Marijuana is now legal in California for recreational use. Attitudes across the country are changing, with the majority now favoring legalization. Cannabis has use in many products, and the adult industry is paying attention.
The major use as an ingredient is hemp. Marijuana and hemp are both part of the Cannabis family. While marijuana is used for medicinal and recreational use, hemp is used in dietary supplements, skin products, clothing, and accessories. Hemp is low in THC, and is not psychoactive.
Thanks to Nixon’s War on Drugs in the 1970s, which has since been revealed to be in reality a tool for his war on minorities, hemp was outlawed. This was despite the fact that hemp is not a drug and can’t be used as a drug. Hemp is one of the oldest domesticated crops with thousands of uses. Hemp fibers and stalks can be used in clothing, paper, biofuel, and much more. Hemp stalk is used for mulch, insulation, fiberboard and much more. The Bast Fiber is used for rope, canvas, carpet, clothing, shoes, bags, etc. The stalk can be used for paper and cardboard.
Hemp is still considered a schedule 1 drug, the most dangerous type of drug with no useful function. Ironically, it actually has no useful function as a drug. Still, the law considers it a dangerous drug, which is why it can not be legally grown in the United States. What about all of the hemp based products? Insanely, while it can not be grown here because it is considered a dangerous illegal drug, it can be imported.
Marijuana and hemp both need to be removed as schedule 1 drugs and be made legal to use for people over 21. In the meantime, in certain states marijuana derived products are legal, and hemp products are legal as long as they use imported hemp.
Hemp seed oil is good for the skin, which is why it appears in a number of massage products. Refined oil is typically used, which is colorless and has virtually no taste. Unrefined or cold-pressed oil is greenish and has a much shorter shelf-life.
Earthly Body is one of the better known sensual companies using hemp seed oil in their products. They state that hemp seed oil has “the most Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs) of any essential oil and has both Omega 3 and Omega 6 EFA’s in a perfect balance. Essential fatty acids have the ability to enter directly into the lipid layers of your skin cells, replenishing the oils that are missing due to sun exposure, poor nutrition or neglect.”
We have reviewed their hemp seed oil based massage candles in our Massage by Candlelight feature. They also have a full line of hemp seed based massage and body oils. They come in Cucumber Melon, Dreamsicle, Guavalava, High Tide, Isle of You, Lavender, Moroccan Nights, Nag Champa, Naked in the Woods, Skinny Dip, and Unscented.
Earthly Body Hemp Seed Massage and Body Oil
They are a blend of oils including hemp, almond, grape seed, apricot and vitamin E. The benefits they claim include:
- Sweet almond oil is a rich emollient that can renew hydration and give skin a long lasting youthful looking glow.
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Hemp seed oil has high levels of Omega 3 and 6 Essential Fatty Acids which nourish and protect the skin.
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Apricot kernel oil is a lightweight, natural oil rich in essential fatty acids and antioxidants.
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Rosemary leaf oil is rich in powerful antioxidants and helps smooth fine lines and wrinkles.
One of their newer products is a hemp seed oil based adult toy cleaner. It is 100% Vegan, cruelty free, and free of triclasan, SD alcohols, parabens, artificial dyes, and fragrance. Whether hemp gets your toys any cleaner I can not say.
I do like the company and the products I have tried so far. Their desire to create quality natural products seems genuine. When I compare them to other hemp seed oil massage options, their prices are highly competitive, with many other options being much more expensive.
I should point out that Earthly Body is not making any unverifiable health claims for their massage products. Others do. Because of the looseness of our laws in the United States, you can make all sorts of claims for your product that may have no medical validity at all. All the manufacturer has to do is put a disclaimer somewhere that says that their claims have not been evaluated by the FDA, and then they can make any bullshit claim they want as long as they call it a beauty product or a nutritional supplement. It is a terrible state of affairs for consumers, but that is the way things are now (thank you Senator Orin Hatch).
You should be cautious of health claims associated with beauty products. For example, I found a hemp massage product selling for $12.50 an ounce, which is quite steep. The ad copy reads “crafted from estrogen free organic ingredients, helps turn back the clock on aging skin while stimulating circulation and blood flow.” Actually, just rubbing the skin in a massage stimulates circulation and blood flow- the massage oil is irrelevant.
Anti-aging claims are a trickier proposition. This gets us into the world of cosmeceutical skin care, which is a legitimate thing. My wife worked on a project with cosmeceuticals, so I learned a little about them. There are ingredients that can be considered anti-aging, at least in the generally understood meaning of reducing the appearance of aging rather than any actual retardation of the skin aging process. Actual ingredients with the ability to reduce the appearance of lines and wrinkles include Retinol, EGF (epidermal growth factor), AHA (alpha hydroxy acids such as glycolic acid and hyaluronic acid which exfoliate the skin), Peptides, Coenzyme Q10, and Argireline (acetyl hexapeptide-3). More generically, suncreens certainly help, and anti-oxidants like vitamin C might help, although the science on it is not settled.
I am going to go out on a limb here and say that no massage oil is going to make you look younger. Actual anti-aging creams are expensive, probably prohibitively so for something you are going to rub over your entire body. The massage may make you feel younger, though.
There are also massage oils that contain CBD, an ingredient that is known for use in the treatment of pain.Then we get into the issue of hemp oil that contains CBD. Is it legal? What you will hear is that that as long as the CBD product contains less than 0.3% THC, it is classified as hemp under federal law and is therefore legal to possess and distribute. However, in actuality, the law is not as cut and dried as that. The Drug Enforcement Administration maintains that CBD is definitely still illegal, but admits that enforcement is lax.
They do on occasion set up multi-task force massive raids, such as Tennessee’s notorious Operation Candy Crush raid on 23 businesses in February. It was assumed by many that the 2014 Farm Bill made CBD legal. In the end, the confusion about CBD forced the District Attorney to recently drop all charges.
CBD is probably illegal in Idaho, South Dakota, West Virginia, Nebraska, Kansas, and Indiana. It is legal for a narrow range of uses in Alabama, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin. In the 28 States that have legalized medicinal marijuana, it is legal. While some retailers have been raided, as a consumer, you face very little legal risk (although the anti-marijuana Attorney General could change things at any time).
Complicating the issue is the lack of standardized terminology. There is a difference between hemp oil and CBD infused oil. You can tell pretty quickly based on the price. Very low levels of CBD are most likely hemp derived, but will have little to no pharmacological effect. When they list dosages, such a 100 mg of CBD in an 8 oz. bottle, then you have a better idea.
An example of this would be The Blue Ridge Hemp Co. CBD Infused Massage Oil. It is made from Sunflower Oil, Sesame Seed Oil, JoJoba Seed Oil, and 99.7% Pure CBD Isolate. CBD is a drug, although you can’t technically overdose on it. Still, you should pay attention to how much you use.
This is not medical advice, but general dosing uses the following guidelines- General Health: 2.5-15mg CBD, Chronic pain: 2.5-20 mg CBD, and Sleep disorders: 40-160 mg CBD. How much science there is behind this I do not know- it is more like a general rule of thumb. At the top of the range for a sleep disorder you would need to use two bottles of oil-so not really practical. I am going to ignore the general health part as that is not as strongly scientifically substantiated, and focus on chronic pain. An average full body massage uses 20-30ml of massage oil. In an 8 oz bottle you have about 237ml, and using 20ml (start low and use higher doses as needed), you should get about 12 massages from a bottle. Each massage would dose with about 8.3mg of CBD, not quite the mid-range of suggested dosage but close enough.
Republican Senator and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said he will introduce a bill that will legalize hemp, and he is as good as his word. Unfortunately, his word is not worth very much. If a bill does go through, what impact that will have on CBD is unclear.
Hemp lube is a thing. Hemp seeds can be turned into oil, which can be used as an ingredient in lube. Hemp seed oil is good for the skin, but has no psychoactive properties.
No less than industry giant Wet has just announced their version of hemp lube, called Hemptation™ Organic lubricant. It is a hybrid, and they claim that it is latex compatible. This is not a lube that will get you high. It also has a lot more than just hemp seed oil. The ingredients are Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Propanediol, Tremella Fuciformis (Mushroom) Extract, Gluconolactone, Cannabis Sativa (Hemp) Seed Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Chenopodium Quinoa Seed Extract, Linum Usitatissimum (Linseed) Seed Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Avena Sativa (Oat) Kernel Extract, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Xanthan Gum, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, Citric Acid. So put that in your pipe and smoke it. Or better yet, don’t, as that is not what this stuff is for.
Wet® Hemptation
Shibari has their new reformulated Shibari Hemp Lubricant. It has hemp seed oil, aloe vera, and vitamins A, C, and E.
In States where marijuana is legal, you can also get oils infused with CBD designed to enhance sensual pleasure. We have not reviewed any of these nor have we made any determination as to their effectiveness. The one that has gotten the most attention is probably Foria. They have an oil called Foria Pleasure. Here is what they say about it: “A blend of nourishing liquid coconut oil and lab-tested cannabis oil. Named the “Sex Product of the Year” by GQ upon it’s release, Foria Pleasure was inspired by the ancient tradition of using cannabis as a natural aphrodisiac. This practice has since been validated by the recent groundswell of scientific research into the health benefits of marijuana. Pleasure harnesses the complex powers of marijuana to promote relaxation and increase blood flow thereby creating a potent therapeutic aphrodisiac.” We are always skeptical of the use of the term aphrodisiac, but there are many people who love this product.
