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Navigating the UK’s CBD marketplace

BY READERS DIGEST

9th Dec 2019 Health Conditions

Navigating the UK’s CBD  marketplace

A lot has been written about CBD oil and what it can possibly offer people in terms of health, mental or physical assistance as a supplement. The trouble is, there is still a large amount of distrust in the marketplace due to disingenuous product marketing and ignorance from both those selling their products and the consumers themselves

With a 300 million pound marketplace existing, and a potential 1 billion one within 5 years, it makes sense to get a decent platform of what consumers should be looking out for when they buy their CBD products. For that we got in touch with the guys over at www.reactiveplus.com, a company that prides itself on its high quality cannabinoid products as well as a strict adherence to the regulations that are set up to help protect consumers and abide by the complex drug laws that already exist in the country. Here are some of the main ways they recommend consumers protect themselves when buying CBD/Cannabidiol products. Many cities like London,
Leeds, Manchester and Brighton are seeing a booming r5ise in their CBD trade as awareness of
the oils and products grows.

Buy From Companies That Are Part Of A Trade Organisation

Cannapro-uk.org are the strictest UK trade association for companies looking to sell CBD products and be a member. You also have the CTA, a larger organisation but, in the opinion of our Reactive Plus friends, not so strict on compliances like the none use of treatment or cure promotion for their members.

The advantage here is that if a company miss sells you something, or sells in breach of MHRA regulations, (selling their products as cures or treatments), then you can report back to a body that can take action against that company, perhaps help you even gain legal help in fighting them in certain circumstances. You have to ask yourself how serious a company is selling products relating to CBD oils who HAVE NOT aligned themselves with a professional body that can monitor their business ethics within the marketplace.

Ask What Type Of Oil You Are Buying

One area where ignorance exists from both consumers and sellers is what type of oil is being sold, or do the products contain? Are you buying a premium, Full Spectrum oil or are you buying a more processed, Broad Spectrum one, perhaps even an Isolate, (Isolates are illegal to sell in anything to be ingested without the correct certification from the FSA in the UK). Here is a quick run down of the types of oil, or CBD formation, you can expect to be sold.

Raw Oil: This is basically the oil straight from the Hemp plant. Due to the fact it isn’tprocessed at all it contains all the cannabinoids, Terpenes and flavonoids that make the hemp oils so in demand from the public. The trouble is you also get the impurities like Chlorophyll, lipids and waxes. The taste too is very strong, as you might expect from an unfiltered or processed oil. It is one of the cheaper options for those looking to buy oil due to the impurities it carries and taste.

Golden Oil: This is basically the highest grade of Cannabinoid oil. Full Spectrum, filtered, (not processed where the CBD compound is targeted, at the expense of other cannabinoids and elements), and golden in colour. The taste is very palatable too. You get a full complement of Cannabinoids, terpenes and Flavonoids, but the filtration process eliminates all the impurities the Raw OIl possesses.

Distillate Oils: By far the most common oils on the market. Distilled as opposed to filtered, these oils are processed to target as much of the CBD element as possible. This comes at a cost to the other elements and cannabinoids however. These oils are therefore Broad Spectrum in nature as they contain many of the benefits from the Hemp plant, though not as highly concentrated as Raw or Golden Oils.

● Isolate: This is the most processed of the oils and is basically created from Isolate crystals that are virtually pure CBD. You gain no other Cannabinoids or any Terpenes or Flavonoids. It is also illegal to ingest Isolate, (Tinctures, edibles, capsules), without certification from the FSA, (Food Standards Agency), and is the cheapest type of oil you will find on the market. Much of it will be imported from the USA where it is popular due to the price and legal in many States.

Our Reactive Plus friends are leading the way to helping consumers be made aware of oil types in sales literature and hopefully labelling, as they are being denied this information in many cases currently. It will take a big push from the Trade Authorities and eventually government to make it legislative, but the result will mean more people will be aware of the CBD oils they are purchasing. You can read about the move to get better sales descriptions here.

What Else Do I Need To Look Out For?

There are a number of other things that consumers need to be aware of when buying CBD products in order to protect themselves from any rogue trading element.

● Can you get access to lab reports easily, (either through their website or sent to you by email), setting out what is actually in the oils. Look out for a list of cannabinoids with percentages as well as levels of THC, (needs to be below 0.2% to be legal).

● Are the sales resources, (website, leaflets), selling the products as cures or treatments? If so this is in breach of the MHRA who insist CBD products are sold solely as supplements. It is illegal to sell any CBD products as anything else. If the place you are buying from is happy to neglect this law, what other laws are they neglecting?

● What kind of reviews are you seeing for the products being sold? Either on their website or through other review platforms like Google? Other buyers will give you a decent insight into the quality of the products being sold.

See? Buying CBD Oil Can Be Done Without Being Ripped Off!

It really is an exciting time in the world of CBD, according to the Reactive Plus team. As the market grows, better quality oils are being sought out by the growing number of vendors who are looking to gain a slice of the growing Cannabidiol economy. This means consumers do not have far too look if they are hoping to search out high quality products that will contain exactly what they propose they do for a reasonable price.

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