TJ

The 5 Benefits of Smoking CBD

Posted on by TJ

You may be familiar with CBD’s benefits; it’s the second most popular cannabinoid behind THC and touted by some companies as having explicit medicinal benefits (a big no-no according to the FDA.) We’re not going to make any medical claims about CBD in this post. Instead, we’re going to talk about the benefits of smoking CBD flower, one of the most popular ways that people enjoy their daily dose of CBD. 

In this post, we’ll also be covering: 

  • The difference between CBD flower and marijuana,
  • What smoking CBD feels like,
  • And, the risks associated with smoking CBD.

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Where Did 420 Come From?

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You needn’t be a big smoker to know that April 20 (4/20) is an international holiday. But few know how the number 420 became synonymous with recreational THC-cannabis use, or who popularized the date April 20th as the “marijuana holiday.”

Where Did ‘420’ Come From?

There are many folk tales about how 420 gained its significance, like:

  • It refers to the number of chemical compounds (cannabinoids) found in the cannabis plant.

  • If you take the Bob Dylan song “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35” and multiply the numbers, you get 420.

  • The number comes from the U.S. House Bill to legalize THC cannabis.

  • It’s the code among police officers to refer to “marijuana smoking in progress.”

  • It’s named for the day Bob Marley died (he passed on May 11th)

  • April 20th is the best time of year to plant your cannabis (This may be true, depending on your climate)

The History of ‘420’

The most believable story takes us back to San Rafael, California in 1971. It was here, in a small Bay area city, where a group of high school friends, lovingly named “Waldos” for their affinity for leaning on walls, started smoking cannabis.

Nixon’s War on Drugs started the same year as a means to control organized youth movements and political opponents of the Vietnam War. Cannabis, a favorite among the coming-of-age baby boomer generation became the top target.

The Waldos needed some way to communicate with one another about their after-school intentions. “4:20 Louis” meant ‘meet at the campus’s statue of Louis Pasteur after class.

One Waldo is quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle as saying “[420] was just a joke, but it came to mean all kinds of things, like, ‘Do you have any?’ or ‘Do I look stoned?”

How ‘420’ Went Mainstream

One of the Waldos, Dave Reddix, would go on to work with the Grateful Dead’s Phil Lesh as a roadie. The band is believed to help popularize ‘420’ among its audiences, even going so far in 1990, as to hand out flyers that invited fans to smoke ‘420’ on April 20 at 4:20 ᴘ.ᴍ.

As Deadheads traveled, so too did ‘420.’ A year after the flyer in 1990, a reporter for High Times Magazine printed the invitation and the number picked up steam, continuing to grow over the last 30 years.

How To Store Bulk Hemp Flower

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It’s a problem that plagues a good many hemp flower enthusiasts: you find a great deal on bulk hemp flower— too good to pass up. Your eyes grow a bit bigger while you look at its trichome macros. You reach for your wallet and before you know it you get a confirmation email for a whole pound of hemp flower.

Three days later your package arrives safe and sound on your doorstep. Those first few moments after opening it are glorious; a whole vacuum-sealed block of bud bigger than your head and it’s just for you. But now it’s a week later. You’ve cut into that pound and used maybe 18 of your 454 grams. What do you do with the rest of it?

In this post, we’ll talk about,

  • How to best store your bulk hemp flower
  • What environmental factors hurt potency
  • How long your flower can last with proper care

Continue reading “How To Store Bulk Hemp Flower”

CBD Chocolate: A Perfect Match

Posted on by TJ

Key Takeaways

  1. Chocolate infused with CBD is a mood-enhancing food.
  2. Both chocolate and CBD work together when you eat them to give you a sense of calm and relaxation.
  3. CBD chocolate is not a recreational cannabis edible and will not make you feel “high.”

Of the simple pleasures in life, what’s better than a rich, velvety piece of chocolate? How about chocolate infused with CBD? The growing popularity of cannabidiol, more widely known as CBD, has led to the emergence of new CBD edibles, like the subject of this post: CBD Chocolate.

In this post, we’ll discuss how CBD Chocolate can make your days better and pull the curtain back on the science behind the edible.  Continue reading “CBD Chocolate: A Perfect Match”

CBD For Pets: What You Should Know

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Key Takeaways

  1. CBD is a natural supplement that can help with your pet’s general health and mobility. 
  2. CBD has no official health benefits, but many pet owners use CBD successfully to treat their pets every day.
  3. Not all CBD products for pets are made the same. Make sure you know what you’re buying and who you’re buying it from

Continue reading “CBD For Pets: What You Should Know”

Does CBD Show Up On A Drug Test?

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Key Takeaways

  1. Full-spectrum CBD contains trace amounts of THC, the cannabinoid that triggers positive results on drug tests.
  2. CBD isolate and broad-spectrum CBD products shouldn’t show up on a drug test.
  3. The two above points are consistent across different testing matrixes i.e. urine, saliva, blood, hair, etc.

Table Of Contents

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Broad-Spectrum vs. Full-Spectrum CBD

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Key Takeaways:

  1. Full-spectrum CBD contains trace amounts of THC. Broad-spectrum CBD contains no THC whatsoever.
  2. Full-spectrum CBD and broad-spectrum CBD can both provide users with the entourage effect.
  3. Broad-spectrum CBD is often more costly than full-spectrum because it requires additional processing to remove the THC.

Table of Contents:

If you’re determining which CBD product would be a good fit for you, you’ll want to learn the distinction between full-spectrum CBD vs. broad-spectrum CBD. By the end of this post, you’ll understand the differences between the two, where they come from, and why they might be priced differently.

Full-Spectrum Vs. Broad-Spectrum CBD: Which Is Right For You?

The difference between full-spectrum CBD and broad-spectrum CBD is slight; some might even say molecular, but it is still significant. Before we dive into it, let’s back up a step and review the classes of beneficial compounds produced by hemp plants.

Cannabinoids

Cannabinoids are a special class of compounds produced by hemp and cannabis plants that directly interact with our body’s endocannabinoid system.

CBD is one such cannabinoid that our farm specializes in. Other cannabinoids include CBN, CBG, THC, and more. According to the entourage effect hypothesis, when consumed, these cannabinoids work together to help regulate our endocannabinoid systems more efficiently. More on that shortly.

Terpenes

Terpenes are aromatic organic compounds responsible for the fragrance of hemp and cannabis. Some terpenes, like pinene and linalool, are being studied for their therapeutic benefits.

Flavonoids

Flavonoids are found in plants, including everyday fruits, vegetables, and hemp and cannabis flowers. Like terpenes, flavonoids may have some therapeutic applications, too. 

What is Full-Spectrum CBD?

Full-spectrum CBD, also known as whole-plant CBD, contains all of the cannabinoids present in the hemp plant at the time of harvest. That means that full-spectrum CBD contains trace amounts of THC and THCa.

Containing trace amounts of THC isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In fact, THC is an important cannabinoid with regard to the entourage effect. Not only do CBD and THC work better together, but some people believe that full-spectrum CBD products offer more potent relief than CBD taken in isolation.

Hemp Flower Contains Full-Spectrum CBD

CBD hemp flower is the least processed hemp product on the market and is full-spectrum. While geneticists breed hemp with different cannabinoid profiles, there’s currently no way to completely breed out any cannabinoids, making them, by default, full-spectrum.

If you’re looking for a true full-spectrum experience, you may want to consider creating your infusion using raw hemp flowers.

Pros of Full-Spectrum CBD

So, why would you want to pick a full-spectrum CBD product? There are a few reasons. 

  • Entourage Effect— Full-spectrum CBD is whole-plant CBD, meaning that it has not had anything purposely removed. It contains all of the cannabinoids present at harvest, which may provide some therapeutic benefit.
  • Availability— Because full-spectrum CBD requires less processing than other forms, it’s more widely available in-store and online.
  • Price— The price of full-spectrum CBD is related to its availability. Again, because it’s so abundant and relatively easy to produce, full-spectrum CBD products are usually less expensive than their broad-spectrum counterparts.

Cons of Full-Spectrum CBD

Just as full-spectrum CBD presents some benefits, there are also some drawbacks. They include:

  • THC— Full-spectrum CBD contains trace amounts of THC and THCa. If you’re still subjected to workplace drug tests or think you may have to take one as part of an interview process, we recommend avoiding full-spectrum CBD.
  • Side Effects— Some folks are more sensitive to other cannabinoids like THC and CBN. The former is responsible for cannabis’s psychoactive effects, and the latter may make you quite sleepy. If that’s not what you’re looking for in your CBD product, you may want to avoid full-spectrum CBD products. 
  • Taste— Some products made with full-spectrum CBD extract can have a more hemp-y flavor than other manufactured products.

What is Broad-Spectrum CBD?

Broad-spectrum CBD is a hemp extract that contains no THC whatsoever. By definition, broad-spectrum CBD can contain just two cannabinoids, CBD and another, or all cannabinoids except THC, and any combination in between.

There are two ways to make broad-spectrum CBD:

  1. The first involves starting with CBD isolate and adding desired cannabinoids, flavonoids, and terpenes until you reach a desired balance. 
  2. The second way to make broad-spectrum CBD involves removing THC and its isomers from the rest of your hemp extract via one or a combination of three different chromatography methods.

Pros of Broad-Spectrum CBD

Just as with full-spectrum CBD, broad-spectrum does offer some unique benefits:

  • No THC— The biggest advantage of broad-spectrum CBD is that it contains no THC at all. You would want to confirm with third-party testing, but if you’re subject to THC testing, you should be able to use broad-spectrum products.
  • Taste— A lot of broad-spectrum products, especially those made with cannabinoids added together, should taste better than their full-spectrum counterparts.
  • Manufacturing Ease— Making products with broad-spectrum CBD is usually easier than using full-spectrum CBD.

Cons of Broad-Spectrum CBD

Some of the cons of broad-spectrum CBD are:

  • Additional Processing— Removing THC from the equation requires more processing. While the process is safe, tried, and true, making broad-spectrum CBD does require more work than full-spectrum CBD. 
  • Price— The processing described above requires more intricate machinery, time, and labor, all of which will make your broad-spectrum CBD products more expensive than a full-spectrum option.
  • Entourage Effect—Because some cannabinoids are absent in Broad-spectrum products, they may not offer the same potent effects as full-spectrum CBD products.

 

Note that this post was originally published on November 3, 2020 and was updated by the author on October 23, 2024

How CBD Salve Helps With Pain

Posted on by TJ

By: T.J., Sunset Lake Dir. of eCommerce

As a farmer at Sunset Lake CBD, I understand what it means to have sore, aching muscles. After a long day in the field, my muscles and joints need some relief before I can get to sleep. I can’t afford to miss a day of work, so I use our CBD salve for pain relief.

Our full-spectrum CBD salve can help alleviate the aches and pains that so many of us experience. In the rest of this blog post, we’ll explore the benefits of topical CBD, how Sunset Lake CBD makes its CBD salve, and how I use it on a near-daily basis.

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CBD-Infused Gummies: Benefits, Dosing, & More

Posted on by TJ

Let’s be honest: smoking CBD flower leaves a little to be desired. It isn’t discrete; the effects fade quickly, and it can lead to a failed drug test. CBD oils, too, aren’t the best for everyone. Whether you’re new to CBD or have been using it for years, you can’t go wrong with CBD-infused gummies.

In this post, we’ll explore the following 5 advantages of CBD gummies over other consumption methods,

  • CBD Gummies Can Be THC Free
  • CBD Gummies Taste Better
  • Ease of Dosing
  • Slow Release
  • They’re Legal

Continue reading “CBD-Infused Gummies: Benefits, Dosing, & More”

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