CBD products have become more widely available in the last decade than they ever have been before. You can now buy tinctures and CBD-infused salves right in your local drugstore or gas station, hundreds of new online retailers have popped up peddling CBD in various forms, and even the beauty industry has taken notice of the cannabinoid—making CBD one of the hottest new trends in skincare. 

Despite this massive influx of novel products hitting the market, finding reliable and authentic CBD may be even more difficult than it was in the past. As has been the case with many other emerging industries, scammers are out there preying on the naivety of consumers who haven’t yet had the chance to become completely informed about these new products.

These online grifters are reaping in profits by selling synthetic CBD isolate, overreporting CBD percentages, and using misleading language to sell low-quality products. It’s not just a few bad actors either; One study from 2017 found that nearly 70% of all the CBD products they tested had in fact been mislabeled. 

Fortunately, there are still trustworthy suppliers of CBD out there, like Nu-X, who are committed to offering safe and affordable products that have been accurately tested. Here are some tips for separating scammers from reputable brands:

When seeking a safe and reliable CBD product, one of the most important things you can do is look to see if the manufacturer performs laboratory testing to determine the accurate percentages of cannabinoids. 

Be very wary of companies who make no mention of lab tests on their websites. Most businesses that spend the time and money to thoroughly test their products will want to highlight that fact. For example, Nu-X makes their lab reports incredibly easy to access as a consumer. All of their products contain a batch code that can be used to pull up the report on that individual product. This is the exact kind of transparency you want to look for in a brand. 

It would be nice to think that a company would never fudge test results if they came back unfavorably, but unfortunately, that possibility is ever-present. Because of this potential conflict of interest, you will want to make sure that the product you’re considering purchasing has not only been tested, but has been tested by a third-party vendor to eliminate any chance of biases influencing the result. You should also make sure that the third-party lab itself is reputable and has been accredited, like the Botancor Labs used by Nu-X to ensure the quality of their products. 

While this one seems obvious, there are some semantic tricks that scammers use when labeling their products to mislead consumers that you should be aware of. 

For example: know that hemp oil is not synonymous with CBD oil. Hemp oil may not contain any CBD depending on how it was extracted. Just because a product says it contains 1000mg of hemp oil, that doesn’t mean it has 1000mg of CBD in it—in fact, it could have none at all. Some reputable manufacturers do use hemp oil as a carrier agent for CBD in their products, but those labels will always clearly mention the presence of both hemp oil and CBD. Look for the CBD content to be clearly marked on the label, like this Nu-X Pina Colada Coconut CBD Tincture that plainly notes the amount of CBD in large letters right on the front of the bottle.  

Note that Nu-X, like most other reputable brands, labels tinctures by the total amount of CBD per bottle. This number refers to the total milligrams of CBD, and not the total volume of the container. Look out for companies that try to sell larger bottles at higher prices. You might think you are getting a deal by buying in bulk, but more volume rarely means more cannabinoids.

When looking for CBD online, stay away from marketplaces like Amazon or eBay, and instead, buy directly from the seller’s website. There is little oversight from these digital retail giants, and they are breeding grounds for counterfeit or mislabeled CBD products. In fact, Amazon actually prohibits the sale of CBD on its platform. However, this doesn’t stop unsavory merchants from hawking their fraudulent tinctures and gummies on the site under monikers like “Hemp Extract” to skirt around the regulations. This kind of side-stepping language makes it nearly impossible for consumers to determine what’s actually in the products they purchase. 

Buying directly from the seller’s website also offers the consumer a chance to look into the manufacturer’s legitimacy. Trustworthy brands like Nu-X have professional looking websites and are easy to get in contact with.

Before you enter your credit card information, check to see what others are saying about the product. Are there any online reviews from customers or vlogs? No reviews can almost be as damning as bad ones. Look for a brand that has many positive reviews from many different places. For example, a simple google search for “Nu-X reviews” turns up tons of video content praising their various products, a five-star review on Directvapor.com for their CBD Disposable Vape Pens, and a five-star review on vaporfi.com for their Cirrus E-Liquid This is the kind of consistently good feedback you want to see when seeking out CBD.  

While nobody likes paying too much money for an inferior product, there can be even worse consequences of purchasing counterfeit cannabidiol. In Utah, back in 2017, at least fifty-two people were poisoned after consuming 4-CCB (a synthetic form of cannabidiol) that had been improperly labeled as CBD. With these bogus synthetics out on the market, sticking with trusted brands is more important than ever.

Once you’ve found a reputable brand that you can trust, like Nu-X, finding reliable and affordable CBD is as easy as clicking a button. Often when you find lower-priced products out in the wild online frontier, you have to worry if you’re sacrificing quality for cost. However, with Nu-X, you can be positive you are getting safe, high-quality, lab-tested CBD at incredibly affordable price points.