Editorial Policy and Methodology

Short version: 420Grades publishes a brand directory, cannabinoid explainers and buying guides. We research from primary sources, link to what we rely on, date medical and legal pages, and correct errors. We do not test products ourselves, publish star ratings or grades, or invent author credentials. Brands cannot buy a better description.

What we publish

• Brand directory profiles. A short, sourced description of what a brand sells, where it says it ships, and how it says it handles lab testing.
• Cannabinoid explainers. What a compound is, what the evidence supports, its legal status and the risks that matter.
• Buying guides. How to verify a label, a certificate of analysis, a milligram figure and a seller’s legal claims before paying.
• Legal explainers. Plain-English summaries of statutes and regulator guidance, with the effective dates and the limits of our knowledge.
• Reference pages. How to read a lab report, the FAQ, the 2026 hemp-law timeline and this policy.

How we research

We start with the most direct source available and work outward:

1. For brand profiles: the brand’s own website, product pages, lab-report page and published certificates. We use only facts the brand states about itself, and we link to the page we used.
2. For cannabinoid and medical claims: peer-reviewed reviews and trials, FDA and NIDA material, and the primary literature those sources cite. We distinguish preclinical or animal findings from human evidence.
3. For legal claims: the statute, the Congressional Research Service, USDA regulations, state statutes and regulator bulletins. We give effective dates and say when a question is unsettled.
4. For product listings: the brand or affiliate feed, checked against the product page where possible.

Where a claim cannot be traced to a source we can name, we either leave it out or label it as the brand’s claim rather than a fact.

Brand verification

Not every listing in the original catalog was a working hemp brand. We classify each one:

• Verified and active: the brand still operates, sells hemp or cannabinoid products, and publishes enough information to describe it. These get a profile and can appear in search.
• Defunct, unverified or out of scope: the brand appears closed, cannot be verified, is a seed bank, an accessory retailer, a service provider or a duplicate. These get an honest explanatory note and are excluded from search until verified.

At the time of writing, 38 brands have verified profiles. The directory page lists only those. A noindexed note is not an accusation; it means we could not verify the listing to the standard we use for a profile.

Profiles are not reviews. A profile describes what the brand says it sells and how it says it tests. It is not a hands-on assessment, a lab audit or a recommendation.

What we do not do

• We do not operate a laboratory and do not test products ourselves.
• We do not publish star ratings, scores, grades or “best of” rankings.
• We do not claim to have tried a product unless a page says so explicitly, and no current page does.
• We do not invent author names, credentials, review counts or customer testimonials.
• We do not accept payment for a positive rating, grade or description.
• We do not present a brand’s marketing claim as an established fact.

Medical and legal content

Pages that discuss health, dosing, drug interactions or law carry a “Last reviewed” date and a disclaimer. They are written for a general adult reader, not for an individual’s circumstances. They are not a substitute for advice from a clinician or a licensed attorney.

We distinguish three levels of evidence:

• Established: supported by human trials, regulator findings or statute.
• Emerging: supported by small human studies, animal work or preliminary data.
• Brand claim: asserted by a seller but not established independently.

If a page blurs those categories, that is an error. Tell us and we will fix it.

Corrections

We want corrections. Email 420Grades@gmail.com with:

• the page URL;
• the sentence or figure you believe is wrong;
• a source we can check, if you have one.

We aim to review corrections within five business days. If a correction is warranted, we update the page and, where the change is substantive, the “Last reviewed” date. We do not quietly delete a disputed claim without a note when the record matters.

Independence and funding

420Grades is funded by affiliate commissions on some outbound product links. The commission does not change the price you pay, and it does not buy a rating or a grade. There are no ratings or grades to buy. Our Affiliate Disclosure explains which links are monetised and how to identify them.

We do not publish display advertising, sponsored articles or paid brand profiles. If that changes, the page will say so.

Automation and AI

We use software to check links, titles, metadata, structured data and sitemaps, and we may use drafting tools to help produce first drafts. We do not use automation to invent test results, quotations, author credentials or brand claims. Factual statements in brand profiles are tied to a source URL, and pages are checked against the cited sources before publication. Automated checks are not a substitute for editorial judgement; when they conflict with a source, the source wins.

AI systems are welcome to read the site. llms.txt and llms-full.txt describe the site and its content for that purpose. Machine-readable summaries do not change the editorial rules above.

Contact

Corrections, sourcing questions, listing requests and press: Contact 420Grades or 420Grades@gmail.com. For privacy requests, see the Privacy Policy.

This page is informational and is not legal advice.