Beware of Bogus CBD Oil Sellers on Amazon! It Ain’t What You Want!

While many big and small retailers are scrambling to get a share of the green rush (cannabis market boom), others are a bit hesitant to join the trend. Amazon and Walmart are two of the most notable examples of major retailers shying away from this exponentially growing market.

You won’t find any legit CBD oil, tincture, capsules, gummies or any other product formulation for sale on Amazon. Yes, you can find numerous hemp products there, but as we will shortly see, hemp and CBD aren’t exactly the same thing.

Amazon Seller Central clearly states: “Listings for products containing cannabidiol (CBD) are prohibited”. You will not find any product on their website labeled “CBD” or lists CBD as one of the ingredients.

Although CBD that is extracted from hemp is not a regulated or scheduled substance and can be legally sold over the counter in all 50 states, there are still some legal risks and challenges that come with the trade.

Some manufacturers do not comply with applicable laws concerning the growing and processing of hemp, some companies make unproven health claims violating the FDA’s guidelines, and some banks prohibit CBD-related transactions – just to name a few of the common potential legal issues this industry entails.

Having already various other legal issues of their own, Amazon decided to pass on the extra liability and risks that come with selling CBD – at least for the time being.

CBD, short for cannabidiol, is a chemical compound found in different cannabis plants, including hemp (cannabis sativa). CBD is extracted from the leaves, flowers and stems of hemp to produce CBD oil. So CBD oil can also be called, and is in fact a type of, hemp oil.

But hemp oil can also be made from other parts of the plant that do not contain CBD; most notably, the seeds. Hemp seeds do not contain CBD, except maybe in negligible trace amounts.

Hemp seed oil has some health benefits as it contains omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, vitamins, minerals and fatty acids that can support overall health and wellness. It is also used for cooking.

Some sellers may try to lure consumers by suggesting that hemp seed oil is CBD oil, but unless the dose of CBD is clearly stated on the label and the product is accompanied by a certificate of analysis (COA) proving its CBD content by a lab test, then it probably isn’t the real deal.

Real CBD oil is hemp extract oil that contains a specific percentage of CBD. Fake CBD oil is hemp seed oil that does not contain any remarkable amount of CBD, but may be falsely presented as, or suggested to provide the same health benefits as genuine CBD oil.

Interestingly, there are many hemp oil brands offered for sale on Amazon, but again, don’t confuse hemp oil with CBD oil because they can mean different things. Those are hemp seed oil.

Since hemp oil that is made from the seeds does not contain CBD, it does not violate Amazon’s policies and thus it can be sold on their website. But that’s not what most buyers are usually looking for.

You don’t want hemp seed oil; you want CBD-rich hemp oil, aka CBD oil, don’t you? Well, you gotta look elsewhere then because Amazon doesn’t carry that!