Does CBD Oil Contain THC?

If you think about it, CBD oil isn’t like most other supplements — it’s more holistic. 

While health-conscious customers of years past had to take one thing for sleep, another thing for pain, and another thing for immune health (vitamin C, anyone?), CBD can seemingly do it all.  

CBD oil’s ingredient list is pretty holistic, too. It contains way more than just CBD! The same couldn’t be said of many other supplements — certainly not the vitamin C we mentioned earlier.

But does CBD oil contain any THC? The short answer is it depends. For a longer answer, keep reading…

• What Is THC?
• How Much THC Is In Hemp?
• Why We Include THC In Our Products
• THC vs. Drug Testing

What Is THC?

Before getting into THC’s role within CBD oils, though, let’s take a brief look at the basics. 

And what better basic than a brief overview of THC! For those unfamiliar, THC is the highly psychoactive cannabinoid found in conventional cannabis. Ingestion of THC causes an equally powerful mental ‘high;’ some enjoy this high, some don’t. And while THC does have some health benefits, all this psychoactivity makes it all-too-easy to overlook them.

THC isn’t something to be afraid of though. Put the molecule under a microscope and you’ll find it’s nearly identical to CBD: both compounds share the same chemical formula (C21H30O2), and they have nearly identical molecular weights. 

The only difference between THC and CBD? THC contains a completed cyclic ring...and CBD contains a hydroxyl group. And that means THC can directly bind to areas of the brain that CBD just can’t. For truly optimal receptor binding (i.e., truly optimal effects), look no further than THC and CBD’s combined power. 

How Much THC Is In Hemp?

If you were to take a lab sample of perfectly mature hemp, analyze its cannabinoid content, and present said cannabinoid content in the form of a pie chart, you’d see something interesting: almost all of hemp’s cannabinoids come in the form of CBD, though there are also tons of trace cannabinoids present.  

And one of these trace cannabinoids is THC. Most strains of hemp contain between .2 and .3% THC by dry weight — just below the legal cutoff of .3%.  That’s not much, but it’s just enough to harness some compound + compound synergy. It’s just enough to help CBD bind better to its molecular targets. It’s just enough to help you feel better than isolated CBD would be able to. 

Why We Include THC In Our Products

At Five CBD we believe hemp is more than just CBD, which is why all our products are truly full spectrum. 

In other words, they contain CBD, CBN, CBG, and, yes — THC! This combo has been used for hundreds, if not thousands, of years, so we’re really just bringing it back into the spotlight. And so far the results have been nothing short of amazing. 

No wonder when you consider how beneficial each cannabinoid is, even on its own:

• CBD | Activates CB2, GPR155, and TRPV1 en route to promoting full-body balance
• CBN | Activates CB1 & CB2 en route to promoting relaxation and better sleep
• CBG | Activates CB1 & CB2 and reduces bacterial growth while improving digestion

Modern science is beginning to validate the superiority of full spectrum hemp, too. A 2015 study done in Israel (at the world’s leading cannabis lab!) showed that a full spectrum extract including THC was four times more effective than CBD isolate. Four times! This full spectrum product didn’t cause side effects in patients, either. 

THC vs. Drug Testing

Let’s go back over some main points: the THC in our products isn’t enough to make you high...it’s not enough to cause any mental effects...and it’s definitely not enough to render anything illegal. 

That leaves only one concern left: drug testing. Thankfully, .3% THC isn’t nearly enough to trigger a positive drug test — so all you employees out there can take your CBD and keep your peace of mind.  

To sum things up, yes...our CBD oils do contain THC. But it’s all by design!