What is Hemp Oil?
With cannabis oil making headlines, many people are trying to get in on the profit margins. Some entrepreneurs are even attempting to sell hemp oil as a medicine, but hemp is much different than its cousin, marijuana. Although at one time both were banned from being grown in the United States, industrial hemp is making a comeback thanks to legislation that passed in 2014 which eased the restrictions on the cultivation of hemp.
Find out other differences between hemp and cannabis oil below...
How the Plants are Grown
The cannabis plant is leafy and requires warm, humid environments for growth. Typically, they are grown indoors because the buds are very delicate and cannabis cultivation is still illegal in many states. Full grown plants reach around five feet tall, and they grow out rather than up which means they need a lot of space.
On the other hand, the hemp plant resembles the bamboo tree. With hemp, it's the wood in the stalks and the seeds that matter instead of the leaves. Hemp is a hardy plant that thrives in many different conditions. It can be packed close together like corn and often grown in the same types of fields.
Uses of Cannabis Oil
Pure cannabis oil has been hailed for its therapeutic uses. Most people report that it increases appetite and elevates your mood. It has also been known to relieve headaches and nausea. In Knoxville, Tennessee, one family even used cannabis to treat their child's epilepsy.
Cannabis oil contains THC, the psychoactive chemical that causes a high, which has been shown to put Crohn's disease in remission and may help regulate Parkinson's disease. Many facilities are studying the effect of this oil on different diseases, and more states are looking at legalizing cannabis oil for medicinal use.
Uses of Hemp Oil
Hemp oil is very moisturizing. It's often used in lotions and massage oils because it increases blood circulation. It can also be used in cooking, but it's more suitable for salads because it adds a nutty flavor to your dressing and cannot be exposed to high temperatures. Many forms of modern plastics are using hemp oil instead of petroleum since it does not release harmful chemicals during decomposition. Hemp is used in paint production as well, because it has lower emissions than petroleum-based paint.
Why Is There Confusion?
Hemp oil and cannabis oil are vastly different, so it can be difficult to understand how people could be confused. Lack of education about the differences between the two plants is one problem. Another reason is that the marijuana plant used to be referred to as "hemp." Both hemp oil and cannabis oil contain THC, but hemp oil does not have anywhere near the medicinal quantity as cannabis oil.
Unfortunately, this fact hasn't stopped shady entrepreneurs from attempting to sell hemp oil as the therapeutic cannabis oil. High quality cannabis oil is the only substance that will provide such impressive medicinal benefits.