What is the difference between Full Spectrum, Broad Spectrum and Isolate CBD products?

As we less than comfortable consumers flock to CBD products and toss our meds, we are challenged to learn about science, plant compounds such as cannabinoids and terpenes, and their effect on our body’s endo-cannabinoid system’s C1 and C2 receptors.

The difference between full spectrum, broad spectrum and isolate CBD products are basically different levels of lab purification that include all (full) or only a few (broad) of the original plant compounds.  99% CBD in the case of isolate products and broad in the case of water soluble CBD products.

Also worth noting, Hemp is just a male cannabis plant. The CBD is the same, assuming the plant has healthy genetics. The fully flowered female cannabis plant really cranks up the more obscure cannabinoids found in various high THC strains, so don’t be afraid of consulting a medical dispensary or recreational marijuana store.

Today, Doctors are increasingly prescribing medical cannabis for appetite, pain and other conditions. Just search online for medical cannabis card [your city].  This is the go to for Seattle: https://greenwellness.org/

As the shiny little THC rich trichomes age or have sun exposure, they turn an amber color, a new compound called CBN, the extra sleepy cannabinoid. 

Here is an infographic to help show how our bodies react to cannabis or hemp compounds…

All products on Bhango.com are either under .3% THC or zero THC.  Full spectrum products will never have zero THC. So the difference between Full Spectrum, Broad Spectrum and Isolate CBD products are slight, but can very significantly.

Bhango products derive from USA grown hemp extract. Our partner brands and processors then purify raw extract to various degrees of clarity and viscosity, removing plant material and wax to produce either full spectrum oil, including all of the original plant compounds, or broad spectrum oil, highly concentrated distillate, which is (and should) have the original plant terpenes and oils re-introduced, resulting in a “broad spectrum” of cannabinoids, terpenes and flavinoids.

When buying CBD products, it’s important to understand the meaning behind those terms you might see on the package.

Existing in the midst of a hazy unregulated market, CBD consumers need a clear explanation of key terms that CBD products often put forth to differentiate themselves. One of the areas where we are regularly seeing tons of confusion is around the terms “full spectrum,” “broad spectrum”, and “isolate.” Here is our quick guide to understanding what these terms mean.

Due to the fact that there are not currently CBD regulations overseen by the FDA, we can offer insight as to what these terms should mean — but keep in mind: Seeing this terminology does not confirm that the product in your hand was correctly labeled.

Full Spectrum

Also referred to as “full plant” or “whole plant”, full spectrum is a specific type of extract where the entire plant is used for extraction. That means that everything, including the leaf, stalk, and seeds, are processed to make the full spectrum oil. The final product includes all naturally present cannabinoids, terpenes, flavonoids, and fatty acids. Varying extraction methods determine the outcome of the final product, both visually and through its molecular content. Full spectrum hemp extracts are celebrated for the entourage effect they can deliver. The entourage effect is the idea that the hundreds of compounds in the cannabis plant work synergistically together to provide a wider range of medicinal benefits.

Full-spectrum CBD typically comes from hemp plants. That’s because federal law considers hemp (defined as cannabis with less than 0.3 percent THC) legal, but criminalizes the cannabis plant with more than 0.3 percent THC. If you’re in a state with legal adult-use cannabis, you should be able to find cannabis-derived full-spectrum CBD products with more than 0.3 percent THC in a dispensary. But if you’re buying CBD products online or outside of a licensed cannabis dispensary, that’s almost certainly going to be hemp-derived full-spectrum CBD. In full-spectrum CBD from hemp, a legal, trace amount of THC is present (less than .3 percent).

Often, full-spectrum CBD from high-THC cannabis will be referred to as full-spectrum cannabis oil. Used within the medicinal and recreational cannabis market, these products contain high levels of THC and are going to be more expensive than full-spectrum CBD oil from hemp.

Broad Spectrum

Entirely lacking THC, broad-spectrum extracts are produced in one of two ways: (1) THC is removed from the full spectrum extract, or (2) CBD isolate is combined with other isolated cannabinoids, terpenes and flavonoids,in an attempt to mimic the full spectrum effect without THC.

To better understand the product, it’s fair to ask the product company which of the previously mentioned methods they used to create the broad-spectrum formula in question. If the company says they combined together different isolates (Option 2) to make the product, look into lab results to determine which isolated compounds were used to help decide if this is the best product for you.

CBD Isolate

As the name suggests, CBD isolate products are made with an isolated CBD molecule. These products contain just the singular CBD molecule. There are not any other cannabinoids, terpenes, flavonoids, or fatty acids naturally present in the product unless they were added separately.

Without the ability to offer an entourage effect, it’s often assumed that CBD isolate lacks the efficiency that full-spectrum products provide. Though there may not be naturally synergistic effects occurring in CBD isolate, products containing this isolated molecule still have the potential to offer therapeutic benefits.

CBD isolate has a wide variety of application possibilities. Particularly, CBD isolate is beneficial to balance dosage when consuming cannabis extract or cannabis products high in THC content.

Drug Tests

Broad spectrum and Isolate products give you most of the same benefits as Full Spectrum without having to worry about the THC getting you in legal trouble (if you’re in a recovery program) or losing your job, if you’re lucky enough to work for a company who tests for THC.

So should I buy Broad Spectrum CBD, Full Spectrum CBD or Isolate CBD?

You don’t have to go broad-spectrum and you don’t have to go full spectrum. Many people get benefits from using just CBD isolate products made with CBD Isolate or CBD isolate just by itself.

To experience the “Entourage Effect, which I’ll cover in it’s own article, Broad Spectrum and especially Full Spectrum CBD comes with more of the original plants cannabinoids and terpenes. 

From my experience, taking a combination of a full spectrum CBD product such as our 600mg CBD Goldleaf Spektrum Tincture along with adding an extra CBD boost with our very potent Bulk Buy CBD Tincture or Water Soluble CBD Drops.  Taking 60-300mg of CBD daily, depending on your condition.  Once I found myself feeling balanced, lower back pain and a much higher tolerance to stress and anxiety I’ve been able to maintain a balance with a minimum of 25mg CBD 3 times a day.

Hope that adds some clarity to your CBD knowledge. We are always available from the messenger chat at the bottom right of Bhango.com or by email: hello@bhango.com