Though hemp oil has not been in the spotlight for long, the use of hemp oil based products has grown exponentially in recent years. This growth is not just incidental, across the country people are trying hemp oil and realizing the huge suite of benefits it can provide. While most consumers are familiar with prepared hemp oil products and hemp oil vaporizers, you can also get your hemp oil straight from the source in the form of Hemp Flower.

While it might look illicit to the layman, there is nothing illegal about hemp flower. Unlike cannabis flower (i.e. marijuana), it contains no significant quantity of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). THC is the active chemical in cannabis that produces the signature “high” that cannabis users crave. Hemp oil, or cannabidiol, is a chemical found in both cannabis and hemp flower. Unlike THC, hemp oil does not produce a debilitating high but instead creates a generally relaxed feeling.

Both of these chemicals are known cannabinoids. These naturally occurring chemicals affect a specific part of the brain known as the endocannabinoid receptors. While THC effects all of these receptors, hemp oil only acts on half of this system. This is thought to be what produces hemp oil’s relaxing effects and it’s lack of intoxicating side effects. Without THC, it’s unlikely that you will experience the discomfort and paranoia that cannabis can produce.

This lack of THC is what makes hemp flower unique. When the benefits of hemp for seizure treatment was discovered, there was a push to make high hemp oil, low THC cannabis legal. As a compromise to make this treatment available to patients, the Agricultural Act of 2014 declared that plants containing less than 0.3% THC by weight could be legally classified as hemp. Because hemp is a legal product, this act suddenly made hemp and hemp oil products derived from hemp a viable option for consumers across the country.

While hemp oil, edibles, and other prepared products are popular because of their extreme ease of use, there are several consumers who prefer to use the flower. This is because hemp flower allows for the most methods of consumption, though some might require preparation. There are several factors to consider if you want to see if flower is the ideal choice for you.

The main appeal of using hemp oil rich flower is the onset time. Products like edibles, oil tinctures, and beverages use the digestive system as a means of entering the bloodstream. This takes time, as the hemp oil has to leach slowly from the GI tract. When you inhale burnt or vaporized hemp oil flower, the hemp oil goes straight to your lungs. The lungs contain hundreds of millions of bronchi to oxygenate the blood, so the surface area for absorption is many times higher. The average pair of human lungs has an internal surface area equal to about a regulation tennis court!

This means that when you inhale your hemp oil, your lungs pump it straight into your blood, which flows to your brain and provides near-instant gratification. For users who use hemp oil as a sleep or anxiety aid, this near instant effect is ideal.

Though plant material like flower seems limited to burning, it is actually the most versatile hemp oil product on the market. The hemp oil in hemp flower can be vaporized using dry herb vaporizers, which are extremely common products. These devices work by contacting the plant material with a hot surface or passing heated air through the material. By heating the plant matter above the vaporization temperature of hemp oil, but below the combustion temperature, vapor can be produced without inhaling any smoke.

Hemp oil flowers can also be used to make edible products at home. All that has to be done is the flowers must be lightly toasted in an oven to make the hemp oil orally consumable, a process known as decarboxylation. Once you have decarbed your flowers, you can steep them in oil to extract the hemp oil and use this oil when cooking or baking. This is a great way to control exactly how much hemp oil you want in your edibles without any guesswork.

Of course, you can also smoke your hemp flowers. This is a great option for users who need a cessation aid. Smoking also allows for incremental dosing. If you smoke a small amount and do not achieve the desired effect, more can be smoked until you have reached the right dosage.

No matter how you wish to consume hemp oil, you can achieve a perfect preparation by starting with hemp flower. All hemp oil products start with flower, so if you’re curious about hemp oil, try grabbing some flower and finding the best mode of consumption for you! Hemp oil might just be the perfect all natural solution for your pain, anxiety, and insomnia relief needs.