I’ve been trying out and/or contacting the CBD companies that make beauty products. When I call and ask what they mean by “cannabidiol” in their ingredients, I’ve been getting different answers, or lack thereof. How they explain isolate and full-spectrum, is worded differently then how I’ve read about it on this site. Sometimes they are just using hemp oil, that you can buy from the health food store.
If anyone cares to explain the differences between isolate and full-spectrum (including European CBD), I would appreciate it!
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Isolate is an isolated compound, 99+% like pure CBD in this example.
Full spectrum should be something like crude that has been winterized and carbon scrubbed.
Broad spectrum should be something like distillate that has been mixed back with its’ terpenes.
All of this obviously is my opinion, I have always been a strong advocate of nomenclature, not sure exactly how far off we are from that.
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As I understand it and slang it is,
Isolate = isolated CBD typically sold in the 96% -99% cannabidiol range, isolated via crystallization.
Full spectrum = is usually a distillate/crude infused product, has a full spectrum of active compounds, ie cannabinoids terpenes alkaloids etc INCLUDING THC
Broad spectrum = is full spectrum MINUS THE THC
curious to see what other forum members think of this and consider these
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Summer, call my Mom about this- she will download this kind of stuff into your brain matrix style.
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@Rowan Really? I would really like that, that’s very kind of you 
let me know when a good time is (:
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If you’re looking on amazon, they typically refer to it as “hemp extract” since amazon has a ban on “cbd”. Problem is a ton (not all) of distributors on amazon are just loading it with hemp SEED oil and calling it hemp extract to make it seem as though there’s cbd in it. They still sell it around the same price too, talk about a margin lol
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I agree with @ExTek90’s definitions, though I do believe that poorly done isolate can come in below 99% purity, and full spectrum does not need to be winterized or carbon scrubbed. RSO requires neither, and it has been my experience in working with patients that the less refined (and more full of a spectrum present), the greater the therapeutic relief.
I, respectfully, disagree with @RockSteady’s definitions.
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Thats cool, maybe I am wrong in my definitions, just the way I learned them, I appreciate your point of view.
Curious as to what the general consensus is on this, perhaps I am wrong.
We totaly need a extractors glossary on the wiki
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Someone else may hop on in 5 minutes and say we are all wrong. I think that part of the issue is that there got to be a lot of people without the proper nomenclature (or someone to teach them because they had to teach themselves) so words that could be explained away or justified in improper use were used when explaining things to others. People learned from them, and now they use words the same way. I use the words that I learned. A lot of people in the industry didn’t have someone to teach them the meanings of some words. I too regularly find myself guilty of this, despite the best efforts of my amazingly knowledgeable mentors. I blame this on hearing terms so commonly misused in the industry to represent what they are peddling.
Distillate, imo, also deserves a separate classification. It is not isolate, as other compounds are present, but it is certainly much closer to being isolate as it is full spectrum (unrefined to moderately well refined resin, aka crude). Distillate has been stripped of most compounds, and even when mixed with terpenes, it is still greatly lacking that which it had in its less refined beginnings. This is where the term “broad spectrum” comes into play.
We’ll all get better at this now that we can openly talk about it. Thank you @RockSteady for your openness to other possibilities. It is sincerely appreciated, especially when there has been a bit of hostility on the forum as of late. It is a welcome reprieve.
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I was under the impression that a more accurate phrase for RSO (Rick Simpson Oil) is actually FECO (Full Extract Cannabis Oil) because it retains literally everything that was stripped from the plant, in a rather harsh manner. Naptha or warm ethanol, shaken vigorously, for a good bit of time.
I personally don’t know the effects of consuming what could be perceived as rather large quantities of plant waxes, or all that organic carbon is. I’m inclined to think it wouldn’t be much in the way of medicinal, I could totally be wrong though. Maybe the carbon grabs terrible things from the digestive tract, maybe the wax helps move it along.
I’ll hold off on that bit until some research comes in, personally.
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I wouldn’t worry about it too much so long as you’re not actually huffing it.
We’ve been consuming plants since we figured out they didn’t run away like some of those other yummy carbon based edibles 
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Absolutely, but, if it’s totally benign anyway, why eat it?
Something tells me the less work your body has to do to get at the medicine, the more effective it is.
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Why not call it “full spectrum cannabis oil”? When people call it FECO, more often than not it sounds like they are saying “fecal”, and I absolutely hate it! Makes is sound like you’re talking about poop instead of medicine! Why does everything need a damn acronym?! Haha.
Also, if the less work for access, the more effective the medice is true, why do big pharma’s isolates have such poor therapeutic effects? If it takes 3,000-15,000mg of CBD a day for moderate results with big pharma, why have I seen a majority of patients find true therapeutic relief at 10mg of full spectrum CBD daily? @cyclopath, care to school us on some biology?
Edit: punctuation
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I had a very skilled analytical chemist tell me that his triple-quad (Mass spec) was detecting things in my old school RSO that were sort after for their medicinal effects in Chinese herbal remedies.
He was actually doing “label claim” (does it have what the label says it does?) work for a company selling said remedies, and was surprised to see higher levels in my RSO than in whatever herb he usually saw it.
Of course I never caught the name of the critter he thought he saw, and haven’t heard another peep on the subject.
For me that’s just enough wiggle room to leave the possibility that FECO might be more effective on the table
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Lol agreed
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Now, say you were explaining this to a female who is kind of ditzy. How would you explain this to her?
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Isolate is just CBD. Full spectrum is all the plant stuff. Broad spectrum is most of the plant stuff.
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Because it sounds better, and is technically accurate, you could say all of the active plant stuff.
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Active, as is in psychoactive? You’re not suppose to tease the girl with information, just dumb it down a little. Just kidding of course
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