After reading this guide on full spectrum hemp oil, you’ll have a greater understanding of the phytocannabinoids and terpenes found inside the cannabis plant, along with how they work together to produce the most effective and powerful results. (1)
What does full spectrum mean?
Both the science and philosophy when utilizing a full spectrum product comes through when you realize the greater whole working together is more than the sum of its parts. There is a synergistic entourage effect that is created when combining all the incredible compounds such as cannabinoids, phytosterols, phytoflavinoids, fatty acids, and terpenes together in one product that is administered and absorbed quickly and easily.
Once you’ve identified that you wish to purchase a full spectrum product, you’ll then want to look at the variety of cannabis used, such as hemp, or in the strain; high-CBD, low-THC or the other way around, pending the country you reside in and its legal status. The ratio of cannabinoids, such as CBD or THC, will depend on what result you’re wanting to produce. Getting the ratio right is part of optimizing the benefits.
A full spectrum hemp oil will often contain less than 0.3% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is in such negligible amounts that it won’t produce any psychoactive effects. Hemp is often considered the gentle, non-psychoactive cousin to marijuana (which typically contains 10-15% THC) and is considered as the more “medicinal” form of cannabis, as opposed to marijuanas “recreational” status. In saying that, as you’ll discover in this article, THC also has many potent medicinal applications
CBD has been considered the feminine aspect of the plant, whereas THC has been called the masculine. Although THC works directly with the endocannabinoid system (ECS) receptors, CBD works indirectly through balancing the ECS by allowing the body’s own chemicals to stay in the body longer. While both THC and CBD are important, they function better together.
Discovering the ideal ratio for a particular condition is a crucial part of undertaking a full spectrum approach to using medicinal cannabinoids. Once again, pending the country you reside in, will depend on what is available over the counter or by prescription. The same process applies for products such as a CBD isolate extraction.
How do you use full spectrum extract?
When looking at using cannabis products you’ll likely find that using high-CBD full spectrum extracts is easier in many ways than using a high-THC product due to the fact that CBD tends to be more of a body-centered compound, versus its mind-altering counterpart, THC.
Users of CBD often describe the effects as more of a “body high” which allows the body to relax more, providing the user with an improved mood, calmer mind, and most people are able to drive, work and continue on with their normal daily routines without any “stoned” side effects.
A very small portion of people who use CBD who are extra-sensitive to THC may notice emotional/mental effects that are usually often associated with high-THC cannabis products. Due to this reason, first-time users should avoid operating machinery or automobiles until they’re more familiar with their own response to a full spectrum CBD oil.
One of the issues with medical use of THC is that one person can feel relaxed and relieved of stress, while another can feel anxious and over-stimulated, while another feels focused, on-task and energized. There are a variety of factors that can impact the internal biological response of cannabis, including the strain, amount, and form of cannabis as well as the unique biochemistry, history, diet, emotional state, and experience level of the person.
Which is better full spectrum or isolate CBD?
A full spectrum product is made with a wide array of over 120+ cannabinoids, terpenes and other plant compounds to deliver a synergistic effect just the way nature intended the plant to be used. Isolate CBD products are made by extracting the single cannabinoid, cannabidiol, from the plant and using only that. Which is better becomes more a question of what result do you want?
What is the difference between distillate and full spectrum?
A distillate has less cannabinoids present in the final product, meaning your endocannabinoid system will miss out on some of the synergy that is created when utilising a full spectrum of cannabinoids and terpenes from the whole cannabis plant.
What is the best method to take full spectrum?
As cannabidiol (CBD) has exploded into popularity with both research and legal status transforming how people view cannabis, it has opened the door to a vast amount of customers, clients, patients, healthcare practitioners, and medical professionals who hadn’t previously considered cannabis to be a pivotal part in their treatment plans, or the modern pharmacopeia. The most commonly known cannabinoid, THC, also plays an important role in medicine, but due to the fact that CBD is a non-psychoactive compound has allowed for far greater access to the benefits of the plant’s potent medicinal properties without the issue of potential impairment.
Inhalation: smoke or vaporise, enters bloodstream directly from lungs
Onset: immediate
Duration: 2-4 hours
Bioavailability: 10-35%Ingestion: oral use, slow and erratic absorption, results in maximal plasma concentrations usually after 60-120 minutes
Onset: 30 minutes-2 hours or more
Duration: 6-8 hours
Bioavailability: 8-15%Oral/mucosal: tinctures, lozenges dissolved in mouth (not swallowed). Enters bloodstream through the mucus membranes
Onset: 15-60 minutes
Duration: 4-6 hours
Bioavailability: 6-20%Topical: applied to skin for localised relief, usually in balm or salve. Only local effects. Doesn’t enter bloodstream
Onset: 15 minutes (non-psychoactive)
Duration: 2-4 hours
Bioavailability: n/aTransdermal: patch or gel, created to absorb through skin into bloodstream
Onset: 15 minutes (possibly psychoactive)
Duration: 12 hours (patch) 4 hours (gel)
Bioavailability: 100%
Different to pharmaceutical drugs that are delivered in very specific doses, cannabinoid medicine is highly individualised. Currently, there is a gap in research regarding delivery systems, standards of potency, and dosage that medical professionals can consistently depend upon. When it comes to cannabis, dosage can be as unique as the patient, and there are a variety of ways to administer the medicine into the body to maximize the health benefits of cannabinoids.
Varieties of cannabis can be vaporized, smoked, eaten in solid foods, rubbed on the skin as a topical, or taken as a liquid tincture. There are many methods of tapping into the benefits of cannabinoids like CBD, THC, CBG, and CBN etc., with new innovations and technologies being discovered daily. Although the classic “pot brownie” isn’t a relic of the past, there are many more sophisticated and varied options of consumption from gourmet to raw. As we see the end of prohibition world-wide, we are witnessing an incredible assortment of hemp products becoming available.
With such a large amount of options, this can be both empowering and exciting, but also daunting and confusing, especially for someone new to cannabis. When you read our articles, you give yourself the opportunity to educate yourself and understand your options so you can choose the right form and dose of cannabis products for yourself. Reactions to medicinal cannabinoids can vary greatly from person to person. These effects can vary based upon the dose, strain, potency, the time of the day, how it is delivered, the condition being treated, how much one has eaten and how recently, and the desired effect one wants (ie, to go to sleep or wake up). Before you start utilizing hemp products, consult with your health-care provider.
To be safe, and to acquire the optimal medicinal benefits, pay special attention to your body and your own reaction, experiment with different methods, use your own intuition, and always remember this wise old saying: “when you’ve taken cannabis, you can always ingest more, but you can’t take less.” It is highly recommended that you keep detailed records of your cannabis usage, accounting for all of the parameters we’ve shared with you above that result in how each particular use affects you specifically.
In saying that, when you take a full spectrum product crafted from iHemp (industrial hemp), you’re significantly less likely to experience any adverse effects due to the levels of cannabinoids being at such a level as to gently stimulate your body’s endocannabinoid system (so it can go to work on correcting any imbalances in the body), but not high enough to cause any disruption to your normal daily functioning. If anything, a full spectrum hemp oil will only serve to help you in feeling supported as you go about your normal daily tasks, not hinder or slow you down; and with less than 0.3% THC there's nil chance of any psychoactive effects. As always, if in doubt, consult with your doctor before making changes to your lifestyle or treatment plan.
1. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/273352080_Overcoming_the_Bell-Shaped_Dose-Response_of_Cannabidiol_by_Using_Cannabis_Extract_Enriched_in_Cannabidiol
