The complete guide to CBD hemp flowers
Recently, people have turned to another type of CBD product - CBD buds or CBD flowers (cannabis flowers). This article will look at what CBD buds are, the benefits of using them, and why they are becoming gradually more popular.
What is a CBD flower?
CBD buds are flowers of female hemp plants. Although it belongs to the same plant family, it is different from psychoactive cannabis. Hemp has been used by humankind for thousands of years to produce textiles, food, paper, body care, and building materials. It has the most potent natural fiber in the world.
It is the THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) content that differs hemp from regular cannabis. THC is a compound that is responsible for psychoactive effects.
Recreational cannabis buds have THC levels of around 12% - 25%. Still, hemp CBD flower contains approximately 0.2% of THC or less, which means that CBD flowers are not psychoactive.
What are the benefits?
Sales of hemp CBD flowers have gone through the roof over the past year. Presently, many people use CBD buds instead of oils, tinctures, and other products for various reasons. The best CBD oils on the market are made from hemp flowers. Thus, you get CBD (cannabidiol) directly from the source and in its most natural form when using flowers. All CBD oil products are extracted using CO2 or ethanol and then mixed with various oil carriers. However, the CBD market is currently poorly regulated, so the consumer never knows what else the product might contain. Yet, this does not have to concern you when it comes to the use of hemp flowers.
Another group that now uses hemp CBD flowers is people who have previously smoked cannabis high in THC. Cannabis can cause side effects such as anxiety and paranoia. Making it a great alternative, CBD can provide an exceptional and relaxing feeling without the adverse effects of THC.
The most important advantage of using hemp CBD flowers is the entourage effect. CBD buds contain many other cannabinoids, including THC, CBC, CBG, THCV, etc. The attendant effect occurs when all these different cannabinoids interact with the endocannabinoid system (ECS) to provide the most amazing therapeutic benefits.
How to use CBD flowers and know how to determine the right dose
There are three main ways of using CBD flowers
1. Vaping
2. Smoking
3. Foods
Vaping
Thanks to recent technological innovations, vaporization (vaping) have become very popular in recent years. There is now a wide selection of awe-inspiring devices on the market.
Vaporization is the process of heating a CBD flower to a temperature of around 190 - 200 °C that creates steam rich in CBD and other cannabinoids and is then inhaled. During vaping, the vaped material does not directly contact the heating coil or flame, depending on the type of device. Vaping can compare to an electric oven function, for example. It is a healthy, comfortable, simple, and effective way of using CBD flowers.
Smoking
Smoking is a more traditional method. It usually involves rolling crashed CBD buds into a joint or smoking the material directly from a pipe or bong. This method involves a process of direct burning of the material. Although it is a fast and effective method, it is way less healthy than vaporization. The produced smoke usually contains toxic compounds.
Food
Food products are a good option for those who do not like smoking or vaping. However, this method requires a little more time and effort. CBD flowers can be added to foods or drinks, making CBD edible products. By far, the most common way to do this is to make butter mixed with some CBD product and then use it to prepare desserts, pasta, or even toasts.
Regular butter can be replaced by hemp butter in any food. Once produced, butter can provide a very convenient way of using CBD. However, CBD food provides much lower bioavailability than smoking or vaping, which means that it takes CBD and other cannabinoids present in such foods longer (sometimes up to two hours) to get into the bloodstream since they first have to pass through the liver.
Dosing
In 2017, the U.S. National Institutes of Health conducted an in-depth survey finding no universal dose of CBD, which could be suitable for everyone. Thus, many dynamic factors can affect the best dose, including weight, age, metabolism, body chemistry, and the disease that might be the reason for using this cannabinoid.
On the other hand, recent studies have shown that a good starting point is about 25 mg twice a day, making it a total of 50 mg per day. You should increase the dose every three to four weeks by an additional 25 mg per day until the patient feels the symptoms' alleviation. Applying this approach to CBD hemp flowers, if it contains 10% of CBD, there is 100 mg of CBD in one gram, which means that a good starting point will be half a gram per day.
Quality
Most CBD flowers on the market are grown either in Switzerland, Italy, or Spain. One of the main factors determining quality is how the plants are grown, namely indoors, greenhouses, or outdoors.
Buds grown indoor tend to be denser than those grown outdoors, while buds grown in a greenhouse are somewhere in the middle. This is because indoor buds get more energy than the other two, thanks to the powerful light sources. Unlike buds grown in greenhouses where the mixture of artificial light and natural sunlight is used, outdoor buds are only grown under sunlight. In the northern hemisphere, plants cultivated outdoor are usually planted in April or May and harvested in September or October.
What are terpenes?
Another essential compounds in cannabis and hemp plants are terpenes. These can are found in the same place where cannabinoids are formed, in trichomes (resin glands).
Terpenes are also found in most other plants and are directly responsible for taste and aroma. For example, the citrus flavor and aroma in orange are caused by terpenes. The same goes for CBD flowers. If the CBD bud smells more like citrus, it will contain limonene. While, if it smells more sweetly and earthy, it will contain linalool and myrcene. Terpenes differ from cannabinoids; however, they work along together and provide excellent therapeutic benefits.
The following chart shows some of the essential terpenes in CBD buds and their effects and health benefits.
Legality
Unlike THC, CBD is currently legal in many parts of the world. In the United States, Donald Trump signed a law in 2018 that makes cannabis cultivation legal at the federal level. This makes hemp buds legal if the THC content is less than 0.3 %. Some states, however, still require a medical permit from people who like to purchase CBD buds.
In the EU, hemp flower is legal if the THC content is less than 0.2 % and is grown from a variety licensed by the EIHA. The most common varieties include Cannabis Sativa L, Finola, and Kompolti. In Switzerland, the laws are so friendly that you can buy cannabis bars in stores like LIDL as a safe and healthier alternative to smoking tobacco.