How to Verify if Your CBD Company is Legit

CBD is one of the hottest new products available today. With good reason, as a slew of anecdotal evidence and some scientific studies suggest that the substance can be helpful in dealing with a variety of physical and emotional challenges.

However, unfortunately, because the substance is so new, there are no shortage of bad actors in the CBD universe. There are limited CBD marketing prohibitions. Some states have better regulated the substance. The federal government and specifically the Food & Drug Administration have not yet issued the broad consumer protection regulations. These protections would help to stop consumers from being ripped off or given an inaccurately labeled product. These regulations are hopefully coming in the near future. But until then, consumers have to be cautious with what they choose to purchase and ingest.

It goes without saying that consumer should always consult with a medical professional before ingesting CBD, but there is more that an active, engage consumer can and should do. To that end, here are 4 things that all customers should do before purchasing CBD from a company.

1. Check to make sure that the company uses third party verification

An unfortunate and ugly truth about CBD is that far too many companies incorrectly label their products. This potentially put customers at risk and set up a situation where a customer can unknowingly ingest THC. Even if they believe that the product they are consuming has none.

In 2017, the University of Pennsylvania conducted a study where they examined 84 CBD products. Astonishingly, they found that nearly 70% of the products were mislabeled for a variety of ingredients, including THC. This potentially put consumers in a dangerous situation.

Unfortunately, the FDA does not currently conduct any sort of label testing in order to ensure that CBD products are labelled accurately. Fortunately, more reputable CBD company’s have filled this gap by engaging in third party verification. This means that these company’s hire outside as third-party vendors to test their products and post a Certificate of Analysis which shows the result of that test. This ensures that what a company says is in the CBD is, in fact, labeled appropriately.

For an example, click here to view the Certificate of Analysis from EZlief’s CBD Tincture.

2. Check to see where the CBD is manufactured from

This recommendation comes directly from Consumer Reports. If you are truly concerned about the quality of the CBD you purchase, it is always worth checking to see what state or even country that the CBD is produced in. For example, while the federal government in America has yet to enact any real guidelines when it comes to the growth and processing of CBD, many states have filled that gap. They established an extensive licensing and regulatory system. This ensures that the product produced is of the highest quality and standards.

In order to get this information, check out a company’s website and see where they say their hemp is grown. From there, Google the state’s name and “CBD Regulations” or “Hemp Regulations”. If a state has an extensive regulatory system, you should easily be able to find information about how the hemp was grown and CBD was processed. This should give you additional comfort. CBD grown and processed in a state with heavy consumer protections are more likely to be safe.

3. Find reviews

Every company has reviews, and CBD company’s are no exception. Furthermore, many company’s will have reviews on their websites for various products. A company is certainly likely to skew reviews on their own websites towards the more positive end. You should always take these with a grain of salt, as .

However, external review sites can provide you with a degree of comfort when making a CBD purchase. They are more likely to discuss potential hazards. Don’t look to deeply into one review, as a single person may be likely to lie about a negative experience. Or he simply have had an experience with a CBD company which is not reflective of the business in general. However, if you notice a trend – such as multiple reviewers discussing problems with the product, shipping, customer service, etc.- use extreme caution before making a purchase.

Keep in mind that these reviews should not be used to make medical decisions, as what gets one person sick or well won’t necessarily have the same impact on another person. Instead, use these reviews before determining if a business is trustworthy and worth giving your money. The best use of these reviews is to tell you if the company in question has good customer service. Or if they have ripped someone off.

As an added bonus, search for a company and add “FDA” to the search. This will tell you if the company in question has been found to have been issued any warning letters by the FDA. Thus providing you with an additional degree of comfort before you make a purchase.

4. Search for the company in Google News

This is a different sort of search, but a very relevant one. By searching for a company on Google’s News, you will be able to tell if the company has been in the news lately. For better, or for worse. For example, if a company has received any warning letters, been sued or found to have violated any local, state or federal laws, chances are good that there was a news story about it. Conversely, if the company has received any accolades on formed any new partnerships, this will likely be in the news as well. A Google News search will make it easier for you to find these types of stories. It also enable you to find older stories without too much digging. As such, it’s a quick search, but one well worth making.

There are unquestionably a variety of highly reputable CBD company’s out there. At EZLief, we’re proud of our product, it quality and accuracy. If you’re interested in purchasing the highest quality CBD at a reasonable price, check out our store today.