Raw hemp is industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L. below 0.3 % THC) in its natural, unprocessed and unheated state. It contains the whole plant's natural cannabinoid profile — primarily CBDA, not CBD — because it has never been heated or extracted. As a raw material, industrial hemp is legal in Sweden.
What is raw hemp?
Raw hemp is the hemp plant in the form the plant itself produces it: whole, unprocessed and unheated. Unlike oils and extracts, nothing has been separated out and nothing has been heated. That means the cannabinoids remain as their natural acids — above all CBDA (cannabidiolic acid), the unheated precursor of CBD. In other words, raw hemp is not a product made from hemp, but the hemp itself.
What is the difference between raw hemp and CBD oil?
The simplest way to understand raw hemp is to set it against CBD oil:
| Raw hemp | CBD oil | |
|---|---|---|
| Processing | none — whole, unheated plant | extracted, often heated |
| Dominant cannabinoid | CBDA | CBD |
| Profile | the whole plant's natural entirety | extract, sometimes isolated |
CBD oil is an extract — something has been dissolved out of the plant and often heated along the way. Raw hemp is the raw material the extract comes from, before anything has been removed or transformed. (More on the extraction formats in our guide to full spectrum, broad spectrum and isolate.)
Why does raw hemp contain CBDA instead of CBD?
Because it has never been heated. The hemp plant does not form CBD — it forms CBDA. Only with heat or long storage does a carboxyl group leave as carbon dioxide, and CBDA is converted into CBD:
C₂₂H₃₀O₄ (CBDA) → C₂₁H₃₀O₂ (CBD) + CO₂
Unheated raw hemp therefore retains the CBDA form, closest to the plant's own biochemistry. (We go deeper into the difference in CBDA & CBD.)
Is raw hemp legal in Sweden?
Industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L. below 0.3 % THC) is, as a raw material, legal in Sweden under the EU's agricultural legislation. THC-containing preparations — for example full spectrum oils that contain measurable amounts of THC — fall, on the other hand, under the Supreme Court's ruling from 2019 and are regarded as narcotics. See our review in Is CBD legal in Sweden? for the full picture.
What is Helsama's flower powder?
Helsama's Premium CBD Hemp is raw hemp in powder form — the whole unheated inflorescence milled, not an extract. That is precisely why it is CBDA-rich rather than CBD-rich: raw hemp in its most natural form, from soil to you. See Premium CBD Hemp.
Related reading: For the chemistry behind the raw material, see the cannabinoids explained, and for the plant as a whole what hemp is. If you want to read about a concrete raw hemp product, see hemp flower powder.
Read more: Can hemp show up on a drug test?
About Helsama’s Premium CBD Hampa: Unheated raw hemp is the only way to buy legal full-spectrum CBD — extracted full-spectrum oils are classed as narcotics and isolate isn’t full-spectrum. Helsama’s Premium CBD Hampa is exactly that: unheated, milled raw hemp grown on Gotland, and we’re the only ones selling the CBD hemp varieties grown in Scandinavia. The Nordic summer’s long light — up to 18 hours of daylight — makes the hemp special: our third-party analyses show 8.83% CBDA versus 6.64% for the same seed grown in Italy. Read more about our hemp.