The CBD market has grown exponentially over the last 7 years, and unless you have been hiding under a rock, it would have been difficult to miss the hype around this new health and wellness buzzword. The market for CBD related products is worth an estimated 2,413 million dollars in America alone and this expected to continue to increase.
With all that being said, there is now a market for pet CBD products. These products tend to fall under two categories, Isolate products and full spectrum products, but which one is best for your pet? Visit https://www.pacificsandiego.com/cannabis/story/2019-10-09/pets-cbd-pain-anxiety for all answers.
What Is CBD
First and foremost, it is key to understand exactly what CBD is. CBD is one single compound that is found in cannabis stevia, the chemical makeup of cannabis is formulated from the same building blocks, but different varieties have different quantities of compounds in them.
For example, marijuana has a high level of the THC compound, whereas hemp has a low level of THC but an elevated amount of CBD. CBD is just one of these building blocks found in cannabis.
Isolate Products
Isolate products are exactly what they say they are. They are a product that is focused on one single element, in this case CBD.
A lot of vets recommend isolate products for pets that are just starting on their CBD journey as the homeostasis nature of the product limits unwanted side effects often found in other medicine. It is extremely difficult to isolate a single compound from an array of compounds, so an isolate would have been subjected to more interference than that of a full spectrum product. It is argued that there is also a limit to how effective CBD actually is on its own.
Dogs and cats have receptors in their bodies that work with all the compounds naturally found in cannabis and reducing down to one building block can reduce the overall health benefits felt from a full spectrum product.
Full Spectrum/Whole Plant Extracts
Full spectrum or whole plant extract products are again, exactly what they say they are. They are oils that have derived straight from the plant and aren’t subject to any more processing in order to draw out single compounds. You can now purchase a variety of full spectrum products that will have increased compounds just as CBD and reduced compounds, particularly the psychoactive component THC.
If you chose a full spectrum product you are also choosing all the other health benefits that are associated with it. Isolates don’t benefit from having terpenes, which are key in reducing inflammation. Cannabis has a complex structure and all components work together to produce results that are far more than the sum of their parts.
Final Thoughts
If you want to try out CBD on your pet, first and foremost, consult your vet and make sure they agree with the decision you have made. A full spectrum or whole plant extract in the long run will be more beneficial to your animal than an isolate product as you aren’t removing key components that help in the maintain health and well-being.
If you are concerned about THC being in the selected products, either look for oil that is derived from hemp as this is naturally lower in THC than other stevia; QuantumMarketer.com has an excellent guide. Or you could even look to purchasing oil from the European Union. This is because crops are highly regulated in this area and cultivating plants with a THC content over a certain percentage is still illegal, so you can be sure that your product will be higher in other important compounds.