With the rising popularity of CBD products we now have a wide variety of flower types, vapes, oils, capsules, and edibles. But one form in particular has always been a crowd-pleaser: gummies! They're convenient, tasty, and if you find a good brand that puts quality CBD in them they can be a real treat which is why I'm always on the lookout for new varieties. This week I decided to try out these Extra Strength Gummies from a brand called Garden of Life.
Their website contains a wide variety of supplements with a small category dedicated to CBD, mostly in the form of extracts and gummies. Of the gummy varieties the "Extra Strength" seemed the most interesting so that's the one I went with.
Each bottle contains 600mg of whole plant CBD and will cost you about $34.99 (as of December 2020). They only come in one flavor, which is "Tart Cherry" and they're dosed at 10mg of CBD each. This is on the lower end of the spectrum in terms of gummy strength but the package indicates that you should take two at a time for a total of 20mg of CBD per dose. At first I found the dosing to be a bit deceptive because I thought they were 20mg a piece, but it does have the benefit of making it easier to take half a dose if needed instead of cutting a sticky gummy in half.
Taste: The cherry flavor is great! It's more like real dark maraschino cherries as opposed to the typical sour artificial cherry that you find in a lot of candy. You can definitely taste the nutty hemp oil in them too which is something I always enjoy.
Strength: The first night I tried taking the recommended dose of two gummies (20mg) and didn't really notice the effects. That isn't too surprising since 20mg of CBD is a relatively low dose for me. So the next night I increased the dose to 4 gummies (40mg) on a mostly empty stomach and can clearly feel the effects kicking in within about 30 minutes.
Effects: My experience with these so far has been more of a sedating effect. As is usual with CBD I feel the subtle lifting of anxiety and muscle relaxation, but with these specific gummies I also feel a sort of heavy-headedness that makes me want to curl up in a comfy chair or lay down. It's definitely something I would take at night to unwind instead of mid-day or at social events.
Compared to CBD flower prices, gummies are always a bit more expensive but for 600mg a bottle at $34.99 these aren't too bad. They're made with mostly organic ingredients and they're vegetarian/vegan friendly, using natural citrus pectin instead of gelatin. Plus they're lower in sugar than a lot of other CBD gummy varieties at just around 2g of sugar per gummy.
