CBD FAQs

Cannabidiol (CBD) is one of over 100 plant-based compounds, defined as phytocannabinoids, found within cannabis. The wellness effects of CBD can be attributed to its role in inspiring the human body to heal itself.
Phytocannabinoids work in a similar way to our body’s endogenous chemical messengers, called endocannabinoids, produced by our own bodies. These compounds interact in profound ways with the body’s endocannabinoid system (ECS), which is a network of receptors embedded through the body, skin, and brain. This master regulatory system in the human body influences pain, mood, memory, stress, sleep, metabolism, immunity, hormones, appetite, and more.
The notability of CBD stems from its incredible role in interaction with the ECS and thereby encouraging the body to heal itself on a cellular level. CBD displays low affinity to main ECS receptors, CB1 and CB2, and does not mimic an endocannabinoid as THC does – instead, CBD helps jumpstart and balance our own internal production and utilization of endocannabinoids produced by the body.

Our body’s endocannabinoid system (ECS) is a biological regulatory mechanism known for modulating pleasure, energy, and wellbeing. This network of receptors also plays a crucial role in gradually, yet remarkably, nudging the body back into a healthy state in the face of injury and disease. The ECS activates pain control, regulates factors related to inflammation, and even initiates neurogenesis, the production of new nerve cells.
Severe imbalance can be brought upon our body’s systems by the stressors of modern-life and toxicity of both the environment and food production (pesticides, herbicides, heavy metals, etc.), thus causing ECS receptors to be over or under-stimulated. Chronic stress, insufficient nutrients, diet, genetics, and chemical exposure can significantly disrupt the body’s ability to properly communicate, self-regulate, heal, and maintain homeostasis via activation of our endogenous cannabinoids.
The activation of the ECS via endogenous and phytocannabinoids promotes a cellular balance and allows cells, organs, and systems to function optimally. The introduction of CBD internally assists your body’s ability to sense and respond to the unique needs of your biochemistry, initiating either biochemical upticks or downticks accordingly.

The plant-powered compounds in The Punisher’s wellness products activate, regulate, and heal the body on a cellular level.
Stress and its corresponding harmful side effects infiltrate our everyday lives, stemming from sensory and schedule overload, environmental disruption, food toxicity, reactive (versus proactive) treatments, and insufficient incorporation of holistic approaches in general healthcare.
Many of us are in a state of constant stress, enduring a never-ending surge of cortisol that brings about chronic anxiety, burnout, and fatigue. Sustaining such unnatural elevated stress levels can promote excess inflammation and negatively impact hormones, digestive health, sleep patterns, cognition, and immunity. Further, acceleration of stress generates free radicals, toxins, and increases oxidative stress resulting in depletion of vital nutrients.
Incorporating the phytonutrients from botanicals and herbs into your daily routine can greatly assist your body’s ability to maintain homeostasis, thus allowing it to communicate, regulate, and restore optimally in the face of chronic stressors.

Consistency is key to support overall health, and the benefits of The Punisher’s products compound with cumulative use. Given that CBD is biphasic, more is not always best depending on your physiology. Your level of absorption and response to CBD depends on your metabolism, genetics, and unique biochemistry. It is suggested to start with a low, micro dose (10 – 20 mg per day) and increase as needed to a standard (20 – 50mg) or marco dose (50mg+). Low doses appear to aid clarity, alertness and focus while higher doses appear to have relaxing effects, aiding stress, anxiety, and sleep quality. Some may experience immediate effects within a few doses, while others can take up to 30 days of consistent use. Individual results may vary. Ingest up to two times per day. Immune Support can be taken in combination with Daily Botanicals. Some may prefer to split their dose between morning and evening. Taking a daily dose helps sustain the level of phytocannabinoids in your body, enhancing activation of the ECS and making it more reactive to cannabinoids like CBD.

CBD can be subtle, but when you know what to look for, it can have a powerful effect on your well-being.
THC has immense medicinal benefits and its interaction with the ECS causes an intoxication or “high” feeling, while CBD works to relieve symptoms and encourage the body to heal itself without psychoactive effects. These two well-known compounds interact with the ECS in different ways. It’s not as much about what you do feel when you take a daily dose of CBD, but more about what you don’t feel (reduction in pain, anxiety, insomnia, etc).

More specifically, CBD works by enhancing the activity of anandamide, which is a naturally occurring cannabinoid in the body. Anandamide is responsible for regulating mood, appetite, and pain, and it works by binding to cannabinoid receptors in the brain and nervous system. CBD has been shown to inhibit the breakdown of anandamide, allowing it to stay in the body longer and increasing its overall activity. This enhances the effects of anandamide, leading to an overall feeling of well-being and reduced anxiety. Moreover, CBD also helps to activate other receptors in the body, such as serotonin and dopamine receptors, which can contribute to its positive effects on mood and anxiety.

CBD is known for its relaxing, soothing, anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects. It is mainly used to relieve muscle and joint pain, reduce stress and anxiety, make it easier to fall asleep and promote restful sleep. While the effects may be subtle or profound depending on the person, these commonly reported benefits are just touching the surface of what cannabinoids, such as CBD, are capable of regarding overall health and cellular level restoration. Overall, the beneficial compounds derived from hemp and cannabis are serving our internal regulatory system and binding, enhancing, inhibiting, and/or signaling the factors that affect the ECS, allowing it to balance and strengthen the various systems in our body.

CBD has been shown to counteract the psychoactive effects of THC, and a 1:1 ratio of CBD:THC has immense potential for unique therapeutic effects that can more effectively address certain ailments. Such a combination can bring the wellness potential of both compounds while initiating a “less-altered”, mellow mental state. Therefore, the team is currently working to bring you such an offering with a 1:1 ratio of CBD:THC plus the addition of CBDv.

Sublingual administration has a higher bioavailability than oral ingestion, meaning more of the CBD is absorbed and utilized by the body.

Due to the thinness of its epithelium, the sublingual mucosa allows rapid absorption of compounds compared to the oral mucosa. CBD absorbed by the blood vessels directly enters the systemic circulation, thus bypassing the hepatic first-pass metabolic processes. Therefore, the sublingual route is particularly useful for CBD which undergoes strong decomposition in the gastrointestinal tract and/or high hepatic clearance. Of further significance, sublingual saliva contains less mucin and enzymes, which preserves the CBD oil for rapid activation and internal response. In summary, sublingual administration is more efficient than oral ingestion, as it does not go through the digestive process, which can break down some of the CBD and reduce its effectiveness.

As mentioned above, your level of absorption and response to CBD depends on your metabolism, genetics, and unique biochemistry. Therefore, the daily dose and routine will vary per person. It is suggested to start with a low dose and increase gradually as needed. Though, for reference, the Punisher’s scientist shares her daily dose here as an example. If you have any questions about dosage and what you are specifically trying to address, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the team. Marie is always happy to have a conversation about wellness and how we can best support you!

Marie takes 0.5mL (half a dropperful) of the Immune Support in the morning, which equates to 5mg CBD, 5mg CBG, 2.5mg CBD-A, and 2.5mg CBG-A plus immune-supporting botanicals. She prefers this dose in the morning, as she has found that an early low dose of compounds calms her thoughts and instills a subtle yet powerful sense of peace, thus enhancing her focus and productivity. Marie feels the benefits compound plus carry ripple effects throughout the day, magnifying even the smallest experiences, i.e. heightens the beauty in all the “little things” in her every day routine. She feels reassured in getting a dose of immune-supporting botanicals daily, considering these phytonutrients may not be something she regularly incorporates in her diet, such as astragalus root, sea buckthorn oil, cardamom, etc. 

In the late evening, Marie takes 0.5mL (half a dropperful) of Daily Botanicals, which equates to 27.5mg CBD plus botanicals. This dose instills a bit of a deeper sense of relaxation within 1-2 hours and assists a restful and restorative night’s sleep. She especially appreciates the wellness benefits of the additional botanicals. For example, peppermint to aid digestion, rosemary to aid cognitive function, lemon balm to aid relaxation, ginger to combat inflammation, and so on.

Marie utilizes the Daily Balm, as needed, for any aches, pains, or skin irritation in a very targeted area. This can vary day to day. The daily intake of CBD helps ease typical aches and pain. Though, the Daily Balm comes in handy on days where she overworks or puts an unusual amount of demand on one of her more troublesome spots, such as her neck, lower back, and wrists. She will also utilize the balm for instances of dry, inflamed, or irritated patches of skin. She noticed the balm is especially beneficial to reduce swelling and discoloration of a bruised or injured region.

With this daily routine, a bottle of Daily Botanicals and a bottle of Immune Support last Marie approximately 2 months, while a jar of Daily Balm typically lasts her for 3 months.

Marie deviates from this daily routine if her activities or environment change. For example, during typical cold and flu season, she may up her Immune Support dose to 1mL per day. Her business and work demands go in cycles, and she may increase her Daily Botanicals dose for deeper relaxation at night and to maintain the sense of inner calm during more demanding and stressful weeks.

The Punisher products are produced from outdoor, organically-grown hemp containing flowers rich in terpenes and cannabinoids.

The Bluegrass state has long been known for high quality cannabis. Kentucky has a premier climate, foundation, and geographical location for hemp flower production.

Over half of the surface rocks in Kentucky are limestones. Limestone layers contribute to soil nutrients and water-retention capacity. The soil provides a perfect dosage of limestone-filtered water to the roots of the plant, facilitating the absorption of the minerals.

In addition to prime soil, the geographical location fosters optimal growing conditions for hemp. The latitude has a direct impact on the photoperiod, to which the growth phases of cannabis are correlated. Indica cannabis varieties originated in the Hindu Kush Mountains, where a particular set of light cycles facilitate the flowering stage. Kentucky is situated on the same latitude line that runs through the Hindu Kush Mountain range, the 37th parallel, where the same photoperiod promotes optimal growth and flowering of cannabis with significant cannabinoid content.

CO₂ in its subcritical, liquid phase enables extraction via low temperatures and pressures to preserve delicate therapeutic compounds, such as terpenes, CBDa, and CBGa. CO₂ extraction offers unprecedented tunability and delicacy for processing hemp flower.

The Punisher’s co-founder has been immersed in research and extraction using CO₂ technology for over eight years. She published research articles in Extraction Magazine in 2018 assessing subcritical versus supercritical extraction parameters, as well as an in-depth analysis of fractional CO₂ extraction as it relates to the cannabinoid content and profiles present in the extract over the course of the process run time. Marie personally developed her own preferred processing methods and regularly tunes her extraction parameters based on the assessment of the input floral biomass and cultivar characteristics.

A full spectrum product closely mimics the cannabinoid profile of the hemp plant that enters the extraction process and will, therefore, contain traces of terpenes and accessory cannabinoids (such as CBC, CBG, CBN,CBDV, etc.) in addition to CBD. Full spectrum products contain traces of THC less than 0.3%. Full spectrum products are responsible for the “entourage effect,” in which original compounds from the plant work together with your Endocannabinoid system (ECS) to amplify the therapeutic effects of CBD. 

Broad spectrum refers to the removal of one or more cannabinoids during the extraction process. Broad spectrum products can mimic but not as closely replicate the cannabinoid profile of the input biomass compared to full spectrum extracts. Broad spectrum products contain traces of various cannabinoids, but not all.  Typically, the processing involves the removal of THC. 

Isolate refers to a product that results from complete isolation of a compound, usually CBD or CBG when referring to isolation of hemp-derived compounds. All other compounds (trace cannabinoids, terpenes, etc.) from the input biomass are removed during this extraction process. 

The Punisher’s scientist focuses on bringing you effective full spectrum products from methods developed over years of extraction research and experimentation. Her procedures were developed with the goal of replicating the input hemp biomass to stay as close to what nature intended as possible. While broad spectrum and isolate products have an important place in the industry, especially as it pertains to studying the unique benefits of each individual compound, full spectrum has demonstrated the ability to provide superior results in the studies conducted thus far.

Batch numbers are located on the bottom of each product. Reference your batch number to view the corresponding COA on our website. All products are third-party tested for potency and purity. 

No, CBD does not have psychoactive effects and will not cause the “high” associated with high-THC cannabis. Studies examining the protective effects of CBD have shown that CBD can actually counteract adverse psychoactive effects of THC.

CBD interacts with your Endocannabinoid system (ECS), which works through receptors in your body in attempt to achieve homeostasis (natural,  healthy balance). Studies need to be carried out to determine how CBD interacts with specific medications. We urge you to consult with your physician before taking any CBD oil so they can work with you to monitor your physiology.

Yes; with the passing of the 2018 Farm Bill, the agricultural growth and cultivation of hemp is now legal in all 50 states.