Hemp & Cannabis: Are they the same thing?
At BeLeaf, we've always talked about our products as hemp-derived CBD. But as lines blur with more states legalizing cannabis, which can also produce CBD and the growth of the gray market for hemp-derived THC, it might have become confusing what it means to buy our products over another. Truthfully, hemp, cannabis, and marijuana are the same plant, Cannabis Sativa. What separates them is how they are grown and used.
When we say hemp, we mean a Cannabis Sativa cultivar grown tall, with long stems and little to no flowers. Project CBD puts it like this: "The main difference between hemp plants and cannabis plants is resin content. Industrial hemp plants are low-resin plants. Medicinal plants are high-resin plants. "Marijuana" (spelled with a 'j' or 'h') is the colloquial name for the flower tops of high resin cannabis." 1
These low-resin plants are called industrial or agricultural hemp and are machine-harvested for fiber, paper, oil, and more. They are grown from pedigree seeds to ensure they produce tall and skimpy plants that don't produce high levels of intoxicating THC.
When we're talking about Cannabis or Marijuana, the plants are typically grown from clones. Then, the high-THC flowers are hand-harvested and cured to be consumed for their intoxicating and medicinal effects.
At BeLeaf, we work with federally legal industrial hemp plants and harvest them under those regulations, with less than 0.3% THC dry weight. We keep our CBD products in line with that low THC content. For our full-spectrum products, we use the whole plant and everything nature provides to give you the best product available, which not only includes CBD but also all the cannabinoids and terpenes available. We then have each batch of hemp-derived CBD oil tested in a lab to ensure it is safe and effective.
Products on the shelf right now that are claiming high levels of THC while still being hemp-derived are highly processed to extract those compounds, are grown in dubious ways, and likely won't provide any trustworthy test results. We would suggest avoiding these products and companies.
Suppose you can only sometimes buy BeLeaf or see another product you want to try. Hopefully, this provides a guide to help you understand the growing and ever-changing market of products flooding shelves in dispensaries, health stores, and even your corner convenience store.
