Joe Payack

Many people have asked, what is the difference between CBDA vs CBD? Let’s address this by first looking at the chemistry of the two molecules. As the abbreviations indicate, the two compounds are closely related. CBDA has a carboxylic acid group on the bis-phenol ring, which makes CBDA much more acidic than CBD (hence the full chemical name cannabidiolic acid). This acidic carboxylate makes CBDA much more polar. More on… Read More »CBDA vs CBD – What Is The Difference

Most Americans (and Brits) don’t like, and don’t understand the metric system.  To them, it’s a confusing way to change the normative way (the Imperial System) we measure things. It is an understandable position: nobody who was ingrained with miles, pounds, and gallons would welcome any other way of measuring things. Except there is a better way, the scientific way: the metric system.  Metric System – Much Easier to Use… Read More »The Metric System: Why We Use It

Vermont Organic Science has “organic” as our middle name. There are a couple of reasons for this. One, we sell USDA certified organic products and we organically extract hemp to make those products. We are proud of our organic ethos and our history with organic chemistry. The second reason is that I am an organic chemist, and proud of it. Now you may think organic products and services are the… Read More »What is Organic Chemistry?

Can CBD increase oxygen to the brain? We all know the importance of blood flow to the brain. The brain, after all, is responsible for 20-35% of our resting metabolism and oxygen needs. We all know folks who have had brain damage due to low blood flow: this is a stroke. Now, new information published in the prestigious Journal of Psychopharmacology indicates that CBD promotes blood flow (CBF) to the… Read More »CBD and blood flow to the brain

Many of our customers’ questions revolve around: how much CBD should I take, and what is the right dose of CBD for me? These are very good questions, and there is not a lot of guidance from anyone. Let’s take a good look at this: hopefully, this will answer many of your questions. Our base MCT tincture is at a CBD concentration of 50 mg per ml (or a full… Read More »What is the right dose of CBD?

Alzheimer’s disease and CBD: new data very promising. Cannabidiol (CBD) is known to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects in the body. Recent research in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease (J Alzheimers Dis. 2021 Feb 17. doi: 10.3233/JAD-210026) suggests, in mice at the very least, that CBD could act in novel ways in slowing or reversing cognitive decline. In the study, researchers used a mouse model of familial Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in which… Read More »Can CBD help with cognitive decline?

We received many inquires regarding how to take our 50 mg/ml organic CBD mixture in MCT (by the way, MCT stands for medium chain triglycerides. The ester sidechains are about 4-8 carbons long). Here’s some guidance, and the science behind it. CBD Oral Dosing The best way to get good absorption of your CBD is through your mouth. Now that seems obvious, but there is more to it. By taking… Read More »Oral Dosing of MCT/CBD Oil

We receive many questions on how does CBD work. CBD is the chemical cousin of THC, the psychoactive component of cannabis. CBD’s effects are much different than THC, with no “high” associated with it. Let’s have a look at some of the theories that attempt to explain CBD’s effects. Endocannabinoid Receptors THC and the cyclic cannabinoids bind to two receptors found in the nervous and immune systems: the CB1 and… Read More »How Does CBD Work?

Endocannabinoid: a complicated word. Let’s first break down the word, then move to its meaning. Endo-cannabin-oid “Endo” is shorthand for ‘endogenous,’ which translates to naturally occurring compounds and processes inside the human body.   “Cannabin” refers to compounds that are present in cannabis. “oid” means similar to. So, Endocannabinoids are natural compounds in the body that act in ways similar to the plant cannabinoids. How does the Endocannabinoid System (ECS),… Read More »What is the Endocannabinoid System?

GMP is shorthand for Good Manufacturing Practices. GMP was developed by the pharmaceutical industry in the past 50 years to recommend guidelines for the production of medicines. It is all about quality, recordkeeping and cleaning. I’ve followed GMP guidelines for my entire pharmaceutical career, producing hundreds of batches of active pharmaceutical ingredients.  Now, GMP has become a buzzword in the cannabis space. What does this mean, and is true GMP… Read More »What is GMP