3 Ways To Extract CBD From The Hemp Plant

Your essential guide on how to extract CBD. Whether you want to use CBD for medical or recreational purposes, extracting CBD yourself can be a rewarding, albeit challenging, process.

Learning how to extract CBD can be a tricky sea to navigate. However, extracting CBD from the hemp plant doesn’t have to be too complicated. You just need to arm yourself with the correct information, like a guide such as this. Additionally, it helps if you have a solid understanding of what CBD is, what the hemp plant is and just how the CBD compound can interact with both the hemp plant as well as your body.

Before we begin, let us first understand what CBD is.

What Is CBD?
Cannabidiol (CBD) is a main component of the hemp plant. It is a non-psychoactive chemical which plays a major part in the trichomes. While scientific results are still inconclusive, studies do show that the cannabinoids within the cannabis plant could have potential health benefits. CBD is found across the cannabis plant spectrum however it is most prevalent within the hemp plant. Our own bodies have an endocannabinoid system. Despite what many believe, CBD does not directly interact with the CB1 and CB2 receptors. CBD works within the body by inhibiting the particular enzymes that break down endocannabinoids. If this sounds a bit complicated for you, then the simple thing you need to know is that CBD encourages your body to release its own cannabinoids. In even simpler terms, CBD assists your body’s endocannabinoid system to maintain balance and health.

Now that we understand what CBD is, let’s see what hemp is.

The Hemp Plant: what is it and how is it different from marijuana or cannabis?

• Hemp: This one falls strictly under the Cannabis Sativa strain. Industrial hemp is harvested across the country and has less than 0.3 % THC content and is cultivated for its particularly high CBD content.
• Marijuana: can be Cannabis Sativa, Cannabis Indica or even Cannabis Ruderalis. Both medical and recreational weed can be termed ‘marijuana’. Although not exclusively so, marijuana can contain high levels of THC while hemp contains very little.
• Cannabis: This is the plant, and term, that covers both marijuana and hemp plant species.

What Is The Typical CBD Content Found In Hemp?
This will depend largely on the strain of hemp and is almost impossible to give a generalized number. Some industrial hemp is cultivated for their stalks and seeds, and have a very low CBD content. At the end of the day, always do your research on your hemp. Knowing where your plant comes from, and the basic genetics, can help you to determine just how heavy a CBD punch your hemp is packing.
Now that we have the basic facts covered, let’s dive into the extraction process.
The Three Main Ways To Extract CBD
There are three main ways that CBD is extracted, from the Hemp plant or any other marijuana plant. For this article, we will stick to the hemp plant.

1. CO2 Extraction
Officially known as the subcritical extraction method, this is a process that you should process with both caution and expertise. In order to extract the CBD from the hemp plant, CO2 reaches a dangerously high pressure. This high pressure is combined with a very low temperature to pinpoint the CBD compound particles. These are then contained and conserved, which adds to a pure finished CBD product. While this method could potentially yield a pure product, it is an expensive extraction method and its success is not guaranteed without a few initial failed attempts. However, with experience and perseverance, this can be a successful endeavor.

2.Ethanol
Ethanol extraction is characterized under the Liquid Solvents extraction method. Liquid solvents can range from butane, hexane, isopropyl alcohol to ethanol.
Plant matter is placed in a container and the chosen liquid solvent is used to separate the cannabinoids. The cannabinoids are then transferred into a liquid before the liquid itself is heated until it evaporates and the cannabinoids, now in a heightened concentration, are left. This remaining concentration in an oil.

These are the benefits for the Liquid Solvent Method:
• Inexpensive
• Simple
• Not much-complicated equipment is needed

However, before you boycott your CBD online store check out the following potential downfalls to this method as well:
• It has been found that some solvents could remain in the finished product. These impurities mean that your CBD could potentially be less pure than desired. However, this depends largely on your type of solvent and can be avoided.
• Once you find your ideal solvent, you could be left with one that causes your final product to have a bitter taste. This is mainly due to the fact that the chlorophyll is often removed during the process.
The positives so far outweigh the negatives for this method, especially since you can simply adjust your solvent use until you find the best one that leaves you with the purest final product.
Also, the cost of the other methods could leave you with an even stronger bitter taste in your mouth.

3. Oil Extraction
This is the tried and tested method for many home extractors and research dates this practice back thousands of years. This is by far the simplest method and is incredibly easy for an inexperienced home brewer to attempt.

The initial step is to decarboxylate the hemp plant material. Although the word sounds complicated, it is a fairly simple process. The plant material needs to be heated at a certain temperature for a certain length of time before it is added to your chosen oil (olive oil is a favorite) and then reheated at 100C for approximately 180 minutes. This process is what releases the cannabinoids.

Before we move on let’s look at the following guide for the initial heating of the hemp plant material:
• Oven: 40-60 minutes, 250-300F
• Microwave: 1.5-3 minutes, High Setting
Once the step is finished, add the hemp is added to the olive oil as described above.
It is important to remember that CBD infused olive oil perished rapidly so it is best to keep the infusion in a cool, dark place in order to prolong the lifespan.

Conclusion
If you are happy with using an infused oil then use the simple oil extraction method. However, you need to keep a close eye throughout the entire process or you could risk burning the material. Allow the temperature to rise steadily and that it is maintained without rising above the recommendations.

Buy CBD Oil Online
CBD hemp oil is a marijuana extract with an abundance of health benefits, including stress relief, inhibition of psychosis, pain relief, fighting inflammation, anxiety relief, and stopping metastasis, or the spreading of cancerous cells. Science proves CBD safe and without any side effects. It is fully capable of relieving all stress and anxiety, and most effectively too.

Author Bio: Camilla Morgan is a blogger by profession with 5 years of experience. She is associated with CBD Safe and selling pure Cannabidiol & Best CBD oil products in the USA. She is an admirer of sharing his innovative ideas with others on the Wellness for Mind and Body.