Cannabis Oil vs Hemp Seed Oil: What Is Actually in the Bottle

Two bottles can sit on the same shelf, both carrying a hemp or cannabis label, and share almost nothing inside. One is a food oil. The other is a plant extract that people use, with a doctor’s guidance, for pain, sleep and anxiety. This guide separates the two, shows the numbers behind the difference, explains where Indian rules draw the line, and says what the evidence actually supports when the goal is pain relief.

Cannabis oil and hemp seed oil side by side

Why the labels confuse people

Part of the problem is that the words are used loosely. Medical News Today points out that “hemp oil” can mean CBD oil or hemp seed oil depending on who is selling it, and a shopper has no way to tell from the front of the bottle. Here is how the common terms usually break down.

What the numbers say

Most explainers on this topic repeat the same handful of lines. The figures below come from primary sources and from Vedi’s own product pages, and the arithmetic is ours.

The seed oil limit is 300 times stricter than the plant rule

A cannabis plant counts as hemp, rather than marijuana, when it holds less than 0.3% THC by dry weight, a threshold Forbes Health explains through its 2018 Farm Bill discussion. In milligrams, 0.3% works out to 3,000 mg of THC per kilogram of dry plant.

India’s food regulator set a much tighter number for the oil. Under the FSSAI notification of 2021, oil extracted from hemp seeds can contain no more than 10 mg of total THC per kilogram. That is 300 times lower than the plant threshold.

Put it on a kitchen scale. One tablespoon of hemp seed oil weighs about 14 g, so the ceiling is roughly 0.14 mg of THC per tablespoon. The same rules cap CBD in hemp seed foods at 75 mg per kilogram, which is about 1 mg per tablespoon. Safety studies of CBD, summarised in a Mayo Clinic Proceedings review, gave volunteers 300 mg a day. A tablespoon of seed oil, even at the legal maximum, delivers roughly a three hundredth of that. These are ceilings, and real products usually sit below them.

Hemp seed oil has a fairly consistent fatty acid profile, except for one number

A published analysis of 52 hemp seed accessions found the average oil was 53.65% linoleic acid, 20.18% alpha linolenic acid and 13.62% oleic acid. That gives an omega 6 to omega 3 ratio of 2.66 to 1, close to the 3 to 1 figure you see on bottle labels.

The interesting number is GLA. It averaged 3.23% but with a standard deviation of 2.06, so two bottles from different seed stock can differ a lot. If GLA is the reason you are buying seed oil, the batch matters.

Is hemp oil and cannabis oil the same thing?

No. Hemp oil is usually hemp seed oil, a food oil pressed from seeds with almost no cannabinoids. Cannabis oil is an extract of the plant’s leaves, and in some places flowers, rich in cannabinoids such as CBD and THC. The confusion comes from labels, because some brands use hemp oil for CBD extracts as well.

The quickest check is the ingredient line. “Cannabis sativa seed oil” is the food oil. “Cannabis leaf extract” or “full spectrum extract” is the cannabinoid product. A reputable cannabis oil also comes with a certificate of analysis from an independent lab showing how much THC and CBD each millilitre holds. Medical News Today calls that certificate the only way to know what a CBD oil really contains.

Is hemp seed the same as cannabis?

Botanically yes, legally and chemically no. Hemp seed comes from Cannabis sativa, the same species as drug type cannabis, but the seed does not make THC. Seeds do not produce it, but traces can reach them from other plant parts during harvest and processing, so regulators set a ceiling. India caps THC in hemp seeds at 5 mg per kg.

Indian law treats the parts of the plant differently. The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act of 1985 controls charas (the resin) and ganja (the flowering or fruiting tops), while excluding seeds and leaves when they are not accompanied by the tops. States regulate those excluded parts under their own rules, and growing the plant needs a licence. In 2021 the FSSAI recognised hemp seeds, hemp seed oil and hemp seed flour as food, barred them from products for infants up to 24 months, and ruled that labels must not imply a psychoactive effect. This is a general summary and not legal advice, and state rules differ.

What are the disadvantages of hemp oil?

Hemp seed oil has few risks, but it has limits. It spoils faster than most cooking oils, is best used cold, can upset digestion in some people, and carries no real cannabinoid effect.

The spoilage point comes from its fat profile. The same polyunsaturated fats that make it nutritious make it sensitive to light, heat and air, and a Forbes Health source notes it is not shelf stable, which is why CBD oils use MCT oil instead. Medical News Today reports that some consumers have digestive complaints and that claims about cholesterol and heart health remain unproven. The practical limit is that it will not stand in for CBD or cannabis oil. Their effects come from cannabinoids, and seed oil has almost none.

Cannabis oil carries more side effects and deserves more caution. Vedi’s product information lists dry mouth, slight drowsiness and dizziness, usually when the dose is higher than the body needs. In trials of the prescription CBD medicine Epidiolex, reported side effects included fatigue, reduced appetite, diarrhoea and raised liver function tests. Cannabis oil can also interact with sedatives and with some medicines for alcohol dependence. People with heart disease, anyone pregnant or breastfeeding, and anyone due for surgery should get medical guidance first. The Cannapain Oil page advises stopping at least 2 weeks before scheduled surgery and avoiding driving or operating machinery while on treatment.

Which is better for pain relief, CBD or hemp seed oil?

For pain, CBD has the stronger case, although the evidence is still preliminary. A 2024 systematic review found CBD, alone or with THC, may help chronic pain from fibromyalgia, arthritis and nerve conditions. Hemp seed oil has no comparable pain research in the sources we reviewed and holds too little CBD to act the same way.

The proposed mechanisms are still being worked out. Researchers suggest CBD may slow the clearing of the body’s own endocannabinoids, act on the TRPV1 receptor involved in pain signalling, and raise serotonin receptor activity. THC binds to CB1 receptors, which explains both its pain and nausea effects and its intoxicating ones. That is why products for pain often combine the two and why dosing starts low.

Two honest caveats apply. The only CBD medicine with regulatory approval is Epidiolex, for rare seizure disorders, so pain use remains outside that approval. And the idea that a full spectrum extract works better than isolated CBD, the so called entourage effect, is a working hypothesis that research has not settled. Hemp seed oil still has a place for people who want the fatty acids. It is a different tool for a different job.

Where Cannapain Oil fits

Ayurveda calls cannabis Vijaya, a name that translates to the one who conquers or liberates, and the plant has a long record in classical texts. Vedi’s Cannapain Oil is a full spectrum cannabis leaf extract carried in MCT oil from coconut, lightly flavoured with ginger, spearmint, peppermint and cinnamon oils. It comes in 13 ml and 30 ml sizes.

The product page describes starting with a small dose, often held under the tongue for 30 seconds to 1 minute, with the amount adjusted to the person and condition. The same oil can be massaged onto a sore area when a doctor advises it. Dose depends on the condition, tolerance and other medicines, so it is set with a physician rather than from a label.

For other ways to approach discomfort, the pain collection groups the range by concern, and the Hempseed Oil collection covers the food and nutrition side described in this guide.

How to choose between them

1. Read the ingredient line to see which plant part the product uses: seed oil or leaf extract.
2. Ask for the certificate of analysis, and look for THC and CBD in mg per ml from an independent lab.
3. Check the carrier oil. MCT oil is common for cannabinoid products, and seed oil is common for food oils.
4. Treat cure claims on seed oil as a red flag, since FSSAI labelling rules bar any implied psychoactive effect.
5. Tell your doctor about every medicine you take, especially sedatives, heart and blood pressure medicines, and anything planned around surgery.

Quick answers

Can you take hemp seed oil and cannabis oil together?

Yes, but they are two separate products doing two separate jobs, so count each on its own terms and let your doctor know about both.

Does hemp seed oil show up on a drug test?

Unlikely, because drug tests look for THC metabolites and seed oil carries almost none. Full spectrum cannabis oil contains THC and can trigger a positive result, so mention it before any workplace or sports test.

Is the oil the same as the seed in tablets and capsules?

Not always. Vedi’s cannabis range includes oils, tablets and capsules, and the key question is the same for each form: which plant part, which extract, and what dose.

If you are unsure which one fits your situation, a conversation with a doctor settles it faster than a label can. You can book one through Vedi’s doctor consultation.

This guide is for general information and does not replace medical advice. Do not start, stop or change any treatment without speaking to a qualified doctor.