By Dr. John O’Connor PhD and Shawn Valor
One of the big issues plaguing the hemp and cannabis industries is the presence of Heavy metals and Pesticides in CBD oil. These substances, in mass, when in tinkters can lead to headaches, body aches in some, and an overall low feeling that counters the benefits of CBD. Long term dosage with pesticides, even in small amount can lead to health issues, especially if the pesticide is carcinogenic in nature. The only way to combat the problem is to know where it starts so it doesn’t follow the pipeline into public hands.
One of Hemps biggest traits is that it is what we call a “Soil Sucker”. What we mean by that is that during it’s growing season it heavily draws in nutrients from the soil, and also purifies the ground from contaminates within the soil. It acts like a vacuum and takes up what it can find in the ground. “Soil Sucker,” simply comes from the fact that it is a soil purifier, and a very effective on too. As an example, Hemp is such an effective soil purifier of heavy metals and even radioactive metals that it is being used in Chernobyl right now to clean up the after-effects.
Heavy metals are often present in the ground naturally. It’s something farmers struggle with when growing acres at a time in a field. Certain parts of the country, compared to others, will have a higher content of heavy metals in the soil. Most often when CBD oil makers buy hemp they buy large scale from several-acre farms. Unfortunately, if that farm’s crop was intoxicated with heavy metals and it’s used in CBD oil, it will still be present in the oil after the process of making it. Many of the ways used making CBD oil are new, undeveloped, and un-regulated, making possible that heavy metals are passed over. While there are those who can separate it from the actual oil all the way, there are still other manufacturing processes that don’t remove it completely.
Pesticides are a different story. When applied there’s no real effective way to rinse a bud of pesticides because of mold problems that it could bring. Cannabis as a whole is very sensitive to moisture and mold. Another factor is that hemp can draw the pesticides and herbicides from a former crop especially if the they were used long term on the crops and in the ground. The pesticides would then be absorbed into the plant itself through the roots and the ground. The pesticides would then be inside the buds themselves, meaning as a total it’s a waste crop. From our conversations with labs, it can also be difficult to pin-point pesticides because some have a similar atomic weight and characteristic as the cabannoids, which can cause influxes of the THC and CBD percentages, effecting both sell-ability and legality of those hemp plants.
In the end, what you have are people selling cleansing crops to CBD oil makers. Thanks to hemp’s soil cleansing ability, pesticides won’t be there permanently, but it will take several years for it completely cleanse the soil. Heavy metals could always be present or too much in amount, depending on the growing spot, for hemp to cleanse it out all away. That can be several ten-thousand pounds of hemp biomass until it’s completely clean if you are going that route to cleanse your soil. If that hemp is re-tilled in the ground you’re talking about replacing the toxic hemp back into the ground for it to be reabsorbed.
There are many ways to fix and purify ground if it’s an issue and there are plenty of natural/non-chemical pesticides you can use that won’t turn your hemp toxic. It’s a topic we go fine detail in our book Farming Industrial Hemp: Not Your Daddy’s Tobacco and our seminars throughout the country. The best way to keep pesticides and heavy metals out of the industry is by preventing it before growing. We encourage having your ground tested for heavy metals and pesticides before planting so you can grow in the best and safest spot.
About the Authors:
As an Industrial Hemp Psychologist, Dr. O’Connor has worked with the Virginia Universities in the pilot hemp programs since 2014. Prior to the hemp pilot programs, Dr. O’Connor consulted dozens of farms in upstate New York, helping them with soil science and agricultural management. Since the 2018 Farm Bill, he has worked with scores of farms throughout the southeast region in establishing productive industrial hemp farming systems. As an international consultant, he is currently helping farmers in Africa grow industrial hemp in their soil. An ardent observer of human behavior, Dr. O’Connor’s insightful knowledge has added volumes of helpful knowledge to understanding the agricultural industry’s ever-changing regulations, including the 2018 Farms Bill’s industrial hemp inclusion as a farm commodity. As a consultant, his understanding of agricultural regulations and organic farming techniques has help hundreds of farms. He serves as President of the American Emotional Wellness Organization and Books for Charity, Inc a 501 C 3 nonprofit charity as well as Reverend to the Chapel of Light and Spiritual Awareness church. Dr. O’Connor has over three decades of therapy experience working with individuals, groups, corporations, and small businesses. He has received recognition from Google for having set a record with over a of 30k views to his reviews. LinkedIn congratulated him for being in the top 10% most viewed profiles. He is also a Certified Master Photographer with credits in multiple newspapers and magazines through the US and Canada. What seems like a lifetime ago at the beginning of his career, he graduated from the New Hampshire Police academy with honors. Dr. O’Connor’s articles have been published in sports magazines such as Fighter, RPM, Concealed Carry Magazine, and Summit Racing, for his knowledge on developing an unbeatable mental game, endurance, human performance, and self-protection. He is an IDPA Winter Nationals event winner and a Certified NRA pistol instructor..
Shawn Valor is a seasoned copywriter, published content creator, and novel-writing entrepreneur with 6 novels under development. He is a Master Luthier at Brute Force guitars with over 100 guitars, basses, and mandolins crafted by him. He is a knowledgeable workaholic now with 5 years experience in working in the Hemp growing Industry as an expert adviser to help make a safe and profitable yield for his clients. He partnered with Dr. John O’Connor PhD. to create a book known as Farming Industrial Hemp: Not Your Daddy’s Tobacco to help growers avoid the common issues that plague fields from what we’ve seen. We have partnered again for a book on the ultimate guide for state laws on Hemp and CBD oil to help all understand what each laws means whether grower, processor, or traveler. He has wowed audiences at the Southern Hemp Expo as a speaker representing the national event. He’ll be making apearences as a speaker at the Dallas Hemp Expo, Memphis Mid-South Hemp Fest, and Greenlight Festival in Hong Kong. He works as a writer and content creator at Screen Rant coming up with articles around youre favorite media franchises and twisting them into a brand new light.