What is Industrial Hemp?

In a world of CBD, it can seem like there are many confusing and different terms out there and with the vast amount of information being introduced constantly, it’s easy to confuse one term with the next.

With CBD being a relatively new field, misconceptions are common. But, for this blog, lets strip it right back and focus on hemp itself. Industrial hemp is an extremely versatile and amazing plant, with literally thousands of uses.

From birth, we naturally produce endocannabinoids-a compound similar to CBD. People are shocked to find out it’s already in our body.

The cannabis plant is a unique plant that has been recognized for so many years-even the 1600’s. The many cannabinoids you find within the plant, can affect receptors in the human brain and the balancing effects of CBD combined with the nutritional content of hemp oil will help ensure your body is given what it needs for peak performance each day.

Industrial hemp while closely related to cannabis sativa subsp. indica (recreational cannabis), is a very different crop and grown in a very different way.

For all our products here at CBD Life UK, we use industrial hemp. In recent years, there has been a debate suggesting that CBD from industrial hemp has the same properties as CBD derived from cannabis.

Only products made from industrial hemp (less than 0.2% THC) are legal to sell, buy, consume, and ship. This single factor (0.2%) is how most people distinguish between what is classified as “hemp” and what is classified as “cannabis.”

When it comes to cannabis, it comes down to the amount of THC that is produced by that specific strain. THC being the photoactive part of the plant or the bit that ‘gets you stoned’. Cannabis is high in THC whereas hemp, produces an extremely low THC content.

Hemp can be defined as products of cannabis that contains less than 0.2% THC. Hemp can do a lot, but it can’t get you stoned! Industrial hemp generally has less than 0.2% THC whereas cannabis has between 5-20% THC.

Quite often, when people come to us to buy CBD oil and they read ‘hemp oil’ on the bottle they immediately think it is not the stuff they want. Incorrect! Our CBD oil says hemp on the bottle as it’s made from hemp-simple as that, but it is still CBD.

A lot of the time people call CBD oil “hemp oil”. This is accurate because both oils come from hemp. If you are buying CBD oil or hemp oil you are good to go! We chose to use the term ‘hemp oil’ on our products as it carries the least stigma- something that hopefully, as time goes on, will diminish anyway.

Another distinctive feature of industrial hemp is that hemp farmers ideally want their plants to grow tall-the taller, the better whereas for recreational cannabis plants this is not the case. The reason for this is the fact that with industrial hemp, there is value in the stalk, not just the leaves.

Industrial hemp generally has less than 1% of THC where marijuana produces between 5 – 20 % THC

Another very valuable component of industrial hemp is the seed, which is technically a nut.

The uses for industrial hemp are endless. I

Industrial hemp could transform economies in a positive and beneficial way, and therefore some people believe that should be exploited to its full potential.

If you would like to read some more amazing hemp facts, click here to check out our big blog of hemp facts.