Japanese Company Says It Can Make CBD Out Of Orange Peels

By The Fresh Toast's Brendan Bures, provided exclusively to Benzinga Cannabis.

Hiro International says its orange peel CBD is structurally the same as the CBD found in the cannabis plant.

When lawmakers enacted the 2018 Farm Bill, they accidentally created a loophole responsible for the CBD wellness mania seen in recent years. The law allowed manufacturers to use industrial hemp to produce CBD oil and other products, removing the possibility of THC from entering the system.

One company found another loophole: instead of using hemp flower, they extract CBD from orange peels. Japan’s Hiro International presented such a product at this year’s Cosme Tokyo cosmetics fair, according to Hanf Magazine. The orange peel-derived CBD oil is 100% THC-free and does not use any hemp or marijuana plants.

In recent years, CBD companies have landed in hot water for products containing trace amounts of THC. Ellipse Analytics ran a study last year that found 45% of the 250 best-selling CBD products contained detectable levels of THC. Another study from Johns Hopkins University reported CBD products could also cause users to fail drug tests.

RELATED: Weed Makes You Tired? Here Are 5 Tricks To Help You Control Marijuana-Induced Sleepiness

Though Japan has a developing CBD industry, THC is highly taboo and highly illegal in the country. Hiro International spokesperson Ryousuke Koseki explained these variable levels of THC in CBD products is why the country hasn’t fully embraced the latest wellness craze.

Photo by Jonathan Pielmayer via Unsplash

“Some companies have had huge problems because THC has been detected in their products,” Koseki said. “Many companies now have concerns and consumers are unsettled.”

 RELATED: Fact Check: Is Marijuana's CBD Psychoactive Or Not?

Unfortunately, Hiro International didn’t explain their exact extraction process, which is likely proprietary. But the company states this orange CBD is the same structurally as the CBD found in the cannabis plant. Despite the difference in creation, it also offers consumers the same wellness benefits and skincare regime that traditional CBD products offer. Hiro International has already developed body lotion, make-up remover, hair care product, and lip balm prototypes using the orange CBD oil.

“With Orange CBD, you get the same ingredient, same effects and there’s no danger in terms of legality,” Koseki told CBDWire. “It also provides a different story of CBD for the consumer that sounds better than being derived from the marijuana plant.”

photo by congerdesign via Pixabay

Noticias sobre cannabis en Español en El Planteo.