Summer 2019

What You Need to Know About CBD Products By Sam Ujvary

Customers love a new product that’s all the rage. Currently, that product is CBD. The popularity of this plant extract, newly legal in most states, has produced a wave of information that can be difficult to sort through to find the facts. For retailers who are considering selling CBD products, here is a primer outlining what you need to know to be successful with this trending health elixir.

Cannabidiol, or CBD, is cannabinoid found in the cannabis plant but is very different from its THC counterpart. CBD extracted from the hemp plant can help ease anxiety and stress, alleviate physical ailments, and even shrink tumors in animals. It is touted as a true miracle plant.

Angela Ardolino can attest to that. As the founder of CBD Dog Health and a medical cannabis expert — she earned professional certification in the therapeutic uses of medical cannabis from the University of Vermont College of Medicine — Ardolino has dedicated her life to educating the public about the power of CBD. Although she focuses her efforts on the pet industry, this venture began with her own story. Ardolino learned how CBD can help when she tried it on herself after being diagnosed with anxiety and rheumatoid arthritis.

The Journal of Experimental Medicine published a study that found CBD helped reduce inflammation and pain in mice and rats. This helped establish that it also provides a new treatment for chronic pain in humans. In addition to physical pain and inflammation, the use of CBD oil has been proven to significantly help with epilepsy and seizures; anxiety disorders; type 1 diabetes; acne and Alzheimer’s. In many studies, CBD was able to reduce the number of epileptic seizures and in some cases, eliminate them altogether.

CBD can be ingested, inhaled or applied topically and should be noted that it does not have the same effect as THC, the primary psychoactive constituent of cannabis. With this information, gifting companies are now getting on board. But it is vital that retailers and consumers alike become educated about the uses of CBD and what ingredients are safe for both pets and humans.

LEGALITIES

Medicolegal realities surrounding this industry are constantly changing and progressing. Similar to marijuana, when it comes to CBD oil, some state and federal laws differ. CBD legislation is very complex and can be confusing, but a list of states with specific laws can be found at www.procon.org (ProCon’s).

Each state has distinct laws legalizing CBD with varying degrees of restriction and, federally speaking, it’s considered in the same class as marijuana, but not strictly enforced, according to Harvard Medical School. Cannabis is considered hemp, not marijuana, as long as no part of the plant exceeds a THC concentration of more than 0.3 percent on a dry-weight basis.

Additionally, the FDA has abated regulations to allow CBD to be further researched, and has gone as far as to approve a prescription consisting of CBD oil to treat two forms of epilepsy. The laws in most states are perpetually evolving, so it’s suggested you keep up with what’s currently legal in your own state should you decide to carry CBD products.

DOSAGE

When it comes to dosage and how to tell what you’re really getting, it’s important for each label to specify a quantified amount of CBD. Dosing is probably one of the most common questions from people. In the human market, when dealing with medicine and pharmaceutical drugs, dosing is extremely vital.

This medicine is different, because individuals all react and respond to it differently. With cannabis, it depends what is being treated. If it’s an anxiety issue, you’re going to dose before the anxious moment happens. Wait for a bit and see if you get the desired results. If you’re treating something like arthritis, cancer or an autoimmune disease, you’re going to want to use it every day.

Life Flower Care is a bath and body company that focuses on ethically sourced, natural and high-grade products. It offers CBD-infused cosmetics including bath bombs, body washes and oils and elixirs. It also offers an oral CBD supplement.

“Many hours went into formulating each recipe and learning how to dose the batch of products properly with CBD was a little confusing at first but with lots of trial and error we figured it out,” said Shea Wineck, founder of Life Flower Care.

For pet companies, it’s essentially the same process. “When this industry began, it was like the Wild West. There was virtually no information on what workdd,” said Matt Terrill, CEO of Innovet Pet Products.

Companies like Innovet and so many others started with what was considered the scientific general consensus that 1 milligram of CBD per 1 kilogram of bodyweight was a good bet.

The most important thing to know is that it’s impossible to overdose on cannabis medicine. The reasoning for the dosage is simply so you’re not using more than the amount you need and therefore not throwing money down the drain.

LABELING

There’s a big issue when it comes to labeling. First, understanding which product you’re selling is important. I recently attended a panel where Rob Kovler with Animal Nutritional Products explained the difference between CBD isolate and full spectrum. These two very different types of CBD come from the same plant (hemp), but an isolate is just CBD. Full spectrum has other CBD in it: CBDs A, B, C and V in addition to CBD. Full spectrum also has terpenes, which help with pain management and as sleeping aids, among others.

This is a confusing industry and there are a lot of falsehoods. Be critical and ask questions; if there’s no answer for it, there’s a reason. It’s your reputation that’s on the line, so stringently decide which lines to carry. Every bottle of CBD oil or package of product containing CBD should have a production and batch date. Each should also have a link to certificate of analysis.

You can check a lot of obvious things as well. If the total weight of a bag (for example) reads 450 grams and somewhere else on the package it reads 450 grams of CBD, then they’re saying the entire bag is pure CBD, so you know it’s not accurate, likely discrediting the company entirely. Check the back of the bottle or package for proper information on dosage. How many milligrams are in each serving indicates how much CBD is in the bottle and directly affects the dosage dropper. When deciding which products to trust, make sure you look for label claims and make sure it’s a quality product from a company you trust.

Whatever product you decide to buy, whether it’s on the internet or in person, for yourself or for your customers, look for a third-party analysis; it will tell you the exact amount of CBD (as compared to heavy metals, pesticides, etc. around the hemp plant). If a company doesn’t proactively show you this, be wary. If there is an analysis, make sure the lot number and expiration dates match those on your product to ensure you’re not receiving a dated report.

If CBD is able to be sold in your state, it can prove to be a lucrative and beneficial move to offer it on your shelves. Do your research and ask questions and find a great company or companies that you trust. Also keep in mind that if you use CBD yourself, you become better at selling it because you can explain the health benefits

Sam Ujvary

Sam is the managing editor of Gift Shop Pets, Museums & More and Party & Halloween Retailer, and is a contributing editor for Gift Shop Magazine. She has a copywriting background and has been in publishing for six years.