Hemp Oil vs. CBD Oil: What’s The Difference?

There are very few cannabis-related questions that cause as much controversy and discussion around them as “What is CBD oil vs. Hemp oil?” The confusion comes from the use of the ‘hemp’ word to refer to form of marijuana used for medicinal or recreational purposes. While there are several resemblances between the two, there are also some differences that both hemp oil and cannabidiol embody.

On the surface, it’s easy to conclude that hemp oil and cannabidiol are one and the same thing. This is primarily because they’re both derived from the same plant. The cannabis plant is known to have three species; Sativa, Indica, and Ruderalis. Hemp oil and cannabidiol both come from Cannabis Sativa although some research shows that hemp is genetically similar to the Cannabis Indica.

Although they’re both an extract of the same plant, they both come from different strains of the Cannabis Sativa plant. The ever growing and vast number of cannabis strains is a good example of how growers breed plants to reveal high degrees of their preferred traits such as flavor, color, aroma, CBD, and THC count. Still, some strains can also be created to exhibit low degrees of similar traits mentioned above.

Another common similarity between the two is that both hemp oil and cannabidiol are low in THC. THC, one of the other cannabinoids found in the marijuana plant, is known to have a psychoactive effect on a person. Hemp oil and CBD oil, however, are non-psychoactive.

Differences Between Hemp Oil and CBD Oil

Even though cannabidiol and hemp oil come from a similar genus and species, cannabidiol is derived from a strain that can be found in your local dispensary while hemp oil, on the other hand, is derived from a strain that contains very low cannabinoid count.

We’ve already established that the most common thing between the two cannabinoid oil is that they come from the same genus plant. However, one of the differences as previously mentioned is that they are also derived from different species. In addition to this, both oils are derived from different parts of the Cannabis Sativa plant.


Hemp oil has a low CBD count (3.5 percent). This means that it’s useless for medicinal use. CBD, on the other hand, has very high CBD count (20 percent) which makes it suitable for the treatment of several types of ailments from chronic pain to anxiety and depression. Besides, they are also both used in different ways.