Dr. Thomas Rocco and BAK 2 Basics CBD medical consultants follow these simple guidelines to offer the best CBD products for safe and proper medicinal therapy for patients.

Understand the proper reason to use CBD medications and which form. Different forms of CBD such as pill, topical, drop or edible, might be appropriate for different situations. For effects within minutes, oil drops under the tongue may be the best choice. Topical lotions, rubbed onto the skin, will vary from person to person with some feeling it right away while others may not for several hours. CBD in food products is likely to take longer, 30 minutes or more, to be absorbed into the system before effects are noticed.

Know if the CBD medication contains THC. Full-spectrum CBD medications can have small amounts of THC with no higher level of a required 0.3 percent cutoff for CBD products made from hemp. The minimal amount of THC may be needed to enhance the therapeutic effect of CBD. Some research suggests that in some patients, CBD may work better when it’s combined with at least a little THC.

The source of hemp is important. The Agricultural Farming program performs spot tests of hemp plants while they are still in the field to check THC levels and will investigate the potential use of any illegal pesticides based on complaints.

Search for CBD product’s certificate of analysis (COA). A COA documents the tests that check for CBD and THC levels, and the presence of contaminants. If an online manufacturer or a retail store doesn’t have the information, or refuses to share it, avoid the product and the retailer.

Look for products that list CBD amount. A good starting dose is 10 mg. If a product does not include the CBD amount on its label, checking the COA, if it has one, is important to know how much CBD or THC it contains if any.

Know what other terms mean on the label. CBD products can describe themselves as including or coming from “hemp oil.” CBD oil is rich in CBD when made mainly from the leaves, resin or flowering tops of hemp plants. But understand that “hemp oil” more often, and more properly, made from the seeds of the plant contains only very small amounts of CBD. That oil is often included in hemp-based soaps, and cosmetics. CBD oil from leaves, resin, flowers of hemp plants have high concentration of CBD as in contrast to CBD oil or hemp oil from the seed which has a very low concentration of CBD.

Avoid CBD products that make sweeping health claims. Since 2015, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cracked down on dozens of companies selling CBD products online for making disallowed health claims.