Few people have heard of the wellness benefits of hemp oil. Even fewer understand what’s involved in turning a hemp plant into hemp oil. And here at Healthy Hemp Pet, good hemp oil is the basis for every pet formula we sell. So, let’s really dig in to what makes a high quality hemp oil!

Country of Origin

We don’t mean to say that there aren’t good hemp oils coming from foreign sources. But there are definitely bad ones. In our research, we tested hemp oils from Europe and China and found heavy metals, toxins, and/or mysterious chemicals. For us, the first step in choosing a quality hemp oil is to make sure it’s grown locally. We use a grower located right in Colorado.

Organic vs Conventionally Grown

This is more of a personal choice, but we think that less intervention is better. Our partner’s hemp greenhouse is USDA certified organic. They use only ladybugs for pest control and practice biodynamic farming techniques. Plus, they’re a zero waste facility! We love supporting a company dedicated to living gently and improving wellness.

Industrial vs Therapeutic Hemp

Hemp isn’t just grown for its therapeutic properties. It’s a super plant that grows some of the strongest fibers found in nature. Those fibers can be used to make plastics stronger than steel! But that kind of hemp is grown to be strong, not therapeutic. One of the quickest ways to make a cheap hemp oil is to use the leftovers of hemp grown for industrial purposes. The plants grown for their fibers don’t have high levels of cannabinoids and terpenes. Those are the compounds that produce wellness benefits. You need hemp plants selectively grown just for consumption. Ironically, those cheap products end up costing more in the end. Users have to take much higher doses to see the same effects.

Flowers vs Seeds/Stalks/Leaves

Hemp stalks and seeds do have excellent health properties and applications. However, they don’t have the concentrations of terpenes and cannabinoids to make the cut for our oil. Our high quality hemp oil uses only the leaves and flowers of the plant. Those are the parts with the highest concentrations of cannabinoids and terpenes.

Distillation Process & Solvents

Our partner uses a trademarked, breakthrough technique that uses only heated air to gently extract cannabinoids and terpenes using evaporation. Vapors are collected, condensed, and distilled to make a product with higher levels of natural terpenes and improved taste. Some hemp oils use ethanol or butane to distill their final product, which can effect taste.

CBD Isolates vs Full-Spectrum PCR Hemp Oil

There are a lot of thoughts on the discussion between CBD isolates and full-spectrum PCR hemp oils. Isolates do provide the highest levels of the molecule cannabidiol. However, terpenes are sort of like the hunger you feel before a meal. Hunger won’t change the meal, but your experience of it may be very different. Terpenes are organic compounds most popularized by essential oils. They have subtle effects on the body. Overall, we know they enhance the function of cannabidiol. We find that high concentrations of cannabidiol aren’t as important as the wellness-enhancing effects of full-spectrum hemp oil.

Testing for Consistency

How do we know that our high quality hemp oil has higher levels of terpenes and cannabinoids? You can feel the effects, but we also test for them. Our partner tests their products in-house.  Those results are then verified by independent labs. These analyses help us verify that our products deliver the same benefits, every time, no matter the batch. So, you’ll never have to adjust the size of the serving because you bought a new bottle or changed flavors.

We hope this helps you understand our requirements for the hemp oil in Healthy Hemp Pet products!

“Will it get my dog high?”

This is our favorite question as a pet hemp product supplier. We get commentary about “pot for pets” “canine cannabis” and, our favorite, “doggie doobies.” We get it. Hemp is often associated with marijuana. It’s natural to assume hemp does all of the things marijuana does.

We’re even informed by our retailers that occasionally customers will take Healthy Hemp Pet products themselves, hoping to use it to get high. (Eugh, let’s hope it’s the coconut flavor and not the salmon oil!) So, let’s do the downlow about what gets an animal high.

Hemp & Marijuana Are Similar

Hemp and marijuana are two varieties of the Cannabis plant. Think about them like cousins that share the same last name. They’re similar, but spend any time around them, and the differences will be obvious.

Both plants contain a number of phytocannabinoids, chemicals that work on the body. The two main ones are CBD, or cannabidinol and THC, or Tetrahydracannabinol. (We promise that’s the longest word we’ll use in this post.)

Both marijuana and hemp contain CBD. So, whether you are high (on marijuana) or not (on hemp) you will feel relaxed. That relaxed feeling is brought on by the CBD.

THC Content of Hemp & Marijuana

However, marijuana also has 5%-30% THC. THC is almost totally responsible for the hallucinations, psychoactive effects, and sedated feelings we may recognize as being “high.” It’s the chemical that is tested for during a drug screening. THC is also what makes a user, we’ll say it, act kind of stupid. And it can absolutely be fatal to pets in the wrong doses.

Industrial hemp has less than .3% THC. That’s an industry and a legal standard. Anything over that amount is considered marijuana and is illegal to consume or grow, except in states which have legalized recreational or medical marijuana use.

Healthy Hemp Pet Products

So, the products you buy from Healthy Hemp Pet are made using hemp oil, not marijuana. The products contain phytocannabinoids like CBD, but almost no THC, the primary chemical in marijuana. That’s why our products are called PCR hemp oil products. They are Phyto-Cannabinoid Rich. But those cannabinoids aren’t the ones associated with being high.

Our experience with PCR hemp oil products is that they tend to help support healthy joints, reduce stress, and maintain a normal inflammatory response.  As long as you adhere to dosing guidelines and veterinary advice, the worst thing that will happen is Daisy may get a bit more tired than usual, because she is so relaxed. (Lower her dose a little until you achieve desired results.) But we promise, she won’t be hearing colors or seeing sounds.

Like history? Check out how hemp and marijuana were conflated in the first place.