The term “Full Spectrum CBD” is mentioned a lot. What does it mean, how’s it made, and how is it different from CBD isolate? Well, isolate, as I’ve talked about previously, is simply pure CBD. GW pharma sells their isolate as Epidiolex (with the blessing of the FDA) for tens of thousand dollars a year. This is a travesty, since a year’s supply of isolate on the open market is about 10 times cheaper than the “approved” GW isolate. Since GW has paid their fees, and jumped through the FDA hoops, they have a monopoly on a natural plant derived compound. The price they charge is unconscionable, and is aided and abetted by the FDA, which has banned all-natural CBD from the medical market. So, we don’t make any medical claims, lest we incur the wrath of the FDA.
Now isolate is but one form of CBD, and it is probably the least effective for most aliments. Why? Because of the entourage effect. This is the synergistic effect of several compounds acting together. In the case of full spectrum CBD, the additional compounds include cannabichromene, terpenes, flavonoids and the mother of all cannabinoids, CBG. Importantly, trace THC is present, which is a powerful co-drug with CBD. While each of these is a medicine in its own right, the combination can be powerful. They act synergistically on several different neurotransmission pathways.
We craft full spectrum hemp extracts from the whole plant, with no adulteration. All cannabinoids are retained, and most of the flavonoids and terpenes. This allows for the full goodness of the plant to be present for the whole body.
Some folks produce distillate, simply to make the extract colorless. This process removes all the entourage compounds, and leaves principally CBD isolate. Distillate is the worst of both worlds: lacking in terpenes and the other cannabinoids, but not totally pure. A waste of CBD, that is what distillation is.
Stick with full spectrum CBD products, and get the benefits of the full cannabinoid and terpene spectrum.