sweet. It took Charlotte’s Web 1.5 grams of sugar per gummy to get there, which is right around the average (we draw the line at 2.5 or more grams). The delicious, acidic flavor covered up and/or neutralized the hemp bitterness very effectively. These gummies would be a great option for sweet tooths looking to avoid the bitterness of hemp. EffectivenessIt required at least three gummies, but after climbing to that level, we experienced marked improvements in stress levels. As CBD is meant to do, it wasn’t a feeling of sedation, but a subtle “leveling out” that helped us respond to stressful situations calmly. We can’t say this gummy helped with falling asleep as much as some others have, but taking it in the morning or early afternoon made for smoother workdays. Pros & ConsLet’s start with the pros:
And now the cons:
ConcentrationThese 15mg capsules come in 30-count (450mg total), 60-count (900mg total), or 90-count (1350mg total) containers—we sampled the smallest size. Here is the cannabinoid breakdown per the COA for our product:
The cannabinoid content is over-delivered by nearly four milligrams, and the THC is well within the legal limit. The supporting cannabinoid content (THC, CBG, CBN, CBC) is right around 10 percent of the reported CBD content, which is stronger than most capsules we’ve seen. Overall, there’s a solid shot of cannabinoids with plenty of room for the entourage effect to take hold. ValueHere are the prices for each size:
As capsules go, and compared to their CBD oil, this is a little more expensive than expected. Granted, these are liquid hemp extract capsules, which partially explains the rigidity in the pricing structure. Still, other top-tier brands are regularly cruising right under this line. PackagingBetween the outer container and the darkly tinted tincture bottle, customers have access to blurbs about the Stanley Brothers and Charlotte’s Web, use suggestions, ingredient list, supplement facts, and a QR code for lab reports (box only). This is everything we like to see, and the two blurbs really help to lay down some context and build confidence in the product as well as the brand behind it. IngredientsHere is the ingredient list for our product verbatim: Hemp extract (aerial parts), organic extra virgin olive oil, vegetable capsule (hypromellose) It doesn’t get much simpler; everything is natural and safe, so it’s top marks here to be sure. TasteThese transparent liquid capsules aren’t faintly sweet like some others; they bring an extremely subtle note of bitterness. It took us roughly a minute of mulling these capsules around in our mouths to arrive at this assessment, so by all means, the everyday consumer is very unlikely to notice anything. After consuming, we didn’t notice any unpleasant aftertaste, so we’re very pleased with the “taste” of these capsules. EffectivenessWhen taking a minimum of two capsules in the midday or early evening, we noticed that it was easier to fall asleep, and one of our testers—a sensitive sleeper—slept through a fairly severe storm. As usual, there was no feeling of sluggishness or sedation in the morning. We also noticed in some cases that we were much less susceptible to the distractions of working from home after having three capsules in the morning, making workdays easier and more productive. Overall, these are solid results, and we attribute much of the success to the high non-CBD cannabinoid content. Pros & ConsLet’s start with the pros:
And now the cons:
ConcentrationOur Original Formula CBD Oil came in a 50mg/mL concentration, which is available on the Charlotte’s Web online store in 30mL (1500mg) or 100mL (3000mg) sizes. Here is the cannabinoid breakdown per the COA for our product:
The CBD is over-delivered by more than 20 percent, the supporting cannabinoid content is once again around ten percent of the CBD, and the THC is well within the legal limit. ValueHere are the prices for each size:
Considering this is priced almost exactly the same as the standard CBD tincture we used to grade value, our stance is the same: middle of the road, not bad for a top-tier brand. PackagingBetween the outer box and the tincture bottle, users can access basic product info, supplement facts, other ingredients, suggested use, CW blurb, Stanley Brothers blurb, and a QR code for lab reports. Once again, this provides everything we would want to see with the added benefit of some background on the brand. IngredientsHere is the ingredient list verbatim: Hemp extract (aerial parts), fractionated coconut oil, organic mint chocolate flavor oil (organic sunflower oil, natural flavors). There’s no room for criticism here; this is an excellent ingredient list showing a commitment to high safety and quality standards. TasteBoth the mint and chocolate were on the subtle side, covering up most of the bitter hemp taste. It personally isn’t our favorite flavor, as the citrus tends to do a better job of masking the hemp while tasting great, but it wasn’t unpleasant by any means. Hardcore Thin Mints fanboys and fangirls, on the other hand, might have a new favorite here. EffectivenessThis time, it only took one dose for our testers to experience some noticeable benefits. Chief among those benefits was improved stress management. One tester in particular found that this tincture greatly improved his mood after multiple nights of sleeping less than six hours. Taking a full dropper in the morning and half a dropper in the evening was a great rhythm, allowing clear, calm functionality during the day and an easier time falling asleep at night. Pros & ConsLet’s start with the pros:
And now the cons:
Recommended ProductsCharlotte’s Web THC-Free CBD OilRecommended ProductCharlotte’s Web THC-Free CBD OilThis THC-free tincture still delivers a potent and balanced hemp extract to help with stress, sleep, and more. Our testers confirmed these benefits after 2-3 days of use, and the flavoring was excellent. Best of all, the completely vegan, non-GMO ingredient list is as clean as it gets. CBDMedic Back and Neck Pain Relief OintmentRecommended ProductCBDMedic Back and Neck Pain Relief OintmentPowered by much more than cannabinoids, this hard-hitting, yet gentle ointment is a must-have for stiff and sore necks. Camphor and menthol play off a THC-free hemp extract to deliver serious discomfort relief when applied. As always, the ingredient list is filled with natural extracts like honeysuckle oil, jojoba seed oil, and more. Charlotte’s Web Calm GummiesRecommended ProductCharlotte’s Web Calm GummiesA colorful array of supporting, non-CBD cannabinoids help to make every milligram of this CBD gummy product count. Indeed, our testers noticed a sense of calm that persisted for hours after each dose (3+ gummies) The lemon lime flavor is among the best we’ve tried, and was very effective at covering up the hemp taste. All Charlotte’s Web ProductsCharlotte’s Web offers a medium range of product types, but delivers within each category with a large variety. Here are their major product types:
The brand primarily focuses on tinctures and dog products, but the addition of CBDMedic and continued expansion of their gummy line have added more variety. CBD OilDespite other categories gaining ground, Charlotte’s Web is still known for their CBD oil tinctures above all else. Here’s what they’re currently offering:
CBD CapsulesCharlotte’s Web offers CBD capsules in two concentrations: 15mg and 25mg. These are liquid CBD capsules, meaning they contain standard CBD oil inside a capsule. CBD GummiesCharlotte’s Web offers three kinds of CBD gummies:
Each of these is formulated with a botanical blend of natural ingredients like lemon balm in addition to the CBD from the full-spectrum hemp extract. Each of the variations come in tubs of 30, 60, or 90. CBD TopicalsCharlotte’s web offers the following topical products:
Best Use: Topicals are best for point-specific or region-specific applications, and are an easy way to introduce hemp-derived CBD into your routine without orally ingesting a product. CBDMEDIC TopicalsCharlotte’s Web acquired the brand CBDMEDIC officially in June of 2020. CBDMEDIC offers OTC-registered (over-the-counter products allow for health claims) topicals infused with broad-spectrum hemp extract, which contains CBD, but is THC-free. All CBDMEDIC topicals are available on the Charlotte’s Web website. The products include:
CBD for DogsCharlotte’s Web offers a handful of dog products, including:
ConclusionAs The CBD Insider editorial team, we only recommend brands that we have personally vetted, so you can feel comfortable purchasing their products. In many areas, Charlotte’s Web continues to live up to the very high standard they and the industry have set for the brand. However, Charlotte’s Web’s competitors in the CBD industry continue to consolidate and catch up, meaning there’s always room to improve and tighten up processes. We confidently recommend Charlotte’s Web products to anyone looking for the many potential benefits that CBD can provide. via The CBD Insider https://thecbdinsider.com/review/charlottes-web-review/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=charlottes-web-review Welcome to our Elixinol review! As a CBD industry frontrunner, Elixinol is expected to maintain the highest standards of safety, quality, and product innovation, core tenets to which they frequently voice their commitments. But nobody coasts on reputation alone, which is why we made sure to apply the same 27-item assessment we do for all other brands in the case of this Elixinol brand review. According to our assessment, Elixinol earns a 93.4/100, which earns them entry into our highest tier of brands. The six major ranking criteria we use include:
Every criterion is linked to a weighted score, adding up to an overall score out of 100 points. For more information on how we review brands, check out this simple and informative guide. Now, for a look at some of our favorite Elixinol products from the review process. Recommended ProductElixinol Immune Gut Health CapsulesPowered by a proprietary ginger extract as well as CBD, these Immune Gut Health capsules are among the most potently formulated products we’ve reviewed. In addition to supporting gut health, which in turn promotes dozens of positive changes in the body, these capsules helped us feel calm and relaxed. As usual, they’re formulated only with clean and effective ingredients. Recommended ProductElixinol Active Sports GelCompetition is thickening in the CBD topical department as industry-leading brands continue to one-up each other, and Elixinol is no exception. This highly concentrated, botanically enriched powerhouse contains more than a dozen essential oils and extracts, and zero harsh surfactants. Our team noticed significant improvements not only in post-exercise soreness, but in work-related aches and pains, allowing for a smoother and more productive workday. Table of Contents
How Elixinol Got StartedBased in Westminster, Colorado, Elixinol was founded in 2014 by Paul Denham, who has a 30-year legacy in hemp. The Elixinol brand is owned by Elixinol Global, a holding company with a hemp-based food company in Australia, as well as an emerging medical cannabis operation also based in the oceanic country. Elixinol offers broad-spectrum and full-spectrum hemp products, specializing in capsules of many different concentrations and formulations. Elixinol CouponLooking to get in on a top-tier brand without emptying your wallet? We work closely with brands we review to bring our readership exclusive discounts, such as this 25% off coupon (coupon code: 25INSIDER). What Makes Elixinol Unique?Elixinol differentiates themselves from other CBD brands in a number of ways, including: Brand loyalty: VP of Product Marketing Lindsay Topping told us that Elixinol has managed to build brand loyalty in a market where bouncing around from brand to brand has long been the status quo. The Elixinol team attributes this to their quality and testing protocols, research-driven formulations, and more. Transparency: Elixinol offers detailed, comprehensive certificates of analysis (COAs) that give customers all the information they need to know. Customers can access third-party results directly by scanning QR codes on the products they purchased. Education: Elixinol has one of the most comprehensive and robust learning platforms that our team has ever seen, covering what CBD is, how it interacts with the body, the difference between hemp extract types and major cannabinoids, and much more. The information is clear, concise, and highly relevant for everyday customers. Research: Elixinol has partnered with several medical institutions and public-health-focused organizations on studies examining the efficacy of CBD and other cannabinoids for various health challenges. Moreover, they actually use this research to shape their research and development efforts (not just to say they did it). Our Elixinol ReviewAs mentioned, we evaluate brands based on six major criteria, each of which are comprised of various subcriteria covering everything from the CBD extraction method to the brand’s involvement in community-level and global philanthropy. First, let’s start with the all-important issue of product quality. QualityMax score = 35 points Far beyond the quality of the ingredients and formulations alone, we measure everything from product packaging to hemp sourcing methods when considering a brand’s overall product quality because all of these factors can affect user experience. Here’s how Elixinol stacked up in this regard. Product QualityElixinol sources their hemp from partner farms in Colorado that are registered with the state department of agriculture. They use CO2—the industry gold standard for safety reasons—to extract cannabinoids from the hemp plant. The CBD oil tinctures, capsules, and topical products we reviewed came in durable and informative packaging. Each container was housed in a box, and both of these items took full advantage of the space, offering multiple paragraph-long blurbs about CBD, Elixinol, and the intended use of the product as well as basic product information (supplement facts, concentration, warnings, etc.). Concerning ingredient quality, Elixinol makes use of many supporting botanicals, including turmeric, boswellia, ashwagandha, peppermint essential oil, and the first FDA-approved terpene, beta-caryophyllene. This colorful palette of plant-based compounds allows Elixinol to offer their many formulation types (especially in capsules), including products to accommodate comfort, sleep disturbances, active lifestyles, stress, and more. What we didn’t see ingredient-wise was equally as important; there were no artificial sweeteners, fillers, or harsh preservatives of any kind. Finally, Elixinol provides full-spectrum and broad-spectrum CBD products, which we award full points for in the hemp extract availability subcategory. Testing and CertificationBoth on the website and the packaging, every Elixinol product we could find was linked (QR codes on packaging, links on the site) to a certificate of analysis from highly reputable labs like Botanacor and Eurofins. With the exception of terpene readouts, these labs provided full-panel testing, reporting on major cannabinoid levels, any toxins detected, residual solvents, and everything else we needed to know. Elixinol also backs up their products with US Hemp Authority certification and, for one product, USDA Organic certification, two prestigious credentials that are hard to obtain. Extraction MethodSupercritical CO2 extraction allows manufacturers to cleanly and efficiently remove cannabinoids from the hemp plant biomass, as CO2 is a very human-friendly solvent. As such, we reserve a 100/100 score for this subcategory only for brands that use CO2, which Elixinol does. TransparencyMax score = 12.5 points Who is leading this brand, where are their products from, what’s in them, and are they backed by lab testing? This category is all about how easy it is for customers (and reviewers like us) to access vital information like the above. Info AccessibilityThe “About Us” page on Elixinol’s website provides a decent introduction to CBD and the brand’s values, but there are no headshots/bios of company leaders and no specifics (i.e., dates) relating to when the company was founded and how they’ve grown over time. However, customers can quickly and easily access certificates of analysis on packaging and on the site, which helped the brand recoup a lot of points in this category. Finally, the product pages do an excellent job conveying all the necessary information and then some—ingredients, general guides, FAQ, etc.—so it’s full marks for product information accessibility. Supply Chain TransparencyThe only two tidbits of information we could exhume relating to Elixinol’s supply chain (where the hemp is grown, where it goes from there, etc.) were that the product is grown in the US and the oil is extracted with CO2 and ethanol. We don’t expect a super-detailed breakdown of every small step in the supply chain, but it is important for consumers to at least know where/who the farms are, who formulates and packages the products, and so on. As such, Elixinol took a solid hit for supply chain transparency, but were still able to round out the category with 10.4 out of 12.5 points because of their solid performance in other areas. Website ExperienceMax score = 7.5 points Regardless of the product, a well-designed website can convey trustworthiness and authority while making the learning and purchasing experience as seamless as possible, all of which convert to higher brand loyalty in the end. For these reasons, we prioritize a brand website’s educational resources, mobile responsiveness, and of course, e-commerce experience. Product Navigation and PurchasingIt was very easy to access product categories and browse Elixinol’s fairly sizable catalog; we rarely had to rely on the “back button” or a tangled mess of filters. The overall aesthetic is minimalistic and attractive, and on both product category pages as well as individual product pages, a wealth of supplemental information made us feel more confident as we donned the perspective of first-time CBD users. Overall, the site was responsive on mobile devices, but we made a very small deduction for some minor user interface issues (i.e., scrollable image carousels not responding to swiping properly). Site ContentIn addition to the educational info peppered across product and category pages, Elixinol maintains one of the most well-written and robust information platforms in the business. Between the “CBD 101” page, the 50+ blog posts, and the FAQ section, all of which are conveniently grouped under the “Learn” section of the Elixinol site, new and veteran CBD users alike can learn something new. Customer ServiceMax Score = 10 points Here is an arena where a brand’s actions towards their customers can be held up to their promises, which is why customer service is such a telling indicator of a brand’s overall integrity. More than just accommodation and responsiveness, it’s also important for the customer experience that a brand provides common support channels (phone, email, chat) and maintains fair shipping and return policies. Contact Options and ResponsivenessThough Elixinol has phone, email, and live chat services, the live chat isn’t really live—it routes you to a support bot that can either submit a ticket through the email system or direct you to the Elixinol knowledge base. Still, all three channels we tested were highly responsive and accommodating, so we awarded 90/100 for this ranking factor. Shipping and Return PoliciesThe shipping and return policies are fair in that customers are protected with a 30-day, money-back guarantee (and 72 hours for products received damaged), but we made a small deduction here because Elixinol doesn’t reimburse for shipping on returns. ValueMax score = 10 points Some brands can justify charging premiums with their above-and-beyond quality standards, ingredients, etc., which is why we incorporate an “ingredient quality relative to price” factor alongside scoring for raw price. Our standard practice when scoring raw price for a brand is to find a basic CBD oil tincture, and adjust the closest available concentration to a month’s worth of CBD (1500mg). Then, we plug the raw price for that month’s supply into a scale we developed after assessing the pricing structure of industry-leading brands. Pricing and Ingredient QualityIt costs roughly $110 for a month’s supply of Elixinol’s standard CBD oil tincture, which earns 17.5/100 for raw price. This may seem harsh, but some of our trusted, high-quality brands charge as little as half of this amount. On the back end, however, we gave Elixinol the maximum possible points for ingredient quality relative to price, since they have botanically enriched, clean ingredient lists every time. Brand ValueMax score = 25 points Finally, this broad category measures a particular brand’s imprint on the CBD industry, their local communities, and the world at large. This encompasses many efforts that don’t always fit nicely into boxes, so we cast a wide net by awarding credit for the following:
Product InnovationBetween Elixinol’s synergistic capsules; high-quality oils, gummies, and topicals; and innovative liposome-enhanced formulation; it’s no question that they’ve earned full marks for product innovation. Community, Research, and Legislative InvestmentElixinol has partnered with Realm of Caring and Johns Hopkins on several studies related to CBD’s effects, earning full points for research investment and participation. We also default to a full score for community and industry involvement (as well as legislative activism) for members of the US Hemp Roundtable, as this particular association has been instrumental in moving hemp legislation forward. Regarding supply chain oversight, Elixinol has the maximum amount you can have without owning the hemp production itself, earning 95/100 here. Institutional knowledge runs deep throughout the leadership team, between Global CEO Oliver Horn’s experience leading major corporations (L’Oreal, Treasury Wine Estates, etc.) and Global R&D Director Beata Silber, PhD, who is a neuropsychology expert with more than a decade of experience in research departments for major companies. Finally, on the philanthropy side, Elixinol is among the most generous CBD brands when it comes to donating both bulk sums and a percentage of their ongoing sales to various organizations. The brand donates 5% of every purchase to a non-profit of their customers’ choosing, and their work with Realm of Caring and Leaf411 has taken aim at public health with a pro-CBD lens. Our Elixinol Overall RatingAll totaled, Elixinol receives a score of 93.44, entering the top tier of brands that score over 90 points. Here are some key takeaways to sum up our review:
We highly recommend Elixinol for CBD newbies and veterans alike, not just for their high-quality products, but for how well they educate and accommodate their customers. Elixinol Product ReviewsWe tested several of Elixinol’s products across all of their major categories, including the following:
Following are our comprehensive reviews of the products we sampled as broken down by category, starting with oils. Elixinol CBD Oils ReviewConcentrationThe broad-spectrum Daily Balance CBD Tincture we sampled came in a 500mg concentration, though it is also available in 133mg, 1000mg, and 4000mg strengths. Here is the cannabinoid breakdown for our product according to the certificate of analysis:
The CBD level is right where we want it (and then some), and the supporting cannabinoid content is right around five percent of the CBD content, which is average as top-tier brands go. ValueThe 500mg Daily Balance CBD Tincture we reviewed retails for $39.99, which reduces to just under $0.08/mg. Though this price point isn’t outlandish by any means—especially not for a highly reputable brand—it lands just outside of that highly competitive $0.03-$0.06/mg range. As mentioned in the brand review, Elixinol made up several points on the back end of the price ranking factor for overall quality. PackagingThe packaging (small box, darkly tinted bottle, and standard dropper lid) was consistent with Elixinol’s other products, which are consistent with the best brands in the industry. Both box and bottle contained a QR code for easy access to lab reports, the labeling is succinct and highly informative, and the bottle/lid held up throughout our entire use of the product. IngredientsHere is the ingredient list for this Daily Balance CBD Tincture: Hemp extract (aerial parts), medium-chain triglyceride coconut oil, steam distilled peppermint essential oil, beta-caryophyllene (BCP). While still fairly simple and straightforward, the rare addition of both a health-affirming essential oil and an FDA-approved terpene (BCP) bodes very well for the quality of this product. This is among the most impressive ingredient lists we’ve seen for a “standard” CBD oil tincture. FlavorWe thoroughly enjoyed the Winter Mint flavor of this broad-spectrum tincture, which somehow almost completely masked the hemp taste without assaulting the palate with extreme mintiness. This was a smart play for three reasons: Peppermint oil has various health benefits Overall, we highly recommend the flavor, and would love to see more products from Elixinol and/or other brands using essential oils as flavoring agents. EffectivenessThis tincture was moderately effective at reducing stress throughout the day, and when taken in the morning, it helped us wake up and get on with our day earlier (sometimes even skipping the coffee!). In most cases, we had to take at least 2-3 full droppers (32-48mg) a day to achieve these effects. Overall, this tincture was as effective as most other standard CBD oils from top-tier brands. Pros & ConsLet’s start with the pros for this Daily Balance CBD Tincture:
And the cons:
Elixinol Capsules ReviewConcentrationAll four of the capsules we tried—Immune Gut Health, Good Night, Stress Less, and Body Comfort—came in 15mg/capsule concentrations. We also kept the unit count consistent at 60, so each product should contain 900mg of CBD. Here are the CBD, THC, and total supporting (non-THC/CBD) cannabinoid readouts according to the certificates of analysis for these four products (per capsule):
Overall, THC levels were well below the legally mandated 0.3% cutoff, and supporting cannabinoid concentration varied between a decent 4-7% range, but the CBD was under-delivered in a couple of cases. However, the melatonin (Good Night) and ashwagandha (Stress Less) help to make up for this. ValueAll four of these products retail for $64.99, which reduces to $0.07/mg. As expected, this price point is slightly lower than that of Elixinol’s CBD oil tinctures, but it’s still slightly higher than most. Once again, when the quality of the clean, synergistic ingredients are taken into account, we still consider these to be well worth the price. PackagingAll of our capsules came in the same box/container combo, complete with ample supplemental information, basic product info, and a QR code for lab report access. The lids secured tightly after each use, and the labeling was very helpful. Simply put, there’s nothing more to ask for here—the packaging is top quality. IngredientsHere are the ingredient lists for each product we sampled: Immune Gut Health: GinfortTM, (Ginger extract, 26% gingeroids, active gingeroids, hemp extract (aerial parts), medium-chain triglyceride coconut oil, vegetarian capsules [hypromellose, purified water, D-sorbitol], silica. Good Night: Melatonin, hemp extract (from aerial parts), MCT coconut oil, vegetarian capsules [HPMC, purified water, D-sorbitol], silica. Stress Less: Ashwagandha extract (withania somnifera), hemp extract (from aerial parts), MCT coconut oil, vegetarian capsules [HPMC, purified water, D-sorbitol], silica. Body Comfort: Boswellia extract (boswellia serrata) (gum resin), hemp extract (from aerial parts), MCT coconut oil, vegetarian capsules [HPMC, purified water, D-sorbitol], silica. FlavorWith the exception of the immune gut health capsules, all of these products had little to no scent or taste. The immune gut health capsules didn’t taste of ginger on initial consumption, but we were able to detect faint remnants of ginger flavor about half an hour after consuming. Overall, there were no major concerns in this department; everything in the scent and flavor department was consistent with CBD capsules from other top-tier brands. EffectivenessEven more so than the CBD oil tincture, these capsules all helped with relaxation and stress. It was difficult to gauge the effect of the Immune Gut Health capsules in our case, both because this benefit is more of a “background application” and because we weren’t experiencing any digestive issues throughout the sampling window. However, after several consecutive days of taking at least 3 of the Body Comfort capsules, we noticed a decrease in soreness, both after exercise and long bouts of working in a seated position. Finally, the Good Night capsules helped us to fall asleep faster if we took at least 3 in the evening. Pros & ConsLet’s start with the pros:
And now the cons:
Elixinol Topicals ReviewConcentrationThe Elixinol Sports Gel we sampled provides 1000mg of CBD in a 3.4oz (100ml) bottle. Considering the majority of topicals stop somewhere between 500-750mg, we consider this broad-spectrum product to be among the stronger CBD topicals on the market. Here is the cannabinoid breakdown according to the certificate of analysis for our product:
Considering the CBD content “falls short” of the label claim by less than one percent, we’ll call it an even 1000mg. That said, the supporting cannabinoid concentration is a little low, at roughly 1.2% of the CBD concentration. Overall, the product complies with the THC limit and delivers the CBD as promised. ValueThis product retails for $59.99, which reduces to just under $0.06/mg. This is where Elixinol starts to climb into a more competitive price range; high-quality topicals typically cost at least $0.08/mg. Considering the brand behind the product, we consider this particular topical to be an especially strong value. PackagingThe pump bottle this topical comes in—which is housed in the usual box—is better than most at preventing messy build-up around the opening after a few uses. As usual, the box and bottle both contain helpful and succinct info in addition to basic product details and a QR code for accessing lab reports. IngredientsHere is the ingredient list: Water, SD alcohol, glycerin, aloe barbadensis leaf juice, aminomethyl propanol, arnica montana flower extract, cannabis sativa (hemp) extract, capsicum frutescens resin, carbomer, chamomilla recutita (matricaria) flower extract, cinnamomum camphora (camphor) bark oil, cinnamomum cassia bark extract, citrus grandis (grapefruit) seed extract, cymbopogon schoenanthus oil, eucalyptus globulus leaf oil, hamamelis virginiana (witch hazel) bark/leaf/twig extract, limnanthes alba (meadowfoam) seed oil, mentha piperita (peppermint) oil, rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf oil. As expected, this topical contains upwards of a dozen natural oils and extracts, and no harmful preservatives. There’s no room for critiques here; top marks for high-quality ingredients. Scent, Texture, and SensationAs most topical creams and ointments go, this Sports Gel by Elixinol was not very intense in the way of burning and cooling sensations. We did notice a mild-to-moderate tingling sensation setting in roughly two minutes after application and lasting roughly twenty minutes after the fact. The gel smelled of mint, pine, and just a touch of citrus. It was slightly more viscous than average, leaving no drippy residue whatsoever, and massaged nicely into the skin in just a few seconds. EffectivenessThis product was moderately effective at relieving aches and pains in smaller joints (sore wrists and knuckles) as well as larger application sites (hip and low back), though we have to say it really shines in the first application. On most days, we were able to keep sore wrists and hands at bay by applying a very small amount of the gel to these areas every two hours or so. This may not be the ideal product if you’re looking to cover up a nagging issue with intense burning and cooling sensations, but the discomfort relief it provided lasted significantly longer than most. Pros & ConsLet’s start with the pros:
And now the cons:
Recommended ProductsRecommended ProductElixinol Sleep Good Night CapsulesThis powerful, yet gentle blend of CBD and melatonin helped our testers fall asleep in less time. Engineered to work with the body’s circadian rhythm, this product never left us feeling groggy. They were most effective when taken 3-4 hours before bed. Recommended ProductElixinol Daily Balance TinctureEasy on the THC (as in, zero) and packed with supporting cannabinoids, this tincture is the best of both worlds. At two full doses a day, it was effective at smoothing out stressful moments. Plus, the refreshing Winter Mint flavor covered up the hemp taste wonderfully. Recommended ProductElixinol Active Body Comfort CapsulesThese innovative CBD capsules are fortified with Boswellia to support joint comfort. When taking this product between workouts, we found it improved recovery time and soreness. Like the rest of Elixinol’s catalog, this product is made with safe and natural ingredients. All Elixinol ProductsElixinol has a moderately sized product selection, offering CBD oils, capsules, and topicals featuring full-spectrum and broad-spectrum extracts. CBD OilsElixinol offers four tincture products:
The Liposome product is particularly interesting because its made with a special water-soluble technology that is supposed to drastically improve absorption, requiring less CBD for the same results. CBD CapsulesElixinol has six CBD capsule products:
Besides Daily Balance, which is the brand’s standard capsule, each of the other versions contain a special blend of synergistic herbs that are intended to produce a specific benefit, such as relief or relaxation. CBD TopicalsElixinol has three CBD topicals:
The most unique product to Elixinol is the Sports Gel, which has a creamy, gel-like consistency. CBD GummiesElixinol now offers a line of full-spectrum hemp gummies in various flavors. The Good Mood gummy line comes in Passion Fruit, Mixed Berry, Pineapple, or Assorted Flavors, and customers can choose between a 30-count tub and 4-count sachets. ConclusionAfter completing our review, we concluded that Elixinol is an excellent brand with products that are safe, high-quality, and affordable. The company is transparent about its entire operation from “seed to sale.” The hemp is organically grown, the oil is extracted with CO2, and the purity of the products is proven with extensive, comprehensive third-party testing. As for their products, our team was simply surprised at how affordable Elixinol made each product. If we had to describe Elixinol in a word, it would simply be: impressive. After personally testing their products and thoroughly vetting their operation, we are excited to recommend Elixinol. via The CBD Insider https://thecbdinsider.com/review/elixinol-review/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=elixinol-review Welcome to our Bluebird Botanicals review! Since well before it was cool, the Bluebird Botanicals team has been formulating hemp-based CBD products, so we figured it’s high time we trained our sights on this well-reputed brand. After sampling several of their oils, gummies, and topicals over a period of several weeks and speaking with Grace Kaucic, Senior Content & Communications Manager, we’ve arrived at a final score for Bluebird Botanicals. Our final score for Bluebird Botanicals is 89.5/100. Speaking of, we use a 27-item assessment to comprehensively grade every brand we review across the following major categories:
For a preview of one of our favorite products from the review, check out these CBD-infused gummies. Bluebird Botanicals CBD GummiesRecommended ProductBluebird Botanicals CBD GummiesThese gummies feature a botanically enhanced full-spectrum hemp extract with no artificial sweeteners or preservatives. Our testers reported feeling grounded after just one dose (of 3-4 gummies). The best part? They taste amazing, and there are only two grams of added sugar per piece. Bluebird Botanicals Strawberry Margarita Flavored Broad-Spectrum CBD OilRecommended ProductStrawberry Margarita Flavored CBD OilThis broad-spectrum tincture from Bluebird boasts a cannabinoid-rich hemp extract that has been lab-tested to contain non-detectable amounts of THC. The flavor is incredible, and at just $19.95 for a 600mg bottle, it’s hard to deny the value as well. Strawberry not your jam? Try the same formulation in lemon drop or watermelon. Bluebird Botanicals Organic CBD OilRecommended ProductOrganic CBD OilFor those who demand the highest standards in cleanliness and accountability, this Organic CBD Oil from Bluebird Botanicals is a must. Every bottle is lab-certified to contain organically grown, full-spectrum hemp extracts. If you’re looking for the simplicity of an organic, CBD-rich extract and a carrier oil, this is the answer. Bluebird Botanicals Review: Table of Contents
How Bluebird Botanicals Got StartedA lifelong passion for herbs, particularly those of the cannabis family, drove Bluebird Botanicals founder and CEO Brandon Beatty to start Gaia Botanicals in 2012. Just a year later, Gaia Botanicals transformed into Bluebird Botanicals, which is when Beatty and team pivoted from a broader range of herbal supplements to hemp-based CBD products. Bluebird really was early to the party – they were the fourth company in the US to start selling CBD and the first company with a completely transparent batch system, Grace informed us. Since their founding, Bluebird has made their presence known at the consumer level as well as the legislative level, even helping with the 2018 Farm Bill language (more on that below). What Makes Bluebird Botanicals Unique?Before this review, we had yet to review or work with a Certified B corporation, and admittedly, we were unsure as to what exactly that entailed. We learned that Certified B corporations are “a new kind of business that balances purpose and profit,” per the official website. In other words, Certified B corporations like Bluebird Botanicals are beholden to higher standards of social and economic equity. In the words of Grace Kuacic, this means partnering with environmentally responsible suppliers, developing and maintaining best practices for taking good care of employees, and working with non-profit organizations to reinvest into the community. Considering how many companies claim they follow these standards without any real proof, it’s great to see a case where the claims can actually be substantiated. Bluebird also informed us that they only partner with farms that use organic and/or regenerative practices, which speaks to the level of accountability they’re maintaining. Moreover, they test all of their ingredients (not just the hemp) under highly stringent QA standards to make sure everything is just right well before moving on with production. Our Bluebird Botanicals ReviewKeeping to our usual review process, we spent several days sampling Bluebird Botanicals products, testing and exploring the website, researching the brand, and more to gather as much information as possible. Then, we plugged everything into our handy ranking system, which assigns points to each criterion toward a total of 100. For a more specific breakdown of how we score each criterion, we invite you to check out our scoring guide. As always, we’ll start with the most heavily weighted category: quality. QualityMax score = 35 points. Bluebird Botanicals = 33.69 points. Effectiveness alone does not capture the entire definition of quality; even highly effective CBD products suffer in the quality department if they are unsafe or inconsistent. As such, we’ve made it a point to capture every aspect of quality, including the brand’s certifications, available formulation/extract types, third-party testing, and more. Product QualityWe like to begin with the first thing every customer engages with when receiving and using products from a brand: the packaging. Our tinctures (we tried the Uplift CBG + CBD Oil and Downshift CBN + CBD Oil combination) came in very darkly tinted glass bottles with dropper lids. The dropper lids were particularly effective in dosing out at least three quarters of a lid with each squeeze, even as the bottles ran low. The label featured all the basics—supplement facts, ingredients, usage suggestions, and warnings—as well as a QR code for accessing third-party lab reports, but nothing else in terms of consumer education. The gummies came in a resealable pouch complete with a child-proof feature (an extra interior seal), which we love to see. Labeling here included everything the tinctures did, with the addition of a short blurb about the company. Finally, the full-spectrum Sport CBD Lotion we tried came in the typical squeeze bottle, and this product also contained additional information, this time in the form of a short blurb about the product and the extract within it. All of the packaging was durable and easy to use, and the labeling was informative and succinct, so Bluebird received a full score for packaging. The next dimension of product quality we examine is the availability of popular formulation types. Between their Upshift, Downshift, and classic/extra strength CBD oils, Bluebird fulfills most requirements, but we took off a few points because they didn’t have anything specifically marketed for relief/relaxation (partial credit awarded because of classic/extra strength CBD tinctures). Ingredients lists for all product types are both clean and rich in terpenes and botanicals, with no artificial sweeteners or preservatives in sight. Finally, the hemp itself is grown organically and sourced from Colorado and Oregon farms licensed under their states’ Departments of Agriculture, earning full marks for high-quality sourcing. Testing and CertificationBluebird Botanicals sends their hemp extracts to Botanacor Laboratories, where they are tested for cannabinoids (full panel), residual solvents, toxins, heavy metals, and more, earning full marks for third-party testing. Bluebird holds Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), Glyphosate Residue Free, Certified B Corporation, and U.S. Hemp Authority certifications in addition to Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) status. Needless to say, this is a solid repertoire, especially with the U.S. Hemp Authority certification. Extraction MethodFinally, Bluebird Botanicals uses CO2 to extract CBD and other cannabinoids from the hemp plant, and in some cases, they use a steam distillation process to increase terpene extraction efficiency. CO2 is widely considered the safest and most effective extraction method for CBD, as it leaves behind so little (non-toxic) solvent. As such, full points for extraction. TransparencyMax score = 12.5 points. Bluebird Botanicals = 12.25 points. Our interpretation of transparency in this context is a CBD brand that will share everything customers might want to know about, including:
Why does this matter? Because transparency translates directly into trust; a transparent brand that falls slightly below any given standard is more valued than a well-reviewed brand that makes customers dig for information they never find. Info AccessibilityAs mentioned, every Bluebird Botanicals product we sampled comes with a QR code that allows customers quick access to third-party lab reports. Bluebird is also known as the first CBD company to open up their batch database for public viewing, which is about as transparent as it gets. Between product labeling and the website, everything we wanted to see in terms of product information (full ingredients lists, explanations of technical terms, etc.) was there. The “about us” page is also robust, naming names, pinpointing dates, and explaining B Corp certification. Supply Chain TransparencyIf a company will openly share with us and/or their customers how they extract their hemp, where it comes from, and where it is tested, we award full points. Bluebird delivered on this frontier with very little digging required, earning full points here. Website ExperienceMax score = 7.5 points. Bluebird Botanicals = 7.25 points. We don’t demand to see the latest and greatest innovations in web design when we visit a CBD brand’s site, but we do want our secret shopping experience to be a fluid one. Simply put, when posing as customers navigating the site and purchasing products, we deduct points for problems we encounter that take us out of the experience, no matter what form they take. Speaking more optimistically, we award points for cleanly organized and easily navigable product/category pages, educational content, and to a smaller extent, overall design quality. Product Navigation and PurchasingWe were duly impressed with just about everything on the Bluebird site, including product searchability and the bump-free e-commerce experience. It’s just as easy to pull up all their CBD products onto a single page as it is to apply multiple filters and customize your search to suit your needs. Once we clicked through to the actual product pages, we found all the details we were looking for (ingredients, supplement information, etc.) in a cleanly organized format. Moreover, fake purchasing was a smooth experience completely devoid of unnecessary “halfway pages” or intrusive pop-ups. Site ContentIn the arena of supplemental/educational content (what is CBD, what is the endocannabinoid system, etc.), Bluebird keeps the bar high with about a dozen FAQs and more than 100 blog posts, the two sections that comprise the “CBD School” area of the site. Browsing the site on our mobile devices was a completely seamless experience that mirrored desktop browsing, so we awarded full points for mobile responsiveness. Though they scored well for site content, we did make a small deduction because the 100+ blog posts were not categorized or otherwise grouped in any way. Customer ServiceMax score = 10 points. Bluebird Botanicals = 8.5 points. For better or worse, one of the strongest access points between brand and consumer is customer service. Few elements can expose a brand’s willingness to work for their customers more effectively than the customer service experience, which is why we prioritize it in our review criteria. Included in this ranking factor are shipping and return policies, contact options, and contact responsiveness/accommodation. Contact Options and ResponsivenessWe look for three customer support services: live chat, email, and phone. Bluebird Botanicals has email and phone, but no live chat, resulting in a moderate deduction. When we tested their phone and email services, we received helpful and prompt replies. Shipping and Return PoliciesFor the most part, Bluebird’s shipping and return policies are consistent with other high-quality CBD brands, offering 4-5 business day delivery times through USPS. However, returns and exchanges are limited to one per customer, and purchases over $110 do not qualify for a refund. While this may not affect the majority of customers, it still seems like an unnecessary stance to take, so we made a small deduction. Otherwise, no red flags in the shipping and return policies department. ValueMax score = 10 points. Bluebird Botanicals = 6.81 points. There’s no need to mince words here – value refers to the price of the brand’s products compared to the ingredient quality and CBD density of said products. We’ve weighed both of these factors (raw price and ingredient quality relative to price) equally so that highly affordable brands and more expensive brands have equal opportunity to score well or poorly for value. Pricing and Ingredient QualityBluebird took a significant hit when it comes to the raw price per milligram of CBD, since most of their CBD products contain a lower concentration of CBD. However, the relatively high proportions of terpenes and supporting cannabinoids recouped plenty of points on the back end, such that Bluebird landed right in the middle (hence, around 5/10 points) when both price and ingredient quality were factored in. Brand ValueMax score = 25 points. Bluebird Botanicals = 21 points. Finally, brand value is the footprint that a particular brand leaves on the CBD industry, the surrounding community, and the rest of the world. This includes, but is not limited to:
Product InnovationShiny gimmicks need not apply; sometimes, the best way to innovate is to simply do what everyone else does, but better. For the most part, Bluebird Botanicals offers a standard set of CBD product types, including oil, capsules and gels, gummies, pet capsules and oils, and isolate powder. However, they’re the first brand we’ve seen to offer a product bundle (e.g., the Uplift + Downshift bundle) designed to fit perfectly into your daily rhythm, facilitating an active lifestyle and a healthy evening routine at the same time. Community, Research, and Legislative InvestmentAs active members of the U.S. Hemp Roundtable, the Hemp Industries Association, and the American Herbal Products Association, Bluebird Botanicals has been highly involved in promoting positive change throughout the industry. As mentioned, they even helped with the drafting of the 2018 Farm Bill. To date, Bluebird has not participated or invested in any medical studies, but their institutional knowledge runs deep. CEO and founder Brandon Beatty sits on the Board of Directors of the U.S. Hemp Roundtable, formerly serving as Executive Vice President. Regarding philanthropy and community outreach, Bluebird Botanicals offers an unlimited 20 percent discount to veterans, and they’ve supported s CBD- and non-cbd-related drives for good causes, such as the #StopAsianHate movement. Our Bluebird Botanicals Overall RatingAll tallied, Bluebird Botanicals earned 89.5 out of 100 points. Here are some key takeaways to sum up our review:
The biggest deductions occurred in all-or-nothing criteria, such as participation in research. Overall, Bluebird Botanicals excelled in product quality and brand authority, and their catalog boasts a diverse range of botanically rich CBD products. We recommend Bluebird Botanicals for CBD veterans and newcomers alike. Bluebird Botanicals Product ReviewsConcentrationThis tincture contains 720mg of CBD per 30-mL bottle, or 12mg per serving (Bluebird uses half-droppers as servings). Per the label, the tincture contains 180mg of CBN (cannabinol), which is a much higher supporting cannabinoid ratio than most competitors. The certificate of analysis for this product reported the following:
ValueThis tincture retails for $49.95, which reduces to just under $0.07 per milligram of CBD. Normally, we don’t account for supporting cannabinoids, terpenes, or botanicals when grading on value, but in this case, the generous CBN content is enough to reduce this price at least a penny per milligram. Either way, $0.06 and $0.07 are both fairly competitive for a high-quality brand. PackagingAs mentioned, this tincture comes in a darkly tinted bottle with a dropper lid that actually works every time. All of the packaging was intact upon receipt, and the lid was easy to work with. IngredientsHere is the ingredients list for this tincture: Fractionated coconut oil (MCT), hemp (cannabis sativa) (aerial parts) distillate, cannabinol distillate (CBN) (from hemp aerial part(s)), linalool, beta-caryophyllene. This is a strong showcasing of terpene content, as linalool and beta-caryophyllene are evidenced to have wellness-affirming effects. What we don’t see—artificial ingredients, added sugar, etc.—is just as important. TasteWhile this tincture doesn’t technically have any flavoring to cover up the hemp taste, the terpenes seem to take the bitter edge off. Terpenes can range in flavor from citrus to nutty to bitter, but in this case, they added mild, herbal flavors. That said, consumers averse to earthy flavors may not love this tincture. As CBD veterans who don’t mind the hemp taste, we found the Bluebird Botanicals Downshift CBN + CBD Oil tincture to be plenty tasty. EffectivenessThis product may not be bursting through the CBD concentration ceiling, but as mentioned, the impressively high ratio of chill-supporting CBN did noticeably come into play. It took a dropper and a half, but once we climbed to this dosage level (and held), we noticed significant improvements in feeling ready for bed. Pros & ConsLet’s start with the pros:
And now for the cons:
ConcentrationBluebird Botanicals gummies come in 30-count pouches, and each gummy contains 15mg of CBD, totaling 450mg for the order. The certificate of analysis for this product batch reported the following cannabinoid levels (per gummy):
Our gummies also contained a number of terpenes, especially limonene and beta-pinene. While it may not be the most cannabinoid-rich product they offer, Bluebird Botanicals over-delivers on the CBD while keeping the THC well within legal limits. ValueThese CBD gummies retail for $49.95, which reduces to $0.11/mg of CBD. It’s no surprise that the gummies are more expensive than the CBD oil tinctures, as is the case with virtually every CBD brand. Anything under $0.14/mg is a decent value ($0.10 and below is a great value), so we still consider these gummies a competitively priced product. PackagingThe resealable pouch has a child safety feature in the form of an extra seal on the inside, a rarity that we and many consumers appreciate. Otherwise, it’s a standard resealable pouch, on which customers can view supplement facts and the ingredients list, suggested use and warnings, basic product information, a QR code for COAs, and a short blurb about Bluebird Botanicals. Everything was intact upon receipt, both of the seals held up throughout our entire usage of the product, and the QR code made accessing lab reports easy. IngredientsHere is the ingredients list for this product: Organic tapioca syrup, organic sugar, organic pear juice concentrate, organic tapioca maltodextrin, pectin, fractionated coconut oil (MCT), citric acid, sodium citrate, fruit & vegetable juice (for color), natural flavors. Sweeteners (and some form of preservative) are all but inevitable when it comes to CBD gummies, but that doesn’t give brands a pass to use high-fructose corn syrup or other harmful ingredients. In this case, we’ve got all-organic sweeteners and natural flavors/preservatives, which is exactly what we want to see. We also want to see less than four grams of sugar per gummy, and these gummies only have two. Altogether, this is an exemplary ingredients list for CBD gummies. TasteEspecially considering these gummies only use two grams of sugar per piece, we were very impressed with the taste. Each lemon, watermelon, and strawberry gummy actually tasted like the fruit, and the natural sugars kept the saccharine goodness from treading into cheap, syrupy candy territory. In other words, they were flavorful, delicious, and very sweet without overdoing it. EffectivenessBoth because of the lower concentration and how great they tasted, we started out taking at least three gummies at a time (the label recommends not exceeding four). At three gummies, we noticed a mild grounding effect that persisted for roughly half of the day. When we upped our dosage to four, the effect intensified. Overall, these gummies are a great choice for people who want to chill with a gentle, yet effective product—just don’t expect these results from one or two gummies. Pros & ConsLet’s start with the pros:
And now the cons:
ConcentrationOur tube of Full-Spectrum Sport CBD Lotion contained 700mg of CBD, per the label. The certificate of analysis for this batch reported the following cannabinoid levels:
Like their other products, this CBD-infused lotion passed all tests for residual solvents, toxins, pesticides, and other potential contaminants. As we had hoped, Bluebird Botanicals over-delivered on the CBD while remaining well under the mandated THC limit. ValueThis product retails for $39.96, which reduces to $0.06/mg of CBD. The larger size (six-ounce tube/1,250mg of CBD) retails for $59.96, which reduces to under $0.05/mg of CBD. Both of these price points are more competitive than the tinctures and gummies—especially since the smaller size doesn’t appear to be marked up as much as most. PackagingThis product comes in a standard squeeze tube with a snap-on lid. On the tube are included a short blurb about the product, the ingredients list, basic product info, and a QR code for access to lab reports. Everything was intact upon receipt, and the lid made usage easy without leaving a mess. IngredientsHere’s the ingredients list for this product: Aqua (deionized water), cannabis sativa (hemp) extract, cannabis sativa (hemp) seed oil, emulsifying wax, caprylic/capric triglyceride (coconut oil, MCT), simmondsia chinensis (jojoba) seed oil, daucus carota (carrot) seed oil, menthol, arnica montana flower extract, sodium benzoate, gluconolactone, camomilla recutita (chamomile) extract, zingiber cassumunar (plai) extract, helichrysum italicum (helichrysum) oil, zingiber officinale (ginger) extract, rosmarinus officialis (rosemary) extract, daucus carota (carrot) seed essential oil. As expected, this CBD topical is filled with natural botanicals and safe surfactants/preservatives. Scent and TextureThis topical smells pleasantly of pine and mint, emphasis on the pine. While this may be hard to tolerate for some, we enjoyed the strong pine smell, and the consistency was easy to work with. With light massaging for about ten seconds, the lotion was already worked into the skin, leaving the application area clean and dry. EffectivenessThis lotion was particularly effective for small target areas. The one caveat is that this topical does not produce as potent a cooling and/or numbing effect as heavily mentholated alternatives. Pros & ConsLet’s start with the pros:
And now the cons:
Recommended ProductsUplift CBG + CBD OilRecommended ProductBluebird Botanicals Uplift CBG + CBD OilWhen it comes to supporting cannabinoids like CBG, Bluebird goes far and above the underwhelming status quo, making this tincture equal parts CBD and CBG. As usual, this tincture is also loaded with terpenes, and sourced from US-based farms using organic and regenerative practices. All this, and it beats most of the competition on price as well. Strawberry Margarita Flavored CBD OilRecommended ProductBluebird Botanicals Strawberry Margarita Flavored CBD OilGoing broad-spectrum doesn’t have to mean settling for a hum-drum product, thanks to this delicious, cannabinoid-rich tincture. No need to worry, the sweetener is naturally sugar-free, and the THC falls below non-detectable levels. Check out the reviews to see what people are saying about this new flavor. CBD Oil for CatsRecommended ProductBluebird Botanicals Companion CBD for CatsBluebird Botanicals uses the same ingredients from their Classic CBD Oil (for humans) to craft this feline-friendly tincture. As always, this product is thoroughly tested for THC/cannabinoid levels, solvents, and other potential contaminants. At 0.84mg of CBD per serving, you can safely build up to an appropriate dosage level. All Bluebird Botanicals ProductsSince their inception, Bluebird Botanicals has grown their product catalog to provide full-spectrum, broad-spectrum, and CBD isolate products in various formats, including oil tinctures, softgels, gummies, topicals, powder, and pet CBD products. Within most product categories, customers can choose between multiple flavors, concentrations, and formulations. As usual, we’ll start with the most popular product type: CBD oil tinctures. CBD OilBluebird Botanicals offers broad-spectrum and full-spectrum CBD oils. Between their several formulations, which include Upshift CBG + CBD, Downshift CBN + CBD, Classic, Extra Strength, and more, customers can choose from dozens of botanicals, terpenes, and cannabinoids. Available concentrations range from 250mg to 3,000mg of CBD, and flavors include classic, lemon drop, strawberry margarita, and others. Best Use: CBD oil tinctures allow for reliable dosage, and they’re easy to use and take with you. As the most popular product type (now closely rivaled by gummies), oil tinctures are typically available in a broader range of concentrations and flavors. Extra Strength Complete CBD + CBDA OilExtra Strength Complete CBD + CBDA OilConcentration1,500mg CBD/CBDA: 25mg/serving (1oz bottle) 3,000mg CBD/CBDA: 25mg/serving (2oz bottle) Price1,500mg: $119.95 ($0.08/mg) 3,00mg: $219.95 ($0.07/mg) IngredientsOrganic extra virgin olive oil, hemp extract (raw and decarboxylated) (Cannabis sativa) (aerial parts), steam-distilled hemp terpenes (aerial parts). Extra Strength Classic CBD OilExtra Strength Classic CBD OilConcentration1,500mg: 25mg/serving (1oz bottle) 3,000mg: 25mg/serving (2oz bottle) Price1,500mg: $99.95 ($0.07/mg) 3,000mg: $169.95 ($0.06/mg) IngredientsOrganic virgin hemp seed oil (product of Canada), hemp (cannabis sativa) extract (aerial parts). Uplift CBG + CBD OilUplift CBG + CBD OilConcentration900mg of CBD/CBG: 15mg/serving (1oz bottle) Price$49.95 ($0.06/mg) IngredientsFractionated coconut oil (MCT), hemp (cannabis sativa) extract (aerial parts), cannabigerol (CBG) (from hemp extract aerial part(s)) isolate, D-limonene, D-alpha-pinene. Downshift CBN + CBD OilDownshift CBN + CBD OilConcentration900mg of CBD/CBN: 15mg/serving (1oz bottle) Price$49.95 ($0.06/mg) IngredientsFractionated coconut oil (MCT), hemp (cannabis sativa) (aerial parts) distillate, cannabinol distillate (CBN) (from hemp (aerial part(s)), linalool, beta-caryophyllene. Flavored Broad-Spectrum CBD OilsFlavored Broad-Spectrum CBD OilsFlavorsLemon Drop, Strawberry Margarita, and Watermelon ConcentrationAll flavors: 600mg: 10mg/serving (1oz bottle) PriceAll flavors: $19.95 ($0.03/mg) IngredientsLemon Drop: Organic fractionated coconut oil (MCT), broad-spectrum hemp (cannabis sativa) distillate (aerial parts), natural lemon drop flavors, stevia (reb a). Strawberry Margarita: organic fractionated coconut oil (MCT), broad-spectrum hemp (cannabis sativa) distillate (aerial parts), natural strawberry margarita flavors, stevia (reb a). Watermelon: Organic fractionated coconut oil (MCT), broad-spectrum hemp (cannabis sativa) distillate (aerial parts). Companion CBD for CatsCompanion CBD for CatsConcentration500mg: 4.17mg/serving (2oz bottle) Price$35.95 ($0.07/mg) IngredientsOrganic virgin hemp seed oil (product of Canada), hemp extract (cannabis sativa) (aerial parts) Flavored Full-Spectrum CBD OilsFlavored Full-Spectrum CBD OilsFlavorsChocolate, Hibiscus Rose, Lemon Ginger ConcentrationAll flavors: 900mg: 15mg/serving (1oz bottle) PriceAll flavors: $49.95 ($0.06/mg) IngredientsChocolate: Organic frationated coconut oil (MCT), hemp (cannabis sativa) distillate (aerial parts), natural chocolate flavoring. Hibiscus Rose: Organic fractionated coconut oil (MCT), hemp (cannabis sativa) distillate (aerial parts), natural hibiscus rose flavoring. Lemon Ginger: Organic fractionated coconut oil (MCT), hemp (cannabis sativa) distillate (aerial parts), natural lemon ginger flavoring. Extra Strength Signature CBD Oil + BotanicalsExtra Strength Signature CBD Oil + BotanicalsConcentration1,500mg: 25mg/serving (1oz bottle) 3,000mg: 25mg/serving (2oz bottle) Price1,500mg: $119.95 ($0.08/mg) 3,000mg: $219.95 ($0.07/mg) IngredientsOrganic virgin hemp seed oil (product of canada), hemp (cannabis sativa) extract (aerial parts), organic black cumin seed (nigella sativa) oil, frankincense (boswellia carterii) extract (resin). Classic CBD OilClassic CBD OilConcentration250mg: 4.17mg/serving (1oz bottle) 500mg: 4.17mg/serving (2oz bottle) Price25omg: $19.95 ($0.08/mg) 500mg: $35.95 ($0.07/mg) IngredientsOrganic virgin hemp seed oil (product of Canada), hemp (cannabis sativa) extract (aerial parts). Complete CBD + CBDA OilComplete CBD + CBDA OilConcentration250mg: 4.17mg/serving (1oz bottle) 500mg: 4.17mg/serving (2oz bottle) Price25omg: $29.95 ($0.12/mg) 500mg: $49.95 ($0.10/mg) IngredientsOrganic virgin hemp seed oil (product of Canada), hemp (cannabis sativa) extract (aerial parts). Organic CBD OilOrganic CBD OilConcentration900mg: 15mg/serving (1oz bottle) Price$49.95 ($0.06/mg) IngredientsOrganic fractionated coconut oil (MCT), organic hemp (cannabis sativa) extract (aerial parts). Signature CBD Oil + BotanicalsSignature CBD Oil + BotanicalsConcentration250mg: 4.17mg/serving (1oz bottle) 500mg: 4.17mg/serving (2oz bottle) Price250mg: $29.95 ($0.12/mg) 500mg: $49.95 ($0.10/mg) IngredientsOrganic virgin hemp seed oil (product of Canada), hemp (cannabis sativa) extract (aerial parts), organic black cumin seed (nigella sativa) oil, frankincense (boswellia carterii) extract (resin). CBD Oil for PetsCBD Oil for PetsConcentration250mg: 4.17mg/serving (1oz bottle) 500mg: 4.17mg/serving (2oz bottle) Price250mg: $19.95 ($0.08/mg) 500mg: $35.95 ($0.07/mg) IngredientsOrganic virgin hemp seed oil, hemp extract (cannabis sativa) (aerial parts). CBD GummiesBluebird Botanicals may only have the one gummy as of this writing, but it’s delicious, effective, and affordable. This product contains a full-spectrum hemp extract, and it’s sweetened with organic cane sugar—only 2 grams per piece. Best Use: CBD gummies make it easy to measure doses, and they’re more approachable for people who prefer to avoid the hemp flavor. CBD GummiesCBD GummiesConcentration450mg: 15mg/unit (30-count) Price$49.95 ($0.11/mg) IngredientsCannabidiol (CBD) (from hemp cannabis sativa) distillate (aerial parts), organic tapioca syrup, organic sugar, organic pear juice concentrate, organic tapioca maltodextrin, pectin, fractionated coconut oil (MCT), citric acid, sodium citrate, fruit & vegetable juice (for color), natural flavors. CBD SoftgelsBluebird Botanicals offers several CBD softgel products in a variety of sizes and formulations. Their Classic CBD Oil Softgels, for example, feature a full-spectrum extract including a deep roster of supporting cannabinoids and terpenes. Bluebird Botanicals also has softgels with added botanicals, and even softgels for pets. Best Use: Softgels/capsules allow CBD consumers to work around the hemp taste with a dose that’s still very easy to measure. Signature CBD Oil + Botanicals CapsulesSignature CBD Oil + Botanicals CapsulesConcentration450mg (30-count, 15mg/capsule) 900mg (60-count, 15mg/capsule) Price450mg: $29.95 ($0.07/mg) 900mg: $54.95 ($0.06/mg) IngredientsOrganic virgin hemp seed oil (product of Canada), hemp (cannabis sativa) extract (aerial parts), organic black cumin seed (nigella sativa) oil, frankincense (boswellia carterii) extract (resin), softgels (bovine gelatin, glycerin, purified water). Classic CBD Oil CapsulesClassic CBD Oil CapsulesConcentration450mg (30-count, 15mg/serving) 900mg (60-count, 15mg/serving) 120-count (undefined) Price450mg: $24.95 ($0.06/mg) 900mg: $44.95 ($0.05/mg) IngredientsOrganic virgin hemp seed oil, hemp (cannabis sativa) extract (aerial parts), softgels (bovine gelatin, glycerin, purified water). Complete CBD + CBDA Oil CapsulesComplete CBD + CBDA Oil CapsulesConcentration450mg (30-count, 15mg/serving) 900mg (60-count, 15mg/serving) Price450mg: $29.95 ($0.07/mg) 900mg: $54.95 ($0.06/mg) IngredientsOrganic virgin hemp seed oil, hemp (cannabis sativa) extract (aerial parts), softgels (bovine gelatin, glycerin, purified water). CBD Oil Capsules for PetsCBD Oil Capsules for PetsConcentration450mg (30-count, 15mg/serving) 900mg (60-count, 15mg/serving) Price450mg: $24.95 ($0.06/mg) 900mg: $44.95 ($0.05/mg) IngredientsOrganic virgin hemp seed oil, hemp (cannabis sativa) extract (aerial parts), softgels (bovine gelatin, glycerin, purified water). CBD TopicalsCustomers of Bluebird Botanicals can choose between multiple formulations and sizes of CBD-infused lotion, including essential-oil-enhanced Silk Lotion, Sport CBD Lotion, and more. Best Use: Though this product type makes measuring doses significantly trickier, it provides an opportunity to perfuse CBD deeply into specific application areas throughout the body. Cooling Pain Relief Menthol CreamCooling Pain Relief Menthol CreamConcentration500mg Price$34.99 ($0.07/mg) IngredientsAqua, shea (butyrospermum parkii) butter, cetearyl glucoside, cetearyl alcohol, glyceryl stearate, CBD (cannabidiol) isolate (from hemp (cannabis sativa)), organic aloe vera (aloe barbadensis) leaf juice, tapioca starch, glycerin, caprylic/capric triglyceride, xanthan gum, organic rosemary (rosmarinus officinalis) leaf extract, organic arnica (arnica spp.) extract, glyceryl caprylate, caprylhydroxamic acid, citric acid. Hemp CBD Sport LotionHemp CBD Sport LotionConcentration700mg 1,250mg
Price750mg: $39.96 ($0.05/mg) 1,250mg: $59.96 ($0.047/mg) IngredientsAqua (deionized water), cannabis sativa (hemp) extract, cannabis sativa (hemp) seed oil, emulsifying wax, caprylic/capric triglyceride (coconut oil, MCT), simmondsia chinensis (jojoba) seed oil, daucus carota (carrot) seed oil, menthol, arnica montana flower extract, sodium benzoate, gluconolactone, camomilla recutita (chamomile) extract, zingiber cassumunar (plai) extract, helichrysum italicum (helichrysum) oil, zingiber officinale (ginger) extract, rosmarinus officialis (rosemary) extract, daucus carota (carrot) seed essential oil. Hemp CBD Silk LotionHemp CBD Silk LotionConcentration700mg 1,250mg Price750mg: $39.96 ($0.05/mg) 1,250mg: $59.96 ($0.047/mg) IngredientsAqua (deionized water), cannabis sativa (hemp) extract, cannabis sativa (hemp) seed oil, emulsifying wax, caprylic/capric triglyceride (coconut oil, MCT), daucus carota sativa (carrot) seed oil, simmondsia chinensis (jojoba) seed oil, sodium benzoate, gluconolactone arnica montana flower extract, sodium benzoate, gluconolactone, rosmarinus officialis (rosemary) extract, lavandula angustifolia (lavender) oil, pelargonium graveolens (rose geranium) oil. Hemp CBD Essential LotionHemp CBD Essential LotionConcentration700mg 1,250mg Price750mg: $39.96 ($0.05/mg) 1,250mg: $59.96 ($0.047/mg) IngredientsAqua (deionized water), cannabis sativa (hemp) extract, cannabis sativa (hemp) seed oil, emulsifying wax, caprylic/capric triglyceride (coconut oil, MCT), daucus carota sativa (carrot) seed oil, simmondsia chinensis (jojoba) seed oil, sodium benzoate, gluconolactone, rosmarinus officialis (rosemary) extract. CBD Isolate PowderYes, CBD isolate is generally regarded as a less effective alternative to broad-spectrum and full-spectrum products, since these have the synergistic benefits of multiple cannabinoids to work with, but it’s still an important item for a brand to have on hand. This is because many people are concerned about drug testing at their place of employment, and beginners often want to try CBD by itself to more accurately gauge its effects. For these reasons, brands like Bluebird Botanicals stock CBD isolate, often in the form of powder or tinctures. Best Use: For customers concerned with drug testing, or anyone who simply prefers to start with CBD only. CBD Isolate SampleCBD Isolate SampleConcentration1 gram 5 grams Price1 gram: $24.95 ($0.02/mg) 5 grams: $99.95 (<$0.02/mg) IngredientsHemp CBD isolate (aerial parts). CBD Isolate WholesaleCBD Isolate WholesaleConcentration100 grams 250 grams 500 grams 1,000 grams Price100 grams: $379.95 ($0.0038/mg) 250 grams: $749.95 ($0.0030/mg) 500 grams: $1,275 ($0.0026/mg) 1,000 grams: $2,000 ($0.0020/mg) IngredientsHemp CBD isolate (aerial parts). Bluebird Botanicals Review ConclusionBluebird Botanicals excelled in product quality, customer service, and website experience. We sought out to verify every claim they made, including those upheld by their B Corp certification, finding they were legitimate. These products are thoroughly tested, organically grown, and reasonably priced. We recommend Bluebird Botanicals to anyone interested in CBD. via The CBD Insider https://thecbdinsider.com/review/bluebird-botanicals-review/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=bluebird-botanicals-review Banking in the cannabis industry can be difficult for a number of reasons. The first of which – cannabis’ status of illegality on a federal level – begets most of the other problems dispensaries, banks, and growers run into on a daily basis. There is a misconception that dispensary owners can’t use a bank at all. In reality, the cannabis industry is heavily regulated at the state and federal level, and subject to complex compliance laws set by the U.S. Treasury in 2014. It’s a heavy burden to bear, though, and many banks do not offer their services to operators of the cannabis industry due to the risks involved. Most lenders to cannabis businesses are currently either credit unions or state operating banks. Valley’s Model Makes Banking EasierValley Bank is one the largest of the estimated 750 financial institutions servicing the industry in the U.S. and is one of the few federally chartered banks taking on cannabis business-related clients, building a specific program for them. During the years legislation on banking in cannabis has been in flux, Valley Bank has been helping the cannabis community find safe harbor for their business. “We started the program, actually internally, performing due diligence, probably close to three years ago now,” a Valley Bank spokesperson said. “The project was undertaken by our Director of Financial Crimes and Policy, and then also our Head of Enterprise Risk Management, as well as Internal Council.” Valley places its clients into three categories: tier one, tier two, and tier three. Tier one is made up of clients who physically touch the plant. Think retailers and farms. Tier two includes traditional commercial real estate borrowers looking to lease a property or properties to a client in the tier one category. Tier three consists of ancillary members of the industry like hydroponics retailers and manufacturers. Like all traditional banks, clients and potential borrowers have to have a good financial standing to secure a loan. Valley’s model is built on relationships with its clients, offering deposit-based loans that charge a reasonable rate of interest. It often lends on real estate and generally does not offer unsecured lines of credit, working capital lines, or receivable financing. Navigating a Complicated IndustryIn addition to providing loans, Valley is helping business owners navigate the complicated world of banking in the cannabis industry. By partnering with Green Check, Valley is helping multi-state operators with cross-border regime differences. Green Check’s algorithms note what state a transaction happened and consolidate them into a single banking statement. Another way the bank is providing previously unavailable services is by cutting out transport fees that can pile up on multi-state operators. “I think in one of the states they were operating in, on several occasions, we saved them almost $30,000 a month at transport fees by moving them over to our partner, between that and the banking fees we charge,” the official said. With demand growing exponentially, Valley’s model could be implemented by other large banks soon. By Valley’s estimates, the industry could grow to 75 and a 100 billion dollars worth of annual sales in North America within five years. The SAFE Banking ActLegislation that would make the process significantly easier for cannabis businesses and banks to partner could also be on the horizon. A bill that would allow state-legal cannabis businesses to work freely with financial institutions has passed the House of Representatives for the sixth time. The SAFE Banking Act addresses current obstacles for businesses including credit card processing and the ability to have legitimate bank accounts. The bill heads to the senate next, facing stark opposition from Sen. Mitch McConnel who deemed the Act “a poison pill” in a larger piece of legislation. Whatever the ultimate fate of the SAFE Banking Act, innovative programs like the one Valley Bank has instituted will continue to help the 70% of licensed cannabis business owners that called a lack of access to banking or investment capital their “top business challenge,” according to a Whitney Economics survey. And, when the time comes for legislation on a national level, Valley Bank will be ahead of the game with a robust structure in place for all of the cannabis industry’s banking needs. Via https://cannatechtoday.com/big-banks-are-finding-new-ways-to-partner-with-the-cannabis-industry/ Welcome to our CBDistillery review! After a collaborative effort involving product sampling, correspondence with the CBDistillery team, and plenty of virtual tire-kicking around the brand’s website, the CBD Insider editorial team has arrived at a final score for CBDistillery. Our final score for CBDistillery is 97.4/100, which earns them entry into our highest tier of brands. Speaking of, we use a 27-item assessment to ensure our reviews are as comprehensive as possible, so every brand has the chance to be rewarded for its unique offerings. Everything from the seemingly mundane (e.g., shipping & return policies) to the crowd-pleasing gimmicks is fair game for our evaluation, which we divide into these categories:
Before we break down CBDistillery’s score, a quick introduction of some of our favorite CBDistillery products, starting with their highly touted sleep gummies. Recommended ProductCBDistillery 30mg Broad-Spectrum CBD Sleep GummiesCBDistillery’s Sleep CBD Gummies combine a potent broad-spectrum extract with melatonin to naturally and effectively improve sleep. The added melatonin and above-average CBD concentration can help you fall asleep faster with just one gummy. Our team of testers were impressed by how quickly and effortlessly we could fall asleep with these gummies. For a tasty departure from the usual hemp flavor that doesn’t compromise potency, we found the 1000mg Full-Spectrum CBD Mango Tincture to be highly effective. Recommended Product1000mg Full-Spectrum CBD Mango Tincture – 30mLThis tincture offers a well-balanced blend of CBD, minor cannabinoids, and terpenes for a fair price. We enjoyed the subtle mango flavor, and the 33mg/mL concentration is perfect for twice-a-day use. Most of all, this tincture produced noticeable calming effects, also assisting with minor muscle pain and inflammation. Speaking of pain and inflammation, we found the CBDol Topical CBD Salve to be surprisingly effective in this regard. Recommended ProductCBDol Topical CBD Salve, 500mgThe first thing we noticed about this salve was the huge ingredient list filled with natural botanicals. As soon as we applied it to our sore joints, we felt the heating and cooling effect cut down the pain almost instantly. Best of all, this salve is non-greasy, pleasant-smelling, and economical. CBDistillery Review: Table of Contents
How CBDistillery Got StartedA subsidiary of Balanced Health Botanicals (BHB), CBDistillery was formed in 2016, when cannabidiol was experiencing a strong surge in public interest and consumption. BHB CEO Chase Terwilliger, co-founder Andrew Papilion, and the rest of the CBDistillery team have been vocally opposed to the “gimmicky” side of the CBD industry since the company’s inception, and have used their strong standing in the market to educate and advocate for consumers. Meanwhile, they amassed one of the largest product catalogs within the CBD space, including CBD oils, gummies, softgels, powders, and topical products of various strengths and formulation types. Today, CBDistillery holds a dominant position in the market, with two million customers and tens of thousands of verified reviews. What Makes CBDistillery Unique?As part of their effort to part the fog of misinformation that still affects CBD consumers (and even producers) to this day, CBDistillery has dramatically upstaged the competition in the consumer education vein with their Gimmick-Free CBD campaign. This 2019 campaign went far beyond hashtags and blog posts—it was launched with seven-billboard displays in Times Square comparing CBD-infused pillows and other gimmicks to CBDistillery’s gimmick-free products. As we’ll explore shortly, CBDistillery also created the #CBDMOVEMENT, and their Ultimate CBD User Guide has been downloaded more than 40,000 times. The attitude we picked up on through our personal correspondence with CBDistillery is reflected in this call for clarity: it’s not about new and shiny, it’s about empowering the consumer with knowledge and high-quality products. In the words of Tony Schwartz, Director of Affiliate and Strategic Partnerships at Balanced Health Botanicals, “We’ve chosen to invest resources in publishing data that can help any CBD customer, not just our own customers.” But these claims are just claims without an investigation into everything CBDistillery has to offer, so investigate we did. Here’s what we found. Our CBDistillery ReviewEach of the following criteria were assessed using a combination of our personal experiences with the products/website and communication with CBDistillery representatives. Scores for each criterion are weighted based on their importance to the overall consumer experience, contributing to a maximum overall rating of 100 points. For more information on how we rate brands, we invite you to check out our scoring guide. Let’s begin with the heaviest influencer: quality. QualityMax score = 35 points. End product quality is the result of a joint effort between testing and quality control protocols, packaging and labeling, formulation quality, and much more. As such, we make sure to dive much deeper than raw product effectiveness when evaluating across this criterion. Product QualityThe first thing everyone notices is the packaging, which, in CBDistillery’s case, is among the best we’ve seen for two major reasons. First, most of their tinctures, softgels, and balms come in small boxes that provide a well-above-average amount of information about the brand, the products, the endocannabinoid system, and more. CBDistillery even inserts miniature pamphlets into the boxes that provide more information about the entourage effect, differences between formulation types (isolate vs broad-spectrum vs full-spectrum), and more, a testament to their pledge to educate customers. Also, both the boxes and the containers within them have QR codes that link to lab reports so consumers can quickly access information pertaining to the safety and potency of their products. As for extract/formulation quality and variety, CBDistillery offers several isolate, broad-spectrum, and full-spectrum CBD products. They have the three popular formulation types we look for – “relief + relax,” “sleep,” and “active” – when topicals are also taken into account. The only preservatives we found were in the gummies and topicals, as expected, and all the other product types had zero artificial ingredients, earning full marks for use of natural ingredients. Finally, the hemp itself is sourced from Oregon farms that are compliant with the State Department of Agriculture, and farms are subject to soil testing and biomass testing before/after growth. Testing and CertificationIn addition to soil testing and other assessments performed at the source, CBDistillery sends their extracts to be tested by a well-established third-party lab, ACS Laboratory. ACS tests for all the major substances that we look for, including cannabinoid potency, residual solvents, heavy metals, pesticides, microbes, and terpenes, earning full marks for testing. As for certifications, Balanced Health Botanicals was an early recipient of the U.S. Hemp Authority Seal of Approval. They also hold self-affirmed GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) status and Current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) certifications, and their products are compliant with ISO 9001 standards. Needless to say, CBDistillery earned full marks for testing and certification. Extraction MethodCBD extraction refers to the process by which a manufacturer removes the CBD from the raw plant material. Not all methods are created equal in their ability to efficiently extract CBD and supporting cannabinoids/terpenes without leaving residue. CBDistillery uses the CO2 extraction method, which is considered the gold standard for its safety and efficiency, earning full marks here. TransparencyMax score = 12.5 points. Trust is built on transparency—it’s a natural law that pervades all relationships, not just those between consumers and brands. Simply put, the more a brand is willing to share about its personnel, processes, products, and anything else, the more we trust and reward them. Info AccessibilityAs mentioned, the QR codes on the packaging allow for quick and easy access to certificates of analysis (COAs) from ACL Laboratory. We made a small deduction because we had to input the batch number after scanning—it may be nitpicky, but some brands have refined this down to a one-step process. As for product information, both the packaging and the website provide ample, easily accessible information about the products, how to use them, benefits, and even some of the physiology behind CBD’s effects. It’s also refreshing to see a robust “about us” page complete with plenty of background information on the company as well as a full breakdown of the leadership team, complete with headshots and bio links—top marks here to be sure. Supply Chain TransparencyWhere does CBDistillery source their hemp from? Where does it go from the farm? How much oversight does CBDistillery exercise over the various points in their supply chain? These questions should be considered mandatory by any brand that wants to reach a high level of authority and trust. Also on their about us page, CBDistillery has a professionally filmed and produced video explaining where the hemp goes, when hemp/extracts are tested, and what standards the products have to meet in order to make it through the supply chain. Website ExperienceMax points = 7.5 Nowadays, there’s no excuse for being taken out of your ecommerce experience because of oddly structured sales and/or checkout pages, bugs, poor design, or whatever else. In order to review the ecommerce experience as well as the general site content (informational blogs, resources, etc.), we split this criterion in two. Product Navigation and PurchasingThe product and category pages were logically arranged with helpful filters, tabbed content boxes, FAQ, and anything else you would need to find and learn about a CBDistillery product. The flow from browsing to purchasing was seamless; adding something to the cart doesn’t divert you onto a random page. We were hard-pressed to find a flaw after plenty of browsing around, so it’s full marks here. Site ContentWithout question, CBDistillery’s more than 200 blog posts, recipes, and educational articles earns the brand a perfect score when it comes to general site content. Customer ServiceMax score = 10 points. We grade customer service based on how many contact options a brand has (phone, messenger, and email for full points), how accessible and responsive these options are, and the flexibility of shipping and return policies. Contact Options and ResponsivenessCBDistillery has email and live chat support services. We made a deduction for the lack of a customer service phone number, but considering the slow migration of many companies away from phone support, it was a small deduction. The messenger was fast and accommodating, sufficiently answering our questions within a minute or two. Shipping and Return PoliciesCustomers have up to 60 days from the time of delivery to exchange their CBD products or replace them for a full refund. Considering most brands allow up to 30 days, this is worthy of a perfect score for this subcriteria. ValueMax score = 10 points The distinction between price and value is highly important for CBD consumers; cheaper isn’t always better. In order to reward brands for value over price, we’ve set up two subcriteria: one that measures price, and the other that sets the ingredient quality against the price. Pricing and Ingredient QualityIn our latest consumer survey, we asked current CBD users how much CBD they took per dose, how many doses they did in a day, and what they thought a reasonable price for a month’s supply of CBD was. We used these figures to determine the average monthly amount consumed as well as the average (desirable) price for a one-month supply. Products from reviewed brands are then compared against these baselines and scored accordingly. CBDistillery is by no means in the most expensive tier, but since the competition is so thick (some high-quality brands charge as low as $0.02/mg), they took a significant hit in this department—40/100 for the subcriteria of price. However, the ingredient quality relative to price is still very high, earning them 95/100 for the second subcriteria. Brand ValueMax score = 25 points. What would happen to the CBD industry (and the world at large) if CBDistillery were suddenly wiped from existence? Dramatic, we know, but it’s the easiest way to capture brand value in a single throw. A brand that influences the industry by pushing new product innovations, supporting local and global communities, participating in research initiatives, and so on is considered highly valuable because it creates growth and opportunity for everyone. Here’s how CBDistillery measures up in this regard. Product InnovationIf doing what everyone else does, but better is to be considered innovation, then CBDistillery flies over the bar here—especially since they were fairly early to the party. No, they don’t have CBD toilet paper or toothpicks, but their formulations are highly effective, their prices are fair, and most distinctly, their consumer education is off the charts. Community, Research, and Legislative InvestmentFew brands, if any, have made as much of an impact on their communities, CBD research, and pro-CBD legislation as CBDistillery. As Tony Schwartz explained to us, “CBDistillery is actively involved in research studies that will push the industry forward by providing the FDA with the needed information to create clearer regulatory paths.” He’s referring in this case to an industry-wide study that CBDistillery contributed to using ValidCare, a market intelligence platform, so the FDA could have the data it needs to build said regulatory paths. CBDistillery will also conduct 8 qualitative studies this year in partnership with the mobile app Releaf. As the world struggled to respond to COVID-19 in 2020, CBDistillery made a move on food insecurity. “When we heard that our customers are concerned with food security issues in the United States, we got to work,” Tony said. “We partnered with Grammy-nominated Beth Hart and Boulder-based nonprofit Conscious Alliance to help feed hungry people in America through the sale of our CBD products.” They also donated generously to the Saint Francis Homelessness Challenge via San Francisco non-profit organization Intersection for the Arts. Hence, a well-deserved 25/25 for brand value. Our CBDistillery Review Overall RatingAll tallied, CBDistillery earned an overall rating of 97.44/100. Here are some key takeaways to sum up our review:
The thing that impressed us the most was the effort CBDistillery invests on educating and informing their customers. CBDistillery Review: Products
CBDistillery Softgels Review
ConcentrationWe tested the 30mg full-spectrum CBDistillery softgels—they offer broad-spectrum and full-spectrum in 30- and 60-count bottles (all 30mg/capsule). The COA for our product reported the following (per capsule):
As usual, the CBD content is slightly higher than advertised, supporting cannabinoids make an appearance, and the THC content stays well below the federally mandated limit. ValueAt $60 for 900mg of CBD (though it’s really closer to 1000mg), the 30-count container of capsules is slightly pricier than the 1000mg oil at $0.067/mg. That said, this jump isn’t quite enough for us to label them as expensive; they’re still in the middle of the road. PackagingThe packaging was consistent with the tincture, with the exception of the lid. All of the durable packaging material was intact upon receipt, and the box, labeling, and insert were highly informative. IngredientsIn addition to the full-spectrum hemp extract, these softgels contain the following ingredients: fractionated coconut oil and shell (gelatin, glycerin, water). Once again, we were pleased to see effective and all-natural ingredients. TasteIn the case of capsules and/or softgels, taste is mostly moot. However, some softgels can leave a residual aftertaste or a bitter impression on the tongue, neither of which occurred with these softgels. EffectivenessWe noticed very little difference in effectiveness between this product and the tincture, a level of consistency indicating strong quality control. As before, this product helped with stress and sleep, and for one of our testers, mild hip and knee pain. Pros & ConsPros:
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CBDistillery Gummies Review
ConcentrationWe sampled the 30mg Sleep CBD Gummies with melatonin; CBDistillery also carries Relax CBD gummies designed for anytime use. The COA for our particular product reported the following (per gummy):
*The minimum detectable amount of THC, i.e., the limit of quantitation (LOQ) was 0.001%, so there may be a smaller percentage of THC present. Per 30-count container, that’s 1,149.93mg of CBD and 12.96mg of supporting cannabinoids. Almost every brand is at least two or three milligrams per milliliter/gram/piece over the labeled CBD content, but we were impressed by how much CBDistillery overshot this mark. At the same time, even safe and non-intoxicating CBD can have some side effects, so it’s important for brands not to overshoot the claim on the label by too much. ValueSurprisingly, the price-per-milligram difference between CBDistillery’s oil and gummies was virtually nonexistent, unlike the majority of brands. The oil is $60 for 1000mg of CBD while the 30-count gummies are technically $60 for 900mg of CBD, but considering the fact that our gummies had over 1,100mg of CBD, we’re willing to call it even. Indeed, these gummies earned fourth place for value in our cheapest CBD products article. PackagingThe gummies didn’t come with the usual box and insert, but the size of the jar allowed ample space for a squint-free ingredients list, supplement facts, warnings, etc. As usual, the seal and child-proof lid (push down and turn) were durable, functional, and intact upon receipt. IngredientsIn addition to the hemp extract, the CBDistillery Sleep Gummies contained the following ingredients: tapioca syrup, cane sugar, pectin, citric acid, sodium citrate dihydrate, less than 2% of: malic acid, natural flavor, fruit juice. This is fairly consistent with the high-quality brands, the key distinctions being cane sugar over high-fructose corn syrup, natural flavors over artificial flavors, and sparing use of natural additives (e.g., malic acid). Each gummy contains two grams of added sugar, which is also fairly standard—anything more, and we start to shave off points in our reviews. TasteWe realized soon after the first sample that mixed berry is a smart choice for the CBDistillery Sleep Gummies (or their oils) because the natural bitterness of berries is fairly similar to that of the hemp extract. In other words, the gummies didn’t taste like berry flavoring and hemp—they just tasted like mixed berries. In its own right, the flavor was pleasant and not oversweet. EffectivenessThese gummies were definitely effective in helping us sleep, though we wouldn’t argue they were more potent in this regard than the Relief + Relax tincture and softgels. This may result from the use of the supporting cannabinoid CBN—a natural sedative—in those products. Still, the gummies did what they promised to do, helping us fall asleep faster without feeling drowsy. Pros & ConsPros:
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CBDistillery CBD Balm Review
ConcentrationWe tested the 500mg CBDol balm, which comes in a one-ounce container. The COA for our product reported the following:
The CBD content exceeded that claimed by the label, and the THC content was well below the federal limit, so all is well here. ValueCBDistillery is currently charging $50 for the 500mg balm we sampled, which, like their oil, is a moderate price point ($0.10/mg) for the product type. A really cheap topical would land somewhere closer to a nickel a milligram (or even less), but a dime a milligram certainly isn’t on the overpriced side, either. PackagingThe balm comes in a small container, complete with the outer box and insert. As usual, packaging was durable and fully intact upon receipt. IngredientsHere are the ingredients for our CBDol CBD Balm: butyrospermum parkii (shea) butter, cocos nucifera (coconut) oil, cetearyl alcohol, sodium cetearyl sulfate, cannabis sativa (hemp) seed oil, hydrogenated vegetable oil, magnesium hydroxide, water, cera alba (beeswax), gaultheria procumbens (wintergreen) leaf oil, cannabis sativa (hemp) full spectrum extract, mentha piperita (peppermint) oil, olea europaea (olive) fruit oil, prunus armeniaca (apricot) kernel oil, helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed oil, prunus amygdalus dulcis (sweet almond) oil, lavandula angustifolia (lavender) flower oil, eucalyptus globulus leaf oil, cinnamomum camphora (camphor) bark oil, rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf oil, arnica montana flower oil, boswellia carterii (frankincense) oil, melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree) leaf oil, lactobacillus ferment, lactobacillus, cocos nucifera (coconut) fruit extract, citrus grandis (grapefruit) peel extract, camellia sinensis (green tea) leaf extract, chamomilla recutita (matricaria) flower extract, cinnamomum zeylanicum (cinnamon) leaf oil, salix nigra (willow) bark extract, populus tremuloides (aspen) bark extract, lonicera caprifolium (honeysuckle) extract, aloe barbadensis (aloe) extract. It is sadly a conditioned impulse to see an ingredient list this long and assume the product has a ton of preservatives, but closer inspection reveals a formulation filled with essential oils and other natural ingredients. EffectivenessLike many over-the-counter analgesics, but with the added benefit of CBD, this product helped relieve neck and lower back pain with cooling and warming sensations. The relief lasted for about half the day, and the smell was pleasant, but not overpowering. Considering how little is required for each application, this product is as economical as it is effective. Pros & ConsPros:
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Recommended ProductsThere’s plenty of room in CBDistillery for CBD veterans and rookies alike; the following recommended products have something to offer for all kinds of consumers. Recommended ProductBroad-Spectrum CBD Softgels – 30mg, 30 CountThe familiar delivery system and THC-free formulation make these capsules perfect for beginners. With broad-spectrum, you still receive the synergistic benefits of CBD combined with minor cannabinoids and terpenes. Plus, these capsules make it super easy to measure doses, and taking them with food is a simple way to increase absorption. Recommended ProductExtra Strength CBN + CBD Sleep TinctureBoasting an uncommonly high (1:3) ratio of the natural sedative CBN (cannabinol) to CBD, this tincture is among the most powerful sleep CBD products we’ve seen. When taken in the late afternoon or early evening, this tincture gently encourages your brain to initiate sleep without the jarring effects of prescription sleep aids. If it takes you more than 20 minutes to fall asleep, this product may significantly shrink that window, adding precious time to your sleep schedule. Recommended ProductCBDelicious CBD Isolate PowderA rare find, this CBD isolate powder provides an easy method for working pure CBD isolate into your regular dietary choices. The tub contains 1 gram/970+mg of pure CBD isolate powder that effortlessly blends/dissolves into food and drink for your convenience. Plus, at less than $0.03/mg, this powder is a great value. All CBDistillery ProductsCBDistillery has built a fairly diverse product catalog since their inception over four years ago, including various formulation types (active, sleep, etc.), product types, concentrations, and extract (isolate, broad-spectrum, and full-spectrum available). Currently, they offer the following types of CBD products: -Oils Like most brands, CBDistillery’s most popular products include their full-spectrum oils and gummies. Let’s start our comprehensive listing with their CBD oils. CBD OilCBDistillery is one of the select brands to offer isolate, broad-spectrum, and full-spectrum CBD oils. They also include CBG, CBN, melatonin, and other supporting cannabinoids/ingredients in several of their oils to support functional benefits. Finally, their available concentrations range from 450mg to 5000mg, affording samplers and more experienced bulk buyers the opportunity to access the quantities that best suit them. Best Use: CBD oils generally offer the greatest variety of strengths and formulation types, so consumers who don’t mind a bit of hemp flavor can rely on oils to address their specific health and wellness goals. CBD SoftgelsCBDistillery has 0% THC broad-spectrum softgels as well as full-spectrum softgels, both available in 30-count or 60-count containers. All softgels are currently offered at a 30mg/serving (one softgel) concentration. Best Use: Softgels/capsules allow CBD consumers to work around the hemp taste while still enjoying the convenience of an easily measurable dose. CBD GummiesGummies are quickly gaining popularity as a tasty alternative to oil that can deliver the same high-quality formulations. CBDistillery carries two kinds of CBD gummies, each with their unique flavor: the Broad-Spectrum CBD Sleep Gummies + Melatonin in Mixed Berry and the Broad-Spectrum CBD Anytime Gummies in Tropical Fruit. Best Use: Like capsules, gummies provide easily measurable doses without the hemp flavor, but in a more familiar and enjoyable format. CBD TopicalsCannabidiol-infused balms, lotions, roll-ons, and other topicals allow users to directly apply CBD to specific areas affected by inflammation and pain. CBDistillery carries a large variety of isolate, broad-spectrum, and full-spectrum CBD topicals. Best Use: It’s much harder to measure exactly how much you’re using, but for greater and more targeted relief of stubborn joint, neck, or back pain, CBD topicals can generally outperform oils and other product types. CBD PowdersThough they may require a little bit of upfront work, CBD powders are actually the most versatile product type when it comes to working CBD into your daily routine. For example, CBDistillery offers full-spectrum, broad-spectrum, and isolate CBD powders that can be directly consumed, mixed in with food or beverages, or even made into an oil. Best Use: CBD powders are an excellent option for anyone who wants to create their own CBD-infused foods and/or beverages while still receiving the benefits of high-quality formulations of all types. ConclusionCBDistillery enjoys their strong position in the market for several reasons. In addition to their broad range of clean, effective, well-tested hemp products, they lead the industry in consumer education and advocacy. They not only contribute significant portions of their proceeds to worthy causes, but they give their customers a voice in deciding what those causes will be. Finally, CBDistillery is a crucial ally in the fight against CBD gimmicks, and their dedicated social engineering has inspired customers to clean up the industry from within. via The CBD Insider https://thecbdinsider.com/review/cbdistillery-review/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=cbdistillery-review Cannabis activists in Italy have worked hard over the course of many years to end prohibition. Legalization has become a top priority for citizens and legislators as they realize cannabis prohibition is a failed public policy in Italy, just as it is in every other non-legalized nation. All of the hard work of countless activists over multiple generations in Italy culminated in a major milestone being achieved late last year. Activists in Italy gathered over 630,000 signatures in an attempt to put a cannabis legalization referendum before voters. For a brief time, it appeared that the effort was going to be successful. However, the referendum was recently blocked on a technicality. The Referendum ProcessThe initiative/referendum process is a particularly helpful one for cannabis activists, as referendums have led to cannabis legalization in individual states, as well as countries around the globe. The process involves ordinary citizens collecting a required number of signatures in order to put an issue in front of voters. Many jurisdictions have legalized at the local level in the Western Hemisphere this way. Whereas lawmakers may drag their feet when it comes to pursuing meaningful reform, voters are much more likely to approve a measure when given the chance. Although the initiative process doesn’t exist everywhere, it does exist in Italy. A Tale of Two CourtsInitially, activists turned in their signatures to Italy’s Supreme Court of Cassation for validation purposes. Activists only needed 500,000 signatures to move along in the referendum process, and the Court of Cassation deemed that enough of the overall signature count was valid. The effort hit a dead end when the referendum went before Italy’s Constitutional Court, which was tasked with determining if the referendum was legal. Specifically, the Constitutional Court looked for any conflicts related to Italy’s Constitution, the country’s fiscal system, and/or international treaties that Italy has signed and determined that the referendum did not fit the requirements for being a legal document. The Court’s decision to block the referendum is ultimately a tough pill to swallow. However, activists should not hang their heads. Their effort still sends a clear message to lawmakers that they need to pass sensible legislation. Via https://cannatechtoday.com/italys-supreme-court-shoots-down-cannabis-referendum/ Welcome to our Green Roads review! From this point forward, we’ll be using a 27-item assessment to provide a more comprehensive and objective rating of each brand we review. This assessment led us to a score of 94.1/100 for Green Roads, which earns them entry into our highest tier of brands. How we get to the final score (on a 100-point scale) is just as important as the score itself, because each of the following criteria is designed to bring consumer-driven quality standards to the forefront:
The following review is based on our personal experience with Green Roads as customers and our interviews with founder Laura Fuentes and Chief Marketing Officer Lee Sosin. Table of Contents
How Green Roads Got StartedIn 2013, compound pharmacist and Green Roads founder Laura Fuentes began formulating CBD products on the side for a friend who was struggling with opioid dependence. Having met with success, Laura and her friend Arby decided to start Green Roads out of a passion for helping others who were struggling with the same issue or simply looking for safe wellness products. This was years before the CBD industry had gained any real traction, so Laura and Arby had to rely on a “homegrown” approach to building their presence, helping one friend or family member at a time until they (and the industry) were taken more seriously. Eventually, Green Roads saw a massive uptick in interest, a chance they seized to expand, add new members to the team, and become the company they are today. What Makes Green Roads Unique?According to Chief Marketing Officer Lee Sosin, founder Laura still approaches the business from a healthcare perspective, calling her customers “patients.” As someone who deeply understands the pitfalls of opioid dependence, Laura believes that “We are meant to be able to heal ourselves.” This perspective has inspired their team of pharmacist formulators to keep pushing the envelope in terms of potency and absorption with each proprietary formula. Speaking of, Green Roads uses multiple carrier oils and vegetable glycerine—not just the typical CBD and single carrier oil setup—to not only enhance bioavailability, but to also improve taste and “mouth feel,” as the wine connoisseurs say. In October of 2020, Green Roads was certified to produce over-the-counter health products, granting them membership to a very exclusive club. Finally, while many other CBD brands have joined the crusade against opioid dependence, Green Roads was born in it, leading a passionate revolt of their own from the inside of the pharmaceutical industry itself. Our Green Roads ReviewAfter our interviews with the Green Roads founder and CMO, our personal experiences with the products, and a robust campaign of clicking around the Green Roads site, our team used the following criteria to assign points towards a maximum rating of 100. For more specific information about how we score the criteria within our rating system, feel free to peruse our simple breakdown. As it should be, we’ll start with quality. QualityMax score = 35 points. Since a brand’s credentials, testing and safety protocols, and sourcing practices can impact end product quality just as much as the ingredients and formulations, we’ve made sure to include all of these elements in this category. We also emphasize any steps taken to enhance user experience indirectly, like packaging and labeling. Product QualityThe first thing we noticed was the packaging—it’s durable, undamaged by shipping, yet easy enough to remove. The labeling provided clear and succinct introductions to isolate, broad-spectrum, and full-spectrum CBD extracts, all of which Green Roads offers. Available formulations include “relief” and “relax,” and with the exception of bath bombs and CBD gummies, no artificial ingredients are used. That said, product lines run deep for each of these formulation types. Per CMO Lee Sosin, “Most companies have one product for sleep; we have six different SKUs that are for sleep.” Finally, Green Roads works directly with farmers who use organic methods from NC, OR, and CA, earning full marks on hemp quality and sourcing standards. Testing and CertificationEvery batch of Green Roads CBD is subjected to full-panel testing from Kaycha Labs, an ISO-17025 accredited facility, and each test performed is reported on, earning full marks. Green Roads holds Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and Over-the-Counter (OTC) certifications, which are awarded for effective hazard control systems, use of pharmaceutical-grade ingredients, and other requirements. Extraction MethodAll CBD oil is extracted using the CO2 method, which is considered the gold standard for its high efficiency of both extraction and safe removal. TransparencyMax score = 12.5 points. We view every snippet of information shared by a brand to their prospective customers as an effort in consumer advocacy as well as a sign of high-quality practices. As such, we reward brands like Green Roads for meeting and exceeding the following standards of transparency. Info AccessibilityEvery Green Roads product contains a QR code and a batch number so that customers can conveniently access the full-panel lab reports pertaining to their exact product. As for product info accessibility, the Green Roads website has done an excellent job of organizing and presenting all relevant information in a way that can be quickly navigated. Finally, the “Our Story” page content is neither stilted and overwhelming nor lazy and incomplete; visitors can quickly garner a sense of the team’s personal journey as well as the usual value statements. Supply Chain TransparencyGreen Roads partners with American growers, provided they meet a list of standards like remaining under the legal definition of industrial hemp as defined by the 2018 Farm Bill and others. Formulation is done in-house, and though extraction is completed off-site, Green Roads only sources raw materials extracted with the CO2 method. Website ExperienceMax score = 7.5 points. Even when product quality is high, a clunky and convoluted online shopping experience is bad for everyone—consumers, the brand, and third-party advertisers alike. We donned our UI testing hats for a site audit, poking around the Green Roads product pages, contact forms, and just about everything else a customer would access. Here’s what we found. Product Navigation and PurchasingShoppers can browse by “solution” (e.g., sleep, stress, etc.) as well as product type, and product pages are amply supplied with product info, FAQs, reviews, ingredients, and more. Product sizes, flavors, and prices are clearly stated, and the purchasing process is bug-free and intuitive. The site is also highly responsive, which, for anyone not in the know, is web-speak for the ability to perform just as well across mobile and PC devices (no bugs, visual formatting issues, etc.). Site ContentOutside of raw ecommerce functionality, the Green Roads site has an info portal they call “CBD University,” a series of posts offering foundational knowledge from legal, scientific, and consumer-minded perspectives. Anything else you might need access to for logistical purposes is one click away, from terms & services info, lab reports, and so on. Customer ServiceMax score = 10 points. Both the breadth of contact options available and the quickness with which customer service specialists respond are key determinants under this category. We also evaluate shipping and return policies, not just for their flexibility, but also for how clearly they are communicated to customers. Contact Options and ResponsivenessCustomers can reach a human being via live chat, call, or support email. Both the messenger and the phone support service provided live assistance within approximately ten seconds when we tested them, earning full marks. Shipping and Return PoliciesAll products come with a 30-day, money-back guarantee, provided they’re unopened. Green Roads partners with major shippers like FedEx and UPS, and they’ve updated their terms and conditions page to reflect COVID’s impact on overnight shipping. ValueMax score = 10 points. We designed this category to reward both affordability and ingredient quality by assigning points for the per-milligram price as well as the quality-to-price ratio. Pricing and Ingredient QualityAs usual, the per-milligram prices vary across product types, formulations, and sizes, but in most cases, Green Roads was on the more expensive side. Given their experience as compound pharmacists, they partially recouped these lost points with their pharmacist-led formulations, but they were still docked for use of artificial ingredients in CBD gummies and bath bombs. Brand ValueMax score = 25 points. For the purposes of this rating system, we conceive brand value as the amount of effort invested into moving the CBD industry forward, whether that means participating in research, spearheading product innovation, lobbying for CBD regulation, and more. We also acknowledge a brand’s contributions to charities and causes not directly related to CBD. Product InnovationIn addition to maintaining a full selection of CBD oils, topicals, edibles, pet products and more, Green Roads raises the bar on formulations by using 4-5 more ingredients to enhance potency, bioavailability, and taste. As mentioned, the pooled experience of their pharmacist-led formulation team has served them well in terms of developing CBD products that taste better and absorb more efficiently. Community, Research, and Legislative InvestmentOn the legislative side, Green Roads pioneered quality standards (testing for CBD concentration, 0.3% THC, and contaminants), adopting them even before they were legally required in Florida, where they’re based. Regarding research, Green Roads was planning to conduct studies earlier in 2020 but was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. On a community level, Florida Hemp Council member Green Roads was instrumental in bringing hemp to Florida, even funding the planting of the first legal hemp plants in the state in 2019. Finally, Green Roads has been involved in many events and drives for Autism Speaks, The Arthritis Foundation, and much more, and they offer discounts for first responders, active military, and veterans. Our Green Roads Overall RatingTaking into account all of the above criteria, Green Roads earns a rating of 94.13/100. If we had to pinpoint the one thing that impressed us the most, it would be the innovative formulations. Per founder Laura Fuentes, “When you swallow it (CBD), you only get about twenty percent of what the actual CBD content is because it has to go to the liver,” which is why Green Roads uses vegetable glycerin—it’s much more pleasant on the palate, allowing customers to hold the CBD in their mouths and allow for more efficient mucosal absorption. It’s details like this that can make the difference between success stories like Arby’s and failure. Here are some key takeaways to sum up our review:
Green Roads, What’s Something You Wish More People Knew About Hemp-Derived CBD?As a way of giving CBD brands another platform on which to support and educate consumers, we like to close our interviews with the above question. Laura Fuentes told us, “I wish that more people knew that it (CBD) is really more like a nutritional supplement, like vitamin D. Our bodies actually make our own internal cannabinoids. When we don’t make enough, we need to support that with an outside source … it is really a nutrient that our bodies need to stay healthy.” We’ll close on Lee Sosin’s short and sweet answer. What’s something you wish more people knew about hemp-derived CBD? “It works.” Green Roads Product Reviews
Green Roads CBD Oil Review
ConcentrationWe tested the 750mg Sweet Sleep CBD Oil from Green Roads. The special blend of CBD and CBN oil offers 25mg/ml of cannabinoids, including 22.5mg of CBD and 2.5mg of CBN, along with 2.5mg of melatonin per serving. According to the third-party lab results of our particular product, there was a total of 766.99mg of cannabinoids. Specifically, there were 693.91mg of CBD and 73.08mg of CBN. No THC was detected. Considering the formulation, our team appreciates the well-rounded concentration of cannabinoids. ValueGreen Roads’ Sweet Sleep product is not the most affordable oil around. The brand charges $89.99, which comes out to $0.12/mg, a bit higher than we like to see. However, Green Roads does have its pedigree and unique formulation going for them, which could lead consumers to give it a try over more affordable options. PackagingAll of Green Roads’ bottled oil products utilize a plunger system, which requires consumers to use a syringe (provided) to accurately dose a serving. While the set up is not difficult, it requires a little more effort than the typical dropper CBD consumers are used to. Aside from the administration of the oil, Green Roads’ packaging is similar to others, including an ingredients list, directions, a QR code, along with a batch number and an expiration date on the bottom of the bottle. IngredientsThe ingredients in the Green Roads Sweet Sleep CBD Oil include: Vitamin E (as tocopherols), Hemp Derived Cannabidiol (CBD), Hemp Derived Cannabinol (CBN), Melatonin, Vegetable Glycerin, Medium Chain Triglycerides, Blueberry Flavor, Lecithin, and Cannabis Sativa (hemp) Seed Oil. Green Roads prides itself on including multiple beneficial ingredients as opposed to the standard carrier oil and hemp extract formula. The inclusion of vitamin E, melatonin, vegetable glycerin, and hemp seed oil are excellent additions, each potentially providing its own health benefits. TasteAs advertised, the Green Roads Sweet Sleep oil has a blueberry flavor with a mild-to-moderate intensity. The sweetness is not overpowering, but it’s enough to cover the bitterness of the hemp extract. EffectivenessOur team found the Sweet Sleep oil was mildly helpful for falling asleep. It did not seem to help us stay asleep, but we did feel a little more refreshed the next morning compared to not using CBD. Pros & ConsPros:
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Green Roads CBD Gummies Review
ConcentrationThe Green Roads Relax Bears contain an advertised 10mg of CBD per gummy for a total of 300mg per container (30 servings). According to the third-party results of our particular products, our gummies had 9.8mg of CBD per gummy for a total of 294.3mg. This is a low concentration of CBD, as noted by the “Mild” denotation on the label of the jar. Green Roads offers a couple of other options with higher concentrations, including 25mg/gummy and 50mg/gummy. ValueGreen Roads charges $43.99, which comes out to $0.146/mg. This is quite expensive in terms of price per mg compared to other brands; however, it’s average in retail price. PackagingRelax Bears gummies come in a jar with a child-proof lid. The label offers product facts, directions, an ingredients list, as well as a lot number and expiration date on the bottom of the jar. Underneath the lid is a seal to keep the gummies fresh. IngredientsThe ingredients in the Relax Bears are: Hemp Derived Cannabinoid Extract, Corn Syrup (From Corn), Sugar, Water, Gelatin, Citric Acid, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Lactic Acid, Pectin (Derived From Fruits), Titanium Dioxide (Color), FD&C Yellow #5, FD&C Yellow #6, FD&C Blue #1, and FD&C Red #40. We were disappointed by the inclusion of artificial ingredients and added sugar. TasteWhile there are unhealthy ingredients, they do offer great taste and consistency. The gummies have multiple flavors, including blue raspberry, lemon, cherry, green apple, and orange. As for texture, the gummies are a bit chewy, but they also melt in your mouth, an excellent combination. EffectivenessWe noticed a mild sense of relaxation when taking one gummy. Teammates were generally in a better mood and felt calmer. Pros & ConsPros:
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Green Roads CBD Capsules Review
ConcentrationGreen Roads’ Relax CBD Capsules contain a moderate concentration of 25mg/capsule of CBD isolate. According to the third-party lab results for our products, our capsules had 28.29mg/capsule of CBD for a total of 848.63mg. As Green Roads denotes, this is a middle-of-the-road concentration of CBD for a capsule, but it is substantial enough to potentially produce noticeable benefits. ValueGreen Roads charges $49.99 for their Relax CBD Capsules, which clocks in at $0.067/mg. This is great value in terms of retail price and price per mg for a month’s worth of capsules, especially considering the formulation and the quality of the ingredients. PackagingThe Relax CBD Capsules come in a small jar with a child-resistant cap. The label offers product facts, directions, an ingredient list, as well as the lot number and expiration date. As for the capsules themselves, they are standard encapsulated powder. IngredientsThe ingredients in the Relax CBD Capsules include: GABA (500mg), 5-HTP (25mg), Hemp Derived Cannabinoid Extract (25mg), Vegetable Cellulose (capsule), and Vegetable Stearate. While simple, the formulation of these ingredients has the potential to offer a substantial sense of relaxation. TasteAs expected, the capsules are tasteless. EffectivenessWith just one capsule, we felt at ease and in a good mood. Some team members described the feeling as calm exuberance. We were impressed with the results, although we do wonder if the benefits had more to do with the 500mg of GABA and 25mg of 5-HTP. Pros & ConsPros:
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Green Roads CBD Topicals Review
ConcentrationWe tried both the 350mg CBD Muscle & Joint Cream, which is considered a moderate concentration by Green Roads. According to the third-party results, our cream had 307.8mg of CBD in total. Our team agrees with Green Roads that this cream is a moderate concentration in comparison with other brands. However, we generally believe topicals should contain a higher amount of CBD for it to be substantially effective. ValueThe cream retails for $44.99, which comes out to $0.129/mg. This is a bit expensive regarding price per mg and about average in terms of retail price. However, considering the overall formulation of additional ingredients, we find this topical to be valued correctly. PackagingThe CBD Muscle & Joint Cream is contained in a pump bottle. Twisting the lid counterclockwise primes the pump, a neat little feature that can prevent accidental pumps. The label offers directions, “important warnings,” a QR code, and a lot number and expiration date on the bottom of the bottle. IngredientsGreen Roads’ CBD Muscle & Joint Cream has these ingredients: Water, Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Oleosomes, Glycerin, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Bentonite Clay, Xanthan Gum, Hemp-derived Cannabinoid Extract, Phenoxyethanol, Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract, Chamomile Recutita (Matricaria) Fruit Extract, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Oil, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Benzyl Alcohol, Dehydroacetic Acid and Menthol. This is a great cast of ingredients, most of which contribute meaningfully to the potential benefits of muscle and joint relief. Some stand-outs are menthol, lavender oil, avocado oil, and Vitamin E. Texture and ScentThe CBD Muscle & Joint Cream has a thin, creamy texture. It spreads easily on skin and smells like a mix of menthol and lavender. EffectivenessWe found the cream to be moderately effective for relieving discomfort. It has a nice cooling effect due to the menthol, which temporarily provides relief. Pros & ConsPros:
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Green Roads CBD Bath Bombs Review
Green Roads CBD Bath Bombs ReviewConcentrationWe tried the 200mg CBD Bath Bomb Duo: Refresh & Unwind. Each bomb contains 100mg of CBD, along with supplemental ingredients. According to third-party results for Refresh, our bomb had 110.92mg of CBD, while the Unwind had 109.8mg. Since it’s difficult to determine how much CBD is absorbed through a bath, 100mg seems like a decent starting point, but we can’t speculate about how effective it is. ValueAt $19.99 ($0.10/mg), this duo pack of bath bombs is affordable in terms of both retail price and price per mg. Considering the CBD and additional ingredients, these seem worth the money. PackagingThe bath bombs are individually packaged in plastic, while also being contained in a larger cardboard package together. The box offers an ingredients list, instructions, a QR code, and lot numbers. IngredientsIngredients in the Refresh bath bomb include: Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid, Epsom Salt, Corn Starch, Water, Coconut Oil, Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate (SLSA), Kaolin Clay, Polysorbate 80, Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil, Citrus Limon (Lemon) Oil, Hemp Cannabinoid Extract, FD&C Yellow #5, and FD&C Red #33. These are the ingredients for Unwind: Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid, Epsom Salt, Corn Starch, Water, Coconut Oil, Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate (SLSA), Kaolin Clay, Polysorbate 80, Cananga Odorata (Ylang-ylang) Oil, Hemp Cannabinoid Extract, and FD&C Blue #1. While we could go without the artificial colors, the other ingredients like peppermint oil, lemon oil, and ylang-ylang oil. ScentThe bath bombs each have their unique scents (Refresh: peppermint and lemon; Unwind: ylang-ylang), which were soothing and invigorating. EffectivenessThe bath bombs made a significant difference in mood and noticeably helped us relax. While the bulk of the praise may need to go to the essential oils rather than CBD (again, it’s hard to determine), all we know is that we felt much better after the bath than before. Pros & ConsPros:
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All Green Roads ProductsHere is the comprehensive list of all the products at Green Roads (updated periodically): CBD OilsGreen Roads offers CBD oil with full-spectrum hemp extract, broad-spectrum, and CBD isolate, along with CBD oil for specific purposes like sleep. CBD TopicalsGreen Roads offers CBD topicals in two forms: roll-ons and creams. Broad-spectrum hemp extract is used in the roll-ons, while CBD isolate is used in the creams. CBD EdiblesGreen Roads is well-known for their CBD Relax Bears. The rest of the brand’s fleet of edibles is also impressive. CBD Capsules & SoftgelsGreen Roads capsules and softgels are the convenient way to enjoy the brand’s signature original, sleep, and relax formulations. CBD for PetsGreen Roads has created specially formulated CBD oil for both dogs and cats. CBD CoffeeGreen Roads has infused hemp flower with Colombian coffee, creating a beverage loaded with helpful cannabinoids in multiple flavors. CBD Indulgence LineThe Green Roads Indulgence Line is full of special products to promote relaxation and refreshment. ConclusionGreen Roads has stretched standards in multiple key dimensions of CBD brand quality, including pharmacist-grade formulation capacity, highly communicative resources (site content, support specialists, packaging, etc.), and over-the-counter certification. While their products are not the cheapest or most concentrated in terms of CBD, formulation potency and quality are consistently high, and we noticed moderate to substantial improvements in mood and relaxation ability with all sampled products. Given their sturdy credentials and industry-leading formulations, our Green Roads review allows us to confidently recommend Green Roads to anyone who can spare a little extra for a significant boost in quality. via The CBD Insider https://thecbdinsider.com/review/green-roads-review/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=green-roads-review The 10th annual invite-only Impact Forum is well underway in Orlando, Florida. Well-heeled attendees and thought leaders gathered at GuideWell Innovation Center in Lake Nona to listen to panels on crucial topics regarding the convergence of medicine and societal advancement, including healthcare and the future of modern wellness. Renowned Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta moderated a fireside chat with the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton. The two famous gentlemen chatted about a wide swath of currently politicized topics from the Ukraine Crisis to the Opioid Crisis, and surprisingly, even to CBD. Unexpectedly, Clinton came out full force in support of CBD plus a small amount of THC for pain management. Proceeding with his recognizable brand of personable, folksy Southern charm, POTUS 42 expounded on the necessity of standardized CBD testing. Discussing Putin’s direct interference in getting former President Donald Trump elected (“He admitted it.”) to predicting the invasion of Ukraine, the conversation ultimately turned to the opioid crisis and the subsequent deaths and suicides of individuals with substance use disorder (SUD). Citing the inner turmoil that people with SUD and their loved ones face, and all the calls Clinton receives from friends and colleagues offering him helpful suggestions on how to deal with the crisis, Clinton expressed his support for low-level THC in CBD for pain management. “I try not to answer any of those hype calls but I get more messages about CBD than any man alive. Go figure. There is some evidence that you can get CBD with a low-THC count that will combat pain. Some of these products have been tested more or less to FDA standards and some [haven’t been tested] not at all.” Clinton told the rapt audience that he was counting on their help to support the need for standardization in CBD testing, so it can be regulated for pain management as an alternative to opioids. “We need to have a national standard of the THC count of these products and what the tests show. NYU Langone does some of this testing and CBD could be a viable outlet for pain relief. We could potentially not lose so many people,” Clinton said. Meanwhile, multiple Emmy-award-winning Gupta echoed the former President’s sentiments admitting that while originally circumspect on the topic, “CBD works.” “I’ve done six documentaries on the subject and I wasn’t a believer before, but I am now. I’ve worked on this for so long that I know not only can it work, sometimes it’s the only thing that works for some of these conditions,” said Gupta. “We have to figure out the regulatory framework. You got to make sure people aren’t getting harmed by it, but to have a non-addictive option at a time when so many people are dying, I think it’s absolutely true,” Gupta surmised. Clinton wrapped up his remarks noting that while he doesn’t expect everyone to live in a community that “has a wellness standard like this community, everyone deserves to live in a community where every child has a chance at wellness. “The only thing that matters is living and making a difference. None of us live forever. We’re all just passing through, so suit up,” Clinton said. The 10th annual Impact Forum, produced by Tavistock in collaboration with media partner Fortune Magazine, has one more day of thought-provoking programming in store. Via https://cannatechtoday.com/exclusive-former-president-bill-clinton-endorses-cbd/ Welcome to our Hemp Bombs review! Our favorite product from Hemp Bombs is the CBD Pain Freeze. The menthol-infused cream seemed to successfully relieve discomfort for a while. Hemp Bombs CBD Pain FreezeIf you have significant discomfort, you’ll need a potent product to alleviate it. Enter Hemp Bombs’ CBD Pain Freeze. Containing 4% menthol and 100mg in a single ounce of cream, the pain freeze offers a noticeable cooling sensation that relieves discomfort quickly. This is a great go-to product for those who need quick relief during exercise, outdoor activities, or athletic competitions. We also enjoyed the brand’s CBD Gummies for sleep. Each gummy contains 15mg of CBD and a hefty 5mg of melatonin. Hemp Bombs Sleep CBD GummiesIf it’s difficult for you to find tasty but effective CBD gummies, we found them for you. Hemp Bombs has done an excellent job at creating the pleasant taste you would expect from any other gummy, but with the benefits of CBD. We found it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep with Hemp Bombs’ gummies, thanks to the CBD and melatonin combo. Table of Contents
Hemp Bombs ReviewCertain factors can make or break a CBD brand, such as how a company sources their hemp, or if the labeling matches what is inside the products. At The CBD Insider, we measure the excellence of a brand by four primary criteria:
Background of Hemp BombsHemp Bombs was founded in 2016 and is currently located in Tampa, Florida. The brand is owned by Global Widget, a company that owns three CBD-based brands. Hemp Bombs originally existed as a retail-only brand, and is now in 25,000 retailers across the United States. It prides itself on vertical integration and transparency with extensive third-party testing. What Makes Hemp Bombs Unique?Hemp Bombs is unique in a couple of ways: Vertical integration: Hemp Bombs’ parent company, Global Widget, is vertically integrated, which means it directly controls all aspects of the supply chain. The main advantages of vertical integration is consistency, which affects effectiveness, taste, and other product factors. It also can ensure the safety of a product, given that the brand’s processes are clean to begin with. Global Widget operates according to cGMP guidelines and has engaged the FDA in ensuring that CBD products are safe and accurately labeled. Retail presence: Hemp Bombs was initially available solely in retail locations. The brand’s products are in 25,000 retailers nationwide. However, in recent years, Hemp Bombs began selling online, which now accounts for a significant portion of its sales. Clinical Research: Global Widget has joined other CBD companies to support a study on how regular hemp-derived CBD use affects the human liver. Few CBD companies are willing or able to fund clinical research, which positively highlights Hemp Bombs in this crowded industry. Where Does Hemp Bombs Source Its Hemp?Via Global Widget, Hemp Bombs sources most of its hemp from North Carolina. Global Widget only sources from programs that have been approved by the USDA and supervised by the relevant State Agriculture Department. While their hemp is not grown organically, the brand’s hemp is tested for heavy metals, residual solvents, and mycotoxins. What Extraction Method Does Hemp Bombs Use?Global Widget uses ethanol alcohol to extract oil from its hemp. Ethanol is a safe solvent and typically preserves cannabinoids and terpenes better than CO2. Are Hemp Bombs’ Products Third-Party Tested?Yes, the brand’s products are third-party tested by Green Scientific Labs, an ISO-17025 accredited laboratory. Our team named Green Scientific one of the best third-party labs in the industry. Hemp Bombs has Green Scientific test for cannabinoid potency, residual solvents, heavy metals, pesticides, microbes, terpenes, mycotoxins, moisture, water activity, filth, and foreign material. Customers can scan the QR codes on their products to access the third-party results. Hemp Bombs also uses ACS Laboratory to confirm results. Hemp Bombs CertificationsGlobal Widget manufactures according to current Good Manufacturing Practice. Hemp Bombs WebsiteThe Hemp Bombs website is decent, but could stand to benefit from a few upgrades. While it has a slightly dated look, the site is organized well and offers several educational resources about CBD and the brand itself. However, in regards to the ecommerce aspect, it often takes several clicks to purchase a product. The mobile site is a bit better with ecommerce, so we recommend purchasing products through a phone for a more streamlined experience. Hemp Bombs Customer ServiceHemp Bombs’s customer service is very responsive, responding to queries in a quick, timely manner. However, the replies we received did not directly address answer our questions and didn’t feel quite as friendly as we would have liked. Regardless, after a little back-and-forth, we got the answers we were looking for Hemp Bombs Pros & ConsHemp Bombs pros:
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Best Products from Hemp BombsAccording to our team, the best product from Hemp Bombs is the CBD Pain Freeze. Hemp Bombs CBD Pain FreezeIf you have significant discomfort, you’ll need a potent product to alleviate it. Enter Hemp Bombs’ CBD Pain Freeze. Containing 4% menthol and 100mg in a single ounce of cream, the pain freeze offers a noticeable cooling sensation that relieves discomfort quickly. This is a great go-to product for those who need quick relief during exercise, outdoor activities, or athletic competitions. Our next favorite product is Hemp Bombs’ Sleep CBD Gummies. Hemp Bombs Sleep CBD GummiesIf it’s difficult for you to find tasty but effective CBD gummies, we found them for you. Hemp Bombs has done an excellent job at creating the pleasant taste you would expect from any other gummy, but with the benefits of CBD. We found it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep with Hemp Bombs’ gummies, thanks to the CBD and melatonin combo. ConclusionHemp Bombs is one of the most established brands on the hemp-derived CBD market. The brand’s unique features include controlling every aspect of its supply chain, having a strong retail presence, and participating in clinical research. Our team believes Hemp Bombs could improve in a few categories, including their ingredient quality in a few instances, website experience, and customer service. After thoroughly reviewing its processes and personally vetting the brand’s products, we believe that Hemp Bombs provides safe, trustworthy products. via The CBD Insider https://thecbdinsider.com/review/hemp-bombs-review/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=hemp-bombs-review |
ABOUT MEHallo, ik ben Renz Verspaget, ik ben een betrouwbare administratief medewerker in de gezondheidszorg met 4,5 jaar ervaring met patiëntendossiers, medische facturering, werkschema's van ziekenhuizen en gezondheidszorgbeleid. Ziekenhuiskosten met 13% verlaagd door nieuwe factureringsmethoden te implementeren. Archives
April 2023
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