We’ve had a lot of questions about what’s the difference between full spectrum, winterized, and isolate.  Each has its benefits.  What to buy depends on what you want.

Full spectrum, also known as whole plant oil, is the untreated resin from the cannabis plant.  This contains terpenes, various cannabinoids, chlorophyll, waxes, and lipids.  Winterized CBD extract uses an alcohol wash and freezing technique to remove the waxes, lipids, and chlorophyll to create a higher concentration of cannabinoids (60-70%).  Further distillation can create a CBD potency of up to 85%.  CBD isolate is 99% pure CBD using specialized equipment and techniques.

The benefits of full spectrum and winterized CBD extract is the synergistic effect of interactions between the different types of cannabinoids (yes, there are multiple types of cannabinoids to include THC, CBN, CBD, CBG, THCV, and others).  While there are notable effects, they are not as widely tested and documented like CBD.

What we do

We at CBD&Co start out with pure CBD isolate.  This ensures there are no traces of THC and we maximize the well-documented benefits of CBD.  If you would like to experiment with the synergistic effect of other cannabinoids in full spectrum or winterized products, do the calculation to get your needed dose of CBD.  The specific strain should give you what percentage of CBD is in the extract, but the rule of thumb we go by is:

• Full Spectrum – mass x 25%= amount of CBD
• Winterized – mass x 75% = amount of CBD

The Bottom Line

So if you have 1000mg of full spectrum oil, it has roughly 250mg of CBD (please note it can vary to as low as 5%).  If you have 1000mg of winterized oil, it has roughly 750mg of CBD.  Of course, using CBD isolate, 1000mg has 999mg of CBD.  A

We hope this article helps our readers make informed choices.  If you have any questions, feel free to email us at info@cbdand.co.