Cannabidiol oil (CBD Oil) is now for sale in many places across the UK, from Holland and Barrett to Boots and almost every town has one or two independent traders who stock it as well, plus of course you can buy cannabis oil on the internet.
In the last 4 years, the use of CBD and cannabinoids has exploded and the industry is now a highly competitive market place with all the problems that come with it.
The aim of our blog, How to Buy CBD Oil Safely in the UK is to let people know what to watch out for when considering buying cannabis oils and products from any one of the above.
Every sales platform or outlet will have pluses and minuses attached to it and it can be a bit of a minefield for people looking to purchase CBD oils without falling prey to the obscene sales techniques used to shift products.
Firstly though let's look at the different products available on the market before we talk about how to buy them. It is really invaluable to each consumer that they stop and do as much research as possible and not just into what brand or seller they plan to use but also what format of Cannabis product they wish to buy.
Having this research under your belt will mean it will be harder to be swayed by marketing, gimmicks or lies that are used industry-wide to generate sales. And that will save you money.
What CBD product should I buy?
Most people will opt for the first hemp-based product to buy in the oil format, after all its called CBD oil so most people will go along with that, but CBD is also available in other formats, the most popular and easily digestible of them will be CBD pastes, CBD edibles and CBD Teas.
It will be down to you to decide what product you want to use first, depending on your own requirements. Our recommendation is to think about how you will ingest the cannabinoid product in terms of ease so, is using drops of oil under your tongue going to be what you want to do, or will sticking CBD pastes into your mouth be acceptable or would you prefer to swallow it in the form of capsules?
If not or you don't wish for your application of Cannabinoid products to be visible in public, you may wish to think about using multiple products. So the main way could be an oil at home for the morning and night usage when in private and then a CBD edible or tea for use out and about or in a work environment.
Once you have an idea of the format the product will come in, think about which brand to put your trust into, not all CBD oils and associated products are made the same and some products, despite the hype will be made at the cheapest cost with the least thought or care, this after all, is how capitalism works and it drives quality down as manufacturers and sellers try to compete in a bloodthirsty competitive industry.
Unfortunately much more is spent on marketing than the finished product and as you will see many companies are winning awards which mean nothing. The people selecting the products to win are paid to do so, nothing is natural and nothing is innocent, it is all marketing and for that reason, if you use your head and heart and spend time researching you will see it for what it is.
We work in other sectors of retailing online and I guarantee no award is innocent so it's hard to see how they would be in this industry. Unless the award is not connected to any money making or and is totally 100% Independent do you really care?
The best way in our opinion to see the brand or product for what it is and to look at CBD Oil reviews, but the reviews need to be verified, and they also need to come from cannabis consumers who have not been paid or been given an incentive to make the review, after all if the review came at a cost just like the awards can you consider them legitimate?
You will, after several boring research sessions come to shortlist of brands, read up on all of them and ask questions if you need to and check certifications and try to get a feel for the product or brand you are about to buy into, your natural intuition will play a part in this and if you are not comfortable don't buy it!
How to Buy CBD oil safely once you have chosen the product or brand
Hopefully by the time you are ready to purchase it, the question of what you're buying will have been answered but there are other points to ensure you safely buy products with no hint of fraud or deception when purchasing online or in person.
- Who is selling the CBD Oil
If the product is on Amazon or eBay, give it a wide berth as those platforms are littered with dodgy products that come and go, otherwise if buying off just a normal website or shop, scrutinize the seller or vendor, check reviews on trustpilot and ensure that the checkout is secure and compliant with industry's best practice for buying online. Just because the brand you have chosen is legitimate, it does not mean the sellers are.
In most cases you will always be protected by your card issuer if purchasing online but be careful not to use pay by bank transfer methods unless happy as that is hard to reclaim in the event of an issue.
In most situations you will be fine and all major sellers will have standard procedures in place should an issue arise but not all are good and if you find you are being lead into a high value purchase by a shop or retailer online via messages if emailing with questions, just stop and think and do the research, it may save you time effort and money at a later date.
Once I have bought my CBD Oil, what then?
Our recommendation is to try one product at a time and keep a usage diary. It's all well and good buying the product but CBD consumption is not cheap and the idea should be to try to keep costs down as much as possible.
To do this, do not buy multiple products and get all confused about what is working for you or not. Trial each product individually while noting down, dosage, times and any other notes relevant to you.
Doing this will let you look back once the item is finished.
Why do we care about you staying safe
Simply put, we care about a lot of things and this is just one aspect, but the cannabis industry is another cold-hearted and highly competitive industry and that being the case, there will always be people looking to rip you off in one form or another. As an ardent supporter of Cannabis, the right to grow your own and just not being a dick, we take a dim view of what we see unfolding across the industry. Buying CBD oil should be as easy as buying any product, and in most cases it is but as it's a new industry the shysters are still being weeded out so take care and do your due diligence and ensure you don't get burnt.