Demystifying 5 CBD Myths to Help Bring Friends and Families to Bluebird

With the holidays rolling around again, many of us will be spending a great deal of time with our families.  If you are one of our lovely Bluebird customers, you may be thinking of recommending our products to someone in your flock who could benefit from them. This can be a difficult conversation - check out our guide to having a productive cannabis-related conversation around the holiday table. 

However, even if you can get the family talking about cannabis, there is a vast ocean of misinformation ready to drown those looking to sail the CBD sea for the first time. But fear not, weary sailor! Let Bluebird throw you a life preserver with five CBD myths debunked, so you can be prepared when your relative calls hemp the “Devil’s Lettuce.”

Myth #1: Hemp and marijuana are the same thing.

First and foremost, hemp and marijuana are not the same thing, at least legally speaking. But it’s easy to see where the confusion can come in because both hemp and marijuana refer to cannabis plants. Hemp is defined as varieties of cannabis with levels of THC under 0.3%, and marijuana refers to varieties of cannabis that are over 0.3% THC. 

While hemp and marijuana may not be the proper taxonomic terminology, the differences do not stop with legality. For example, hemp is grown for a variety of purposes. These can include CBD products, but also fiber, clothing, paper and other uses. Marijuana, on the other hand, is generally cultivated for recreational or medicinal use, due to the higher percentages of the psychoactive compound, THC. 

For those interested in hemp or marijuana products, please check out Bluebirds’ user’s guide. If you would like to learn more about CBD, THC and their differences, check this out.

Myth #2: CBD is illegal to possess or use.

Fortunately for everyone in the U.S., CBD products are indeed legalin almost all 50 states (excluding South Dakota). The passing of the 2018 Farm Bill removed hemp from the Controlled Substances Act and made it legal to domestically grow and sell hemp in the United States. This means that all hemp-derived CBD products are legal to possess, provided that their THC levels are under the federal limit of 0.3%. Bluebird Botanicals’ full-spectrum CBD oil is derived from hemp, which is why we can send our products to all 50 states (with few exceptions). 

There have been a few law-enforcement departments from state to state that did try to arrest people for possession of legal CBD products, but they were quickly discouraged. 

However, this doesn’t mean that all CBD is legal to own. Possession or distribution of CBD products derived from marijuana, or CBD-dominant strains of marijuana, are still not federally legal if their THC levels are above 0.3%. 

If you are curious about hemp legislation in your state, please visit the website of the U.S. Hemp Roundtable. This organization, with Bluebird CEO and founder Brandon Beatty as the Executive VP, works to advocate for hemp in the U.S. through advising lawmakers and the public, and also assisted in the creation of the 2018 farm bill hemp language. 

Myth #3: If my CBD oil tastes bad, the product is bad.

Let’s say you find an open-minded family member who will look past the stigma of hemp products and they want to try some of our full-spectrum CBD oil. That’s great! However, they may be taken aback when they try a serving our our Hemp Classic CBD Oil and the taste is more...earthy than expected.

One may be concerned that the unpleasant taste means the product has gone bad or rancid. Fortunately, this is not the case. Bluebird prides itself on having a natural product free of artificial ingredients, flavors, or sweeteners which does result in our full spectrum oils having a strong, but 100% natural, taste. Our oils have a shelf-life of 1½ to 2 years, but if you do have a legitimate concern about the quality of a product please always feel free to contact our Customer Care Team at info@bluebirdbotanicals.com. 

Myth #4: Ethanol Extraction is Dangerous and CO2 Extraction is Much Better

There are many effective extraction methods when producing a full-spectrum hemp extract, and ethanol extraction is one of them.

Some people have expressed concern with this method of extraction, as there is a concern that some ethanol may be leftover in the process. However, if done safely and correctly, the ethanol will all be burned off in the production of a full-spectrum extract. We use a combination of ethanol and CO2 extraction to create our full-spectrum extracts, ensuring that we have the highest-quality product possible.

If you want to verify the safety of this for yourself, you can check out our third party lab results for all of our products, where you can see no detectable levels of ethanol in our blends. 

CBD Myth #5: CBD products lack quality control due to a lack of regulation.

In the wake of the 2018 farm bill, the CBD boom is bigger than ever, meaning legislators, businesses and the public all have to keep up to date with a rapidly growing industry. As with many fast-growing industries, there are those who want to jump on the bandwagon, and sometimes not with the best of intentions. As CBD products are considered to be a dietary supplement by the FDA, there aren’t as many regulatory guidelines for quality control compared with other industries. Due to this, many CBD companies have put out products without a solid quality control system, often selling customers unverified products with unbacked claims, set at unfair prices capitalizing on a lack of public knowledge. 

While this is a problem, Bluebird Botanicals stands among other industry leaders by having a rigorous quality control system with third party lab tests for all of our products. If you happen to be one of our savvy customers, here is a guide to navigating these tests so you can verifyfor yourself the safety and transparency of a product. 

Hopefully, the truth to these myths can help you recommend Bluebird to someone you care about, or at least help you talk to Aunt Linda when she asks you about your “marijuana oil you take every day.” The holidays can be stressful, but this article (and a little Bluebird love) can help out this season.