What Is Hemp Oil Used For?

Cannabis and marijuana are more popular than ever. For the past few years, the hype around these things has only been growing. They’re supposed to help with pain, anxiety, depression, nausea, and almost everything else. 

But what is it actually, scientifically useful for? And what is the difference between CBD oil, hemp oil, and plain old weed? And how do you know if any of those things will actually be helpful? There are a lot of questions, so let’s get right into the answers.

CBD Oil vs Hemp Oil vs Marijuana

CBD is famous and popular for having many of the benefits of weed without the psychoactive compounds. THC is the compound that causes marijuana to alter sensory perceptions and relax stress. 

There are a few different compounds under the classification of THC, including Delta-8, Delta-9, and Delta-10. Delta-9 is the most common compound within the plant, but they all have similar effects. Similarly, CBD just stands for cannabinoids, which means any compound found inside the cannabis plant (except THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol), so it can include a variety of chemicals as well.

Marijuana is usually just ordinary plant leaves, put through a special drying process and a few other measures. THC, such as is found in vape cartridges, is usually extracted from these leaves. CBD oil, in contrast, has other cannabinoids, with THC removed. 

Some oils are broad spectrum, which means that they have a wide variety of cannabinoid compounds. If it is full spectrum, it may include some THC as well. Federal restrictions in the United States allow any product with a THC content of less than 0.03%, so most full spectrum oil is legal in any US state. 

What about hemp oil? Well, CBD is often made from the hemp plant instead of the marijuana plant. The two are closely related and have most of the same compounds, but hemp has a much lower THC content. That helps CBD stay below the illegal THC threshold, and it also means that hemp oil is more similar to CBD than to marijuana.

However, hemp oil is still usually less processed than CBD. It’s made from crushing the seeds of a hemp plant and just taking whatever comes out. CBD is extracted from all across the plant, including leaves and stalks, using chemical solvents. Technically, this makes hemp oil more natural and organic, but it also means there’s less control over what compounds are inside. Depending on the exact strain of plant, hemp oil could rise above the 0.03% limit.

Hemp oil also contains slightly less of the cannabinoids found in CBD oil, since it has a higher concentration of the other natural oils found in the plant. This article says hemp oil has not been shown to have the same advantageous effects as CBD oil, but it’s also less well-studied.

What Effects do CBD and Hemp Oil Have?

There have been so many health claims about CBD, marijuana, and hemp, from so many sources, some of which are poorly studied, that it can be incredibly difficult to know what to think. Here are some of the claims, and whether or not they’re proven.

CBD oil is supposed to help with anxiety. Studies have shown it has a strong calming effect, and many people have indeed found it to help, but other people find they are resistant to the effects and it doesn’t work well—almost like a strain of bacteria that’s grown an immunity to antibiotics. 

It’s also supposed to help depression, but the scientific jury is still out on that claim. The calming effects seen on anxiety could make depression worse. Some studies are promising, but others are discouraging. Effects on pain are similarly strongly suggested but currently unproven.

Real marijuana is conclusively known to strongly help with nausea. It’s been used often for cancer victims when chemotherapy makes it almost impossible for them to eat. It also has strong associations with chronic pain management, again often being used by cancer patients. 

These associations are the reason medical marijuana is often legal in states where recreational use is not legal. For nausea and pain management, especially for cancer victims, it’s sometimes the only option there is. And no politician wants to say he doesn’t care about cancer patients!

How Can You Tell If You Should Use Hemp or CBD Oil?

If you’re looking across the internet, trying to find the best hemp website, you’ve probably noticed how expensive these products can be. You don’t want to use them if they’re not going to help, right? Here are reasons you might (and might not) want to use cannabis extract products.

If you have anxiety, depression, sleeping problems, or chronic pain, hemp and CBD might or might not help. They don’t work for all problems, and they don’t work for everyone. Until the science is a little more settled, there are no definite recommendations, but here’s something to consider: if you just try it once, and it doesn’t work, you haven’t lost much. If you try it, and it works, you might have gained tremendously. When you aren’t sure whether these extracts will help with your problems, all you have to do is try them and find out!However, there’s a crucial exception. The FDA (https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/what-you-should-know-about-using-cannabis-including-cbd-when-pregnant-or-breastfeeding) has announced that pregnant women should never smoke marijuana, take THC, or use CBD or hemp, as it could cause severe damage to the child. Aside from that, and a few other exceptions related to health conditions, there should be no harm in just trying products and finding out if they work or not.