Ever since the legalization of marijuana in some U.S. states, the popularity of CBD has increased. It has been estimated that the CBD market will be worth $2.1 billion by 2020. The popularity of CBD-induced products keeps rising due to its health benefits, and people everywhere are looking for trustworthy online CBD distributors.

If you want to buy CBD online, you need to do some research. There are hundreds of different distributors and a plethora of CBD products available online. But which ones are worth your time and which should you stay clear from?

There are a few different things that you need to look up about the products you’re purchasing before you click that “buy” button. If you want to be responsible and safe when buying CBD online, make sure to follow these tips.

Find a legitimate online dispensary

As we’ve already mentioned, there are hundreds of distributors and a seemingly endless number of websites that offer CBD. But before you place your order, make sure you’re ordering from a trustworthy website. It would be best to order from a website with a good reputation such as this online dispensary in British Columbia.

While it is possible to find CBD products on many online sites, it’s impossible to fact-check the claims the seller is making and, at the end of the day, you can’t be sure what exactly you will receive.

It might be safe to order items that have a lot of positive reviews and ratings, but there is always a risk when you’re buying from websites like these. That’s why you should always use a website that specializes in marijuana and CBD.

Look for laboratory reports

All CBD products should be tested in a 3rd party laboratory. Sadly, this isn’t the case for many products. If you want to be sure that you’re purchasing a product that has been through all the required testing, look for a laboratory report.

If you can find lab reports for all products on the website, you can be sure the company has nothing to hide. Without this report, you can’t be certain that the product you’re buying is safe to use.

However, some companies don’t show lab reports on their website, and only offer them upon request. Even if there is no report available on the website, you can still email the company and request to review their lab reports. If this request gets denied, the company is probably hiding something.

There are a few things you should look for in a lab report:

• Which laboratory performed the analysis? A lab report could have been issued by a shady laboratory, in which case, it loses all credibility. A lab report is legitimate only if it was performed by an accredited lab.
• How old is the report? Since there are no regulations regarding how often CBD products should be tested, some companies only do lab tests once every few years. If products aren’t tested once every few months, you can’t be sure that they are safe.
• Look for contaminants. At the end of every lab report, there is a “Status” column which shows if the tested sample was free of contaminants. If you see a “Pass” in this column, the product is safe to use. However, you should stay away from all products with a “Fail”.

Check the amount of THC in the product

While marijuana is legal in some states, others still have a ban against it. CBD products are legal in all states, but this doesn’t go for all types of CBD products. For a CBD product to be legal, it can contain only a certain amount of THC. This amount is 0.3% or less. If it fails to accede to this regulation, it loses its legal status in most states.

CBD and THC are both chemical compounds found in marijuana. According to TopDispensary.ca, THC creates euphoric effects, while CBD is non-toxic, doesn’t create this effect, and also has many benefits.

If the place where you live hasn’t legalized marijuana, you could get into legal trouble if you purchase a CBD product that contains more than the legal amount of THC. But if you live in a state where cannabis is legal, you don’t have to worry about this.

Educate yourself on the different types of CBD

It’s wrong to think that all CBD is the same. In fact, there are three different types of CBD and it’s very important to know the difference between them.

• CBD Isolate. This type of CBD is the purest you can find (99%). It is extracted from the hemp plant and isolated from all other chemicals.
• Full Spectrum CBD. During the extraction process for this type of CBD, all other chemicals were extracted from the plants as well. This results in a product that contains both CBD and THC.
• Broad Spectrum CBD. This type is a mixture of the previous two. Just like full spectrum CBD, it contains all the chemicals found in the hemp plant, but it was isolated from THC.

Ask for quick and discreet delivery

While it isn’t illegal to purchase CBD, there is still some stigma surrounding it. That’s why it would be best for the company to deliver your product in a discreet package. Look for reviews from other customers on the website and see what they have to say about the package delivery.

If most of the reviews are positive, you can be sure that nobody will be wondering about the contents of your package or question your purchasing choices. As for the fast delivery, since CBD products are something you should consume while they are still relatively fresh, you don’t want them to sit around in a package for too long.

Research prices of CBD products

Nobody wants to pay more money than they should for a product, and that’s perfectly normal. But don’t get too excited if you find a distributor that’s offering CBD product for a much cheaper price than their competitors. If something seems too good to be true, it probably isn’t true.

If you see a cheap CBD product, it might be fake and even unsafe. This is especially true for those products sold on large customer marketplaces and by non-reputable brands.

The best way to get a good price is to research a couple of reputable brands and compare their prices. Narrow it down to 2-3 brands you can trust and compare their prices to see which one is the most affordable.

Know where your CBD is coming from

A lot of CBD products are currently made in the United States. This only became possible after 2014, when a number of states legalized marijuana. However, CBD-induced products were being made and distributed much before then, just not in the US.  

Before 2014, most CBD products either came from Western Europe or China, and some distributors still get their CBD supplies from these places. But why is this so important? The answer is simple – environmental regulations.

If your CBD is coming from Western Europe, it’s probably from countries such as Austria, Germany, and the Netherlands. This CBD is most likely safe, as these countries have very strict environmental regulations. However, China does not. So, if your CBD is from China, you can’t be sure it is safe to use.

Unfortunately, CBD companies aren’t obligated to tell you where their CBD products come from. On the other hand, honest and reputable businesses won’t have any issues with sharing this information with their customers. The best option is to find CBD products that are grown organically, without any pesticides, and domestically.