Frequently Asked Questions

CBD products are typically taken orally with capsules or oil drops that are placed under the tongue or put in food. Topical application with ointments or creams can also be effective, but only where locally applied. We do not advise vaping CBD products. For more information, see the next topic “Which CBD Product Is Right for Me?”

Choose the product type according to the benefit you expect and the way you want to take it. Dosage accuracy is also a consideration. The choices are ingesting CBD, using oral spray or applying CBD topically.

Edibles

Edibles include our softgel capsules, gummies, mints, as well as tinctures that you take orally or add to other foods. When you ingest CBD, it takes longer to absorb than oral spray, but the duration of the effects is also longer. Absorption and duration vary from person to person and also whether taken with or without food, but typical times are 45 minutes to one hour to absorb and 6-12 hours duration. Ingesting edibles carries CBD throughout your body, unlike topicals that have a local effect.

GoldCap softgels offer a clinically precise dose in a medical form factor and are convenient as well as sugar free. Some people like to organize their medications or supplements in sets for a week’s or month’s supply, and GoldCaps are especially convenient for this.

Gummies and mints have more flavor and a dosage almost as precise as softgels. However, they do contain sugar and may be attractive to children.

CBD oil can be taken orally and is convenient for adding CBD to any food. As compared to simply swallowing a softgel, the dropper is a bit more difficult to use but does allow for adjustable dosage.

Oral Spray

When properly used, GoldMist oral spray takes a completely different path to enter your body than edibles. Whereas softgels and other edibles are absorbed via your digestive system, oral spray is absorbed through the mucous membranes in your mouth and directly into your bloodstream. It is processed less and differently than edibles, so the onset is faster, but the duration is also shorter. The key to faster absorption is not to swallow the oral spray. Typical onset might be approximately 15 minutes and less than six hours duration. Oral spray atomizers deliver an accurate and repeatable dose.

Topicals

If you seek local relief, consider a topical. Your body absorbs topicals at the site where they are applied, and little travels elsewhere. In general, your skin absorbs topical medicine slowly as it must travel through a significant amount of tissue before reaching the desired area. In cases where pain or inflammation are located relatively deep, such as hip pain, topicals may not be effective. If that proves true for you, try GoldCaps softgels instead.

Short Answer

• “Broad-spectrum” CBD contains CBD with 0% THC, and also various cannabinoids and terpenes that come along with CBD oil extraction.
• “Full-spectrum” CBD is similarly composed except that it contains up to the legal limit of 0.3% THC.
• “Isolate” CBD is a white crystalline powder that is much further refined from either of the above and contains no THC and no other cannabinoids, terpenes or other hemp plant compounds.

Long Answer

The Cannabidiol (CBD) molecule itself is the same in any form of extract. However, different levels of purity and other hemp plant compounds characterize certain forms of extracted CBD.

Product manufacturers do not all agree on the definitions we propose, but we adhere to the majority of generally accepted definitions.

Isolate: This is the purest form of CBD. It is crystallized from CBD oil extracted from hemp and then highly purified to a fine white crystalline powder that can be up to 99% pure. It’s the choice for you if all you want in your product is pure CBD and no other hemp compounds.

Broad-spectrum: This is an oil extracted from hemp plants that is processed and refined to remove certain undesirable compounds yet retain other compounds many consider desirable. Examples of undesirable compounds are chlorophyll and plant wax. Examples of compounds that many consider beneficial include terpenes, minor non-psychoactive cannabinoids such as CBG, CBN and potentially other ones such as flavonoids.

Full-spectrum: Consider this type of CBD oil to be similar to broad-spectrum oil with the exception that full-spectrum oil contains the legal federal limit of THC, which is 0.3%. This is an extremely small amount — less than one-third of one-hundredth THC by weight.

Variability: Whereas isolate is very uniform and predictable, the exact composition of broad and full-spectrum oils varies from batch to batch. This is mainly due to the genetic differences in the plants as well as how their oil is extracted and subsequently processed.

Many believe in a beneficial effect — called the “entourage effect” — resulting from the synergistic interaction of various cannabinoids, terpenes and other compounds. Both broad-spectrum and full-spectrum CBD offer this, and boutique formulators offer many variations of cannabinoid and terpene profiles. However, there is little clinical evidence that an entourage effect exists and, if it does, that it offers greater benefits or even which combinations are better for various conditions.

Others believe that isolate CBD is best because of its purity, dependability and repeatability. They seek only CBD and find that it is the CBD itself that best improves their condition rather than a mixture of other cannabinoids and terpenes.

The only way to know what exactly is in your CBD is to refer to a reliable Certificate of Analysis for the specific batch of CBD where that COA lists both the cannabinoid and terpene profiles.

Your body has a complex endocannabinoid system that produces its own cannabinoids and has specialized receptors for cannabinoids. Cannabinoids such as CBD and THC, produce effects in your body by attaching to these receptors.

The receptors of interest relative to THC and CBD are called CB1 and CB2 respectively. CB1 receptors are found primarily in the brain but also throughout the body. THC binds to CB1 receptors. CB1 receptors in the brain affect pain, appetite, cognition, mood, memory and other functions.

CBD appears to attach to CB2 receptors, but the actual interaction may be more complex. CB2 receptors are more common in parts of the body other than the brain. CB2 receptors affect inflammation, pain and probably a significant number of other functions. The binding of CBD to the CB2 receptors produces the affects you notice with CBD.

No. CBD is non-psychoactive. CBD will not get you “high”. THC in marijuana does get you high.

However, some people report that CBD gives them a feeling of relaxation and that it even helps them sleep better, especially with higher dosages. Others report feeling more alert on lower dosages. In any case, the feelings are subtle and vary from person to person.

The reason that CBD does not get you high as compared to THC is that these two different cannabinoids have different molecular shapes that cause them to bind to different receptors. THC acts on the CB1 receptor in your central nervous system whereas CBD acts on the CB2 receptor elsewhere in your body.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) prohibits us from making medical claims about CBD. Simply put, it is illegal to do so.

However, users report benefits and a growing body of clinical evidence supports certain benefits. In addition, the FDA has approved two drugs, Epediolex and Sativex that contain CBD. Although we cannot verify the following, CBD users report that CBD provides: a possible increase in alertness at low dosages, calming effects at higher dosages, inflammation and pain reduction, reduction in anxiety and depression, and other benefits such as reducing epilepsy symptoms. Clinical studies have also shown additional neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory benefits.

For more detail on this subject from a reliable source, refer to the article “What are the health benefits of CBD Oil?” at Drugs.com

Anxiety and insomnia reduction are some of the main reasons people use CBD. Depending on the individual, patients report CBD may reduce anxiety, may increase anxiety or have no effect. But many users report that CBD has reduced their anxiety. Fortunately, there is clinical study evidence on CBD as an anti-anxiety, anti-psychotic and anti-insomnia drug.

In a 2019 study Cannabidiol in Anxiety and Sleep: A Large Case Series, the authors concluded that 79% of subjects reported decreased anxiety, and 66% reported sleep improvement, as follows.

Results: The final sample consisted of 72 adults presenting with primary concerns of anxiety (n = 47) or poor sleep (n = 25). Anxiety scores decreased within the first month in 57 patients (79.2%) and remained decreased during the study duration. Sleep scores improved within the first month in 48 patients (66.7%) but fluctuated over time. In this chart review, CBD was well tolerated in all but 3 patients.

Another earlier report, Cannabidiol as a Potential Treatment for Anxiety Disorders, examined a wide range of existing studies and came to the following conclusion.

Overall, existing preclinical evidence strongly supports the potential of CBD as a treatment for anxiety disorders.

Your liver metabolizes CBD mainly into another compound — 7-hydroxy-CBD — that is transported around your body. CBD, especially in high doses, does put strain on your liver. Consult your doctor before taking CBD, especially if you have a liver condition.

Technical Factoid: In its natural form, CBD comes in two variations, CBD and CBDa. CBDa is not metabolized as described above. CBDa must be converted to CBD during the manufacturing process by decarboxylation before it can be metabolized by your body.

Numerous clinical studies have shown CBD to be “well tolerated” even in high dosages. It cannot cause the fatal type of overdose found with opioids. That is, CBD does not depress the central nervous system and therefore does not cause people to stop breathing. However, it is possible to take too much CBD. In studies where patients ingested very high doses, a small percentage did not tolerate them well.

The dosages recommended by TetraLabs are much lower than these high experimental dosages.

The time it takes for CBD to be effective depends on how you take it. Administering CBD orally as an edible, such as softgels, takes the longest but also lasts the longest. Oral spray is quicker but also wears off more quickly. Inhaling is the fastest and wears off most quickly. Topicals vary depending on how much tissue they must penetrate.