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.

In 2014, when we started Healthy Hemp Pet Company, we wanted to supply the quality CBD hemp products that we weren’t able to find on the market. Of course, the definition of quality varies from supplier to supplier, so here’s exactly what we mean when we say that we’re providing premium PCR hemp oil products.

Not All Hemp is Created Equal

When we set out to better the lives of pets and their people, we knew that we were not willing to compromise on getting the best quality hemp oil. The marketplace was already flooded with hemp oil products of indeterminate origin, potency, and quality. We wanted to stand apart by providing clearly labeled products that provided consistent results. So, we visited many prospective hemp oil providers and used only the best.

A Brief History of Hemp

Hemp was once a very popular crop in the United States. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams all grew hemp. It was only outlawed in 1937 by the Marijuana Tax Act. Three years ago, the passage of Section 7606 of the 2014 Agricultural Act provided a federally legal pathway to growing “industrial hemp” on American soil. Industrial hemp is classified as cannabis with a THC content of .3% or lower.

Home Field Advantage

It was important to us that our hemp partner be based in the US and practice organic farming. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with foreign sources of hemp, it’s just more difficult to ensure proper growing procedures are followed. Hemp oils we tested from Europe and China contained heavy metals, toxins, and/or mysterious chemicals. Our hemp oil partner grows, harvests, distills, tests, extracts, and studies their hemp in Colorado.

Not only does our oil provider conform fully with the 2014 Federal Farm Bill, but their proprietary strain is registered with the Colorado State Department of Agriculture. Their hemp is also USDA certified organic. Instead of using chemicals, they outsource their pest control to ladybugs. Plus, they’re a zero-waste facility! We’re so proud to partner dedicated to living gently as they improve wellness.

Distillation Nation

Even though their growing system and harvesting methods are top notch, what really gets us excited about our partner’s hemp oil is the distillation process. Our partner invented and pioneered a new extraction method called “vapor distillation.” When turning the hemp plant into a concentrate, some businesses use harsh solvents like ethanol or even butane. By contrast, our partners use heated air to gently extract the most therapeutic components of the plant (cannabinoids and terpenes.) When those components evaporate, they’re collected to make a distillate that’s truly gentle and high quality.

A Matter of Taste

Because it’s so gentle and natural, this distillation method has the added benefit of making an extra palatable product. Most extraction methods produce a product that can taste sour or bitter. The hemp oil has a neutral taste with just a little hint of nuttiness.

Proper Sourcing

Hemp isn’t just a great health product. It takes less land, water, and time to grow than cotton. It can be used to make plastics stronger than steel and more sustainable clothing. The fibers found in the stalks of true industrial hemp are the strongest plant fibers in nature. However, true industrial hemp contains very few phytocannabinoids and synergistic compounds. To save on costs, some “hemp oil hustlers” use hemp seeds or stalks to make their products. These parts of the plant do not contain the cannabinoids and terpenes present in therapeutic hemp. Our partner uses only the flowers of true therapeutic hemp, the parts of the plant with the most cannabinoids and terpenes. They also test to ensure consistent quality.

On the Spectrum

CBD isolates and zero THC strains are available on the market, but we choose not to use them in Healthy Hemp Pet products. Our consulting veterinarians agree that full spectrum oil is more therapeutic than any one isolated compound. Plus, terpenes can act as a sort of primer for the body, allowing it to make the most use of cannabinoids. So, our hemp oil products use the full spectrum of cannabinoids and terpenes working synergistically to provide true health benefits.

What’s PCR hemp oil?

While some companies use the term “CBD oil,” we use “PCR hemp oil,” which stands for phytocannabinoid-rich. This is merely a naming choice. CBD or Cannabidiol is still the main phytocannabinoid present in our oil. The market can be a bit hostile towards CBD products, and this helps us protect our company so we can continue to bring these high-quality products to pets and their owners.

The Price is Right

Honestly, we know our products are on the more expensive end of the pet hemp oil market. Particularly CannaNaturalTM, with it’s premium ingredients, like green lipped mussel, can be a bit steep. We are confident that you won’t find a product on the market with superior ingredients, customer service, and support for independent retailers. After all, we got into this business to help pets be healthier.