Does CBD Oil Smell Like Weed? - How Strong Does It Smell?

Visiting with relatives or heading into work? These might be situations where you really can’t risk smelling like weed, so you might skip the flower and opt to ingest CBD oil instead. But does CBD oil smell like weed? Will you still have to spray the living daylights out of your jacket with perfume or the nearest air freshener?

The short answer is yes, tinctures can still have a similar smell to marijuana. But, since it’s not being heated up or burned, the good news is that the smell is nowhere near as strong. And the even better news? Some CBD products don’t even smell like marijuana at all.

What is CBD Oil?

If you want to understand CBD oil, you first need to know what CBD (Cannabidiol) even is. CBD is a cannabinoid that grows in the cannabis plant. It’s a chemical compound that interacts with the Endocannabinoid System (ECS), which is present in all mammals.

Unlike another popular cannabinoid, THC, CBD is non-psychoactive. In other words, CBD will not get you high however it will provide many benefits of cannabis. Since Cannabidiol is legal in all 50 states, there are a lot of CBD wellness products on the market, including tinctures aka CBD oil.

Tinctures are probably the most popular way to ingest CBD. They usually contain only CBD distillate and a carrier oil. With these convenient tinctures, you can simply place the liquid under your tongue or add it to your food or drink.

RELATED: How Long Does it Take CBD Oil to Work

How Do They Make CBD Oil?

To make CBD hemp oil, manufacturers often extract Cannabidiol from the hemp’s leaves and flowers, where the most potent cannabinoids grow. Once the raw oil is extracted it usually goes through a distillation process where it loses some terpenes (which is where the smell comes from) and other plant materials. The distillation process creates a standard extract (regardless of the strain’s characteristics) that manufacturers can use to make consistent products, like CBD oil. 

The extracted Cannabidiol is combined with a carrier oil that minimizes skin irritation and improves the absorption rate. The carrier oil can be vegetable, olive, coconut, or hemp seed oil. At Cheef Botanicals, we use a clean, eco-friendly, carbon dioxide (CO2) extraction method that ensures high yields and purity.

Are all CBD Oils the Same?

The short answer here is no. CBD tinctures come in three different product types: full-spectrum, broad-spectrum, and isolate. Each of these CBD products has different characteristics that benefit you in a variety of ways.

Full Spectrum CBD Oil

A full spectrum Cannabidiol product contains all of the natural cannabinoids, flavonoids, and terpenes found in the hemp plant, not just CBD. This means that THC is also present, a psychoactive cannabinoid known for getting people high. Most CBD products will have less than 0.3% THC, which won’t produce those unwanted “high” effects, like slower reaction times and red eyes. Its minimal presence is intended to solely enhance the effects of CBD hemp oil as this combination of elements provides the full entourage effect.

Broad Spectrum CBD Oil

Broad spectrum products contain all of the cannabinoids, flavonoids, and terpenes as full-spectrum minus one key cannabinoid: THC. People who don’t want any THC in their system will often choose broad spectrum products because there shouldn’t be any trace of THC on a drug test or within their system. Broad spectrum products will provide an entourage effect although it will be partial since it lacks THC. 

CBD Isolate Tincture

This is CBD in its purest form, without any additional cannabinoids, terpenes, or flavonoids at all. CBD isolate tinctures are made using CBD isolate and a carrier oil. CBD isolate undergoes different filtering processes to eliminates all plant materials except for the CBD. Then they combine the isolate is with a carrier oil to create a CBD oil with only cannabidiol, no other terpenes, or cannabinoids. This type of oil is often used for cooking due to its lighter taste and duller effects.

All three of these products can also come in different flavors and scents. Some popular ones are:

• Apple Cinnamon
• Chocolate Mint
• Coconut
• Grapefruit
• Green Tea
• Honey
• Lemon
• Peanut Butter
• Vanilla

Does CBD Oil Smell Like Weed?

There isn’t a “yes” or “no” answer to this question since there are so many CBD oil products and profiles. What they smell like can really vary.

But simply put, pure, unflavored CBD tinctures will have a similar taste and smell to weed, although it won’t be anywhere near as strong as weed since the terpenes within are not being burned or smoked.

CBD products get their scent from the terpenes found in hemp. The main purpose of terpenes in the wild is to attract pollinators or even deter predators, depending on the scent the plant produces. So far, over 100 terpenes have been discovered and each hemp strain has their own terpene composition. And each terpene composition has its own scent and flavor.

CBD isolates don’t contain terpenes and therefore won’t have any distinguishable smell. Broad-spectrum tinctures contain terpenes so they may have a similar scent to marijuana, although it will be much less subtle since they’re not being heated up. And full-spectrum contains terpenes and more THC, meaning it will smell the most similar to marijuana.

Should CBD Oil Smell like Weed?

While pure CBD tinctures could have a similar earthy, grassy smell to marijuana, there are many flavored CBD hemp oil products. While it’s perfectly normal for CBD tinctures to smell similar to marijuana, it doesn’t have to smell like it.

That’s because many Cannabidiol tincture products are flavored, as previously mentioned. If you don’t like the smell of marijuana, you can try adding the tincture to a flavored drink or food item. This will mask the taste and smell pretty well.