CBD is a chemical compound derived from the hemp plant (Cannabis sativa). It’s completely non-psychoactive, which means unlike marijuana, it won’t make you feel high.

CBD oils are made by mixing CBD extract with a carrier oil base. These products are used to alleviate many common health conditions — ranging from pain and inflammation to anxiety and depression.

Here, we’ll cover the best CBD oils for pain, anxiety, depression, and various other health conditions. You’ll learn how to find quality CBD products online and how to use them to get maximum benefit.

Let’s get started with our top three CBD oils.

Best CBD Oils In 2020: Pain, Anxiety, & Depression

1. Royal CBD Oil — Editor’s Pick

Royal CBD is one of the most popular up and coming brands in the United States. They weren’t the first CBD brand to enter the market, but they arrive well before the industry took off as it has in recent years.

Over the years, Royal CBD has perfected its craft. Their CBD products have won dozens of awards and brand mentions on high-profile websites as the top-rated CBD oil on the market. You can find this oil on publications including Orlando Weekly, VentureBeat, and Riverfront Times — to name a few.

What makes Royal CBD oil so popular?

The Royal CBD team sources all-organic hemp from trusted California growers. Organic hemp plants produce more terpene contents by weight and are the only way to guarantee the starting hemp is contaminant-free.

The team then uses supercritical Co2 to strip away the active ingredients. The final product is a very high-grade, terpene-rich hemp extract.

This extract is then diluted into four different strengths using premium MCT oil:

• 250 mg CBD oil — low-potency, best for beginners
• 500 mg CBD oil — medium-potency, best for mild symptoms
• 1000 mg CBD oil — high-potency, most popular option
• 2500 mg CBD oil — ultra-high-potency, best for severe or persistent symptoms

Each bottle comes with your choice of mint, vanilla, berry, or no flavoring.

All Royal CBD oils are classified as full-spectrum, come with extensive third-party testing, and deliver high value for the money. The higher the potency of the oil, the better the value overall.

Pros:

• Well-respected and highly recommended CBD brand
• Independently tested for quality assurance and transparency
• Available in several different flavor and potency options

Cons:

• Only available through the official website (not sold in local shops)

2. Gold Bee CBD — Best Value

Gold Bee is another top-shelf CBD brand worth considering. These oils are notably high in terpene levels — which are an important component of a full-spectrum hemp extract.

There are dozens of different terpenes in the hemp plant, each contributing their own set of therapeutic benefits to the oil.

Some terpenes provide additional painkilling benefits (such as bisabolol and myrcene); others are anti-anxiety or antidepressant (such as humulene, lavandin, or pinene).

Gold Bee has also won several brand mentions for these oils. A few examples include SF Weekly, LA Weekly, SF Examiner, and Observer.

You can order these oils in three different potency options:

• 300 mg CBD oil — low-potency, best for beginners
• 600 mg CBD oil — medium-potency, suitable for most mild to moderate symptoms
• 1200 mg CBD oil — high-potency, most popular option overall & best value

All three options come in either a raw, unflavored oil or a unique and delicious honey flavor.

If you’re new to CBD, we highly recommend checking out the 600 or 1200 mg CBD oils in the honey flavor. Despite the notably high quality of these oils, the cost is at or below the going industry rate.

Pros:

• Excellent cost to potency ration for CBD oils of this caliber
• Comes with the option of a delicious sweet honey flavor
• Full-scope of independent lab tests listed publicly on the official website

Cons:

• High demand means these oils are sometimes out of stock temporarily

3. CBD Pure — Runner Up

We’ve included Blessed CBD as an alternative option for readers living in the United Kingdom. Neither of the other mentions on our list ship beyond the American border.

Blessed CBD has been a leader in the CBD space in the UK for the last several years. They were one of the first brands to implement third-party testing as a standard and are one of the only companies making the effort to sponsor professional athletes.

As a premium CBD brand, Blessed CBD sources organically-grown hemp from Colorado, USA, which is then processed using a solventless, CO2 extraction.

These oils are above-average in terms of potency due to the small volume of the bottle. These oils come in 10 mL dropper bottles instead of the standard 30 mL bottles.

The smaller bottle size makes these oils much more potent than equivalent products with the same total CBD content. They fit in the pocket more easily and deliver a full dose of CBD with just a few drops.

Pros:

• Made from high-grade organic hemp
• Third-party tested for full transparency
• Contains the full range of hemp-derived cannabinoids and terpenes

Cons:

• No flavored options available

CBD Oil For Pain

CBD has been shown to alleviate pain in three main ways:

1. It blocks the transmission of pain signals as they travel up the spinal cord

2. It inhibits underlying inflammatory processes involved with chronic pain

3. It promotes faster regeneration of damaged cells

Most people benefit from using CBD oil for pain within about an hour after taking the oil — but some people won’t experience the benefits until they’ve been using CBD oil for a few days or weeks.

Tips to Maximize the Painkilling Effects of CBD Oil:

• Combine other painkilling health supplements with CBD oil (such as boswellia or turmeric)
• Avoid eating foods that promote inflammation (such as foods high in sugar, synthetic additives, or packaged meals)
• Exercise regularly (visit a physiotherapist or find any form of daily exercise that works for your condition)
• Combine painkilling terpene concentrates with your oil (such as myrcene, bisabolol, or terpinolene)

CBD Oil For Anxiety

CBD is also a powerful anxiolytic (anti-anxiety agent). Many of the active ingredients in CBD oil (including, but not limited to, CBD) offer neuroprotective effects on the central and peripheral nervous systems. They regulate a system called the endocannabinoid system (ECS) — which is involved with controlling the rate of electrical transmission along the nerve fibers.

When we’re anxious, electrical activity is high. CBD oil helps restore the balance to reduce electrical activity — making us feel much more calm and collect.

There’s a lot of research on the effects of CBD oil for anti-anxiety, and the results have been promising. There are few natural health supplements that offer the same level of support as CBD products when it comes to anxiety disorders.

Tips to Maximize the Anxiolytic Effects of CBD Oil:

• Combine other anti-anxiety supplements with CBD oil (such as kava, L-theanine, or magnesium)
• Learn techniques to manage stress and anxiety levels (such as meditation, journaling, or hobbies)
• Visit a counselor or psychiatrist to identify and work through the underlying causes of your anxiety
• Prioritize your sleep (aim to get at least 7 or 8 hours of quality sleep each night)
• Drink plenty of water throughout the day (aim to drink at least 3 liters of water every day)
• Combine anxiolytic terpene concentrates with your oil (such as humulene, lavandin, or borneol)

CBD Oil For Depression

CBD is a useful antidepressant, but not through conventional means.

Unlike most antidepressants that work by acting on the neurotransmitters, CBD targets another common cause — neuroinflammation.

Our brain has a special membrane designed to keep unwanted chemicals from the bloodstream from entering the sensitive brain tissue, called the blood-brain barrier (BBB).

If the BBB becomes compromised as a result of inflammation, compounds will begin to enter the brain and alter our neurochemical balance. This can happen over time when other areas of the body experience chronic inflammation — such as the digestive tract, skin, or joint tissue.

CBD works by supporting the integrity of the blood-brain barrier, protecting the nerve cells, and reducing inflammation in the brain as well as elsewhere in the body.

This effect offers powerful antidepressant benefits a few other medications or supplements can provide. The catch is that the effects can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to appear. It’s important to be patient and take CBD oil consistently if your goal is to alleviate symptoms of depression.

Tips to Maximize the Antidepressant Effects of CBD Oil

• Combine other antidepressant supplements with your CBD oil (such as St. John’s wort, passionflower, or 5-HTP)
• Visit a counselor or psychiatrist to identify and manage the underlying causes of depression
• Consult your doctor to discuss other medications or treatment options
• Prioritize sleep (aim for at least 7 or 8 hours each night)
• Ensure you’re eating a well-balanced diet, rich in fruits and vegetables
• Exercise daily (even 10 minutes of moderate exercise per day has been shown to improve symptoms of depression)
• Use cannabis terpenes for depression (such as pinene or limonene)

Where to Find Cannabis Terpene Concentrates

Throughout this article, we’ve mentioned the use of complementary cannabis terpenes to use alongside your CBD oil. This is a relatively new trick a lot of people are starting to employ to leverage the benefits of their CBD oil.

“Terpenes are already produced in the cannabis plant and provide a ton of synergy with the other cannabinoids and ingredients in a high-grade CBD oil.” – said David Axelrod from Finest Labs, a company with the mission to bring the highest quality terpene concentrates to the market.

Terpene concentrates are relatively cheap. You only need a few drops to get a strong dose, so even a small 5 or 10 mL bottle of terpene concentrate will last several months of use.

Key Takeaways: Best CBD Oils For 2020

CBD oils are all the rage in 2020. With all the research that’s been coming to light lately surrounding the medicinal effects of a high-quality CBD oil, it’s no wonder this supplement is so popular these days.

The most common reasons why people are using CBD are for supporting chronic pain (arthritis, fibromyalgia, injuries, post-workout muscle soreness), anxiety (including PTSD, OCD, and generalized anxiety disorder), and depression.

It’s critical you find a CBD oil that can deliver on all its promises if you intend to use it to benefit your health. There are a lot of CBD brands to look out for that are selling poor-quality products at a high markup.

The best CBD oils for 2020 come from reputable brands like Royal CBD or Gold Bee — both of which have a solid track-record of positive reviews, brand mentions, and public third-party lab tests.

To see the lowest prices, click here.