CBD and THC Oil

If you live in Michigan like me, you may be starting to notice signs for CBD Oil at retail establishments of all different types – grocery, pharmacy & some doctor’s offices just to name a few. In fact, I can easily buy it at my local grocery store.

Since you can buy CBD Oil outside of licensed medical or recreational marijuana facilities in many states, how is it different than THC Oil?

CBD is non-psychoactive, which means that it will not get the user high. Because of this trait, CBD appears more frequently than THC in dietary and natural supplements.

So, CBD Oil is touted for ailments such as pain, sleeplessness, and anxiety, among other things. It does not give the user the high of THC Oil and is taken the same as any number of nutritional supplements found in a pharmacy or health food store.

THC is the main psychoactive component of the cannabis plant which creates the “high” associated with its use. You can only find THC Oil in dispensaries or from caregivers that are licensed in states where marijuana is legal, either medicinally or recreationally.

There is research to suggest that CBD may be better for inflammation and neuropathic pain and THC is better for muscle spasms and cramping.  As the popularity of medical cannabis increases, growers are making strains with higher CBD to THC ratios to minimize the psychoactive side effects.

CBD oil is legal in 30 states where medicinal and/or recreational marijuana is legal, according to Governing magazine. Seventeen additional states have CBD-specific laws on the books, according to Prevention magazine. Those are Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

So, a state where marijuana is not legal in any sense, could still potentially sell CBD Oil in a retail setting.

Manufacturers of both CBD and THC Oils have a few different methods for extraction – some using butane, propane, alcohol or other solvents,  and others a CO2 process. From an insurance standpoint, it’s important for us from an underwriting standpoint to have good details on their extraction process.

At JM Wilson, we have markets ready to help with this emerging trend. First, it’s essential to understand if you have a CBD Oil Risk or a THC Oil risk. Second, what are the exposures? Is your customer extracting the oil in a manufacturing setting? Or are they merely retailing the finished product? If retail, does your customer sell other items besides CBD or THC Oil? Or, is your customer a building owner renting out property to either of these types of businesses? Are you looking for premises liability, products liability, or both? If we can have a short conversation up front, we can very likely come up with just the right solution for your client and get you started with the proper applications.

As the CBD/THC industry seems to be changing so quickly, JM Wilson is here to help you navigate through it!