Is CBD Legal Where I Live?
By: Dan Hunter
Tags: Cbd Legality, Cbd Products, Where To Buy Cbd, Is Cbd Legal, Cbd

The growth of CBD has been nothing short of remarkable, and you’d have to have basically been hiding under a rock to have missed it. You can see this growth both in terms of consumer sentiment and industry success. According to surveys, 1 in 7 Americans have tried CBD. This survey was taken a year ago, meaning those numbers have almost certainly increased since then. Furthermore, the CBD industry is also experiencing rapid growth, with one estimate holding that the CBD market appears likely to grow 107% annually for the next three years.

CBD’s popularity comes from its apparent health benefits. Many studies have found that CBD can be effective at helping people deal with a wide range of physical or emotional problems, including depression, sleep disorders, pain, arthritis, skin conditions, and more. There is no doubt that more research is needed, but indications thus far have been very positive.

In other words, CBD is popular, and likely here to stay. That popularity is even more remarkable when you consider that the compound had questionable legality at the state level and was completely illegal at the federal level until late December 2018. Fortunately, there’s good news: If you live in the United States, CBD is almost certainly legal where you live. However, there may be specific regulations that you have to keep in mind.

CBD at the Federal Level

CBD traces its federal legalization to the 2018 Farm Bill. Prior to that, CBD was illegal at the federal level. This is because the product contained THC, thus making it a Schedule One drug under the United States’ Food & Drug Administrative drug schedule, although it appeared as if the ban also applied to versions of the product that were THC-free. As a result, it could not be manufactured, purchased, sold, or transported.

The 2018 Farm Bill changed all that. In essence, the Farm Bill did two things. First: It removed CBD from the Schedule One drug list. This essentially legalized CBD and made it so that the product could be purchased and consumed in the United States. CBD could be made from cannabis and could even contain THC (short for tetrahydrocannabinol, the active cannabinoid in marijuana that results in intoxication). However, those levels were limited to .3% THC. Anything higher would result in the compound being illegal.

The 2018 Farm Bill also created a process by which states could allow for the growth and regulation of hemp within their states. States had to create a manufacturing and regulatory plan that would allow for the product to be grown and monitored. That plan had to be approved by the United States Department of Agriculture.

Much of the passage of this important bill can be tied to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). McConnell hails from Kentucky, a state that has since developed a large hemp industry. McConnell’s advocacy helped CBD become legalized, and he has since worked to get the FDA to release regulations related to CBD.

While the ability to buy and sell products from brick-and-mortar stores was somewhat fuzzy, the 2018 Farm Bill truly turned CBD into a national business. This is because legalization made it so that individuals could transport and ship CBD across state lines without violating federal law. This allowed for the proliferation of internet-based businesses that could manufacture CBD.

The Food & Drug Administration has yet to develop permanent regulations that would allow for federal testing, monitoring, and labeling of CBD. As such, many states have begun to take matters into their own hands and regulate the product on their own. They have taken some action, but most of those are related to warning retailers who make unsupported medical claims about CBD.

Indeed, as per FDA guidance, no marketer can make medical claims about CBD. It is permissible to say that studies have shown CBD’s potential benefit, but no one can say that “CBD will relieve your pain” or “CBD can cure cancer,” as those statements have not been evaluated by the Food & Drug Administration. The lone exception to this is Epidolex, a CBD-based prescription drug that can be prescribed to help cure children of two rare seizure disorders.

CBD at the State Level

State regulations are different than federal ones. Thanks to the 2018 Farm Bill, CBD was legalized at the federal level. As such, unless a state had specific laws making CBD illegal, it was essentially legalized at the state level as well.

However, there are fifty states in the United States, and all fifty have the ability to regulate and legalize the sale of CBD within their jurisdictions. However, in most cases, CBD is legal to be bought and sold within a state. However, manufacturing and labeling regulations may differ.

For example, take Pennsylvania. CBD can be bought and sold within the state, provided that it adheres to all applicable federal laws and guidelines. However, that is not to say there are no issues with CBD in the state. At a February 2020 hearing, Dr. Rachel Levine, the state’s Secretary of Health, testified that there were concerns that the state needed increased regulation over the product in order to protect customers. Dr. Levine noted that some customers were buying products that did not contain the ingredients that they were labeled to contain while also expressing concern that people were purchasing CBD thinking they were purchasing medical marijuana. Many lawmakers at the hearing expressed an interest in further regulating the market in order to require regular inspections and labeling.

Another example is California. Like Pennsylvania, CBD can be purchased and manufactured in the state. The legislation written would have confirmed CBD’s legality and noted that the product could also be purchased and sold if it was inserted into food (an area of questionable legality in some places), but that bill never actually passed. As such, California’s current CBD laws are aligned with the current regulations and laws of the federal government. However, California does have specific labeling requirements, giving it an advantage from a consumer protection perspective.

All of this is not to say that CBD laws have been met without any confusion. In some states, vendors and sellers have reported being accosted by the authorities, having their stores raided, or even being arrested. CBD stores have reported being raided in Washington, D.C., Kansas, and South Carolina. Indeed, in South Carolina, an Attorney General’s decisions originally caused stores to remove CBD from their shelves, citing fears that sale of the product may be illegal. However, those issues appear to have been settled, with CBD now being sold throughout the state.

CBD is essentially legal in all fifty states, but each comes with its own restrictions. For more information, you can visit this website, or Google your state’s name and CBD.

Where to buy legal CBD

Eden’s Herbals can sell you high-quality, THC-free CBD. Eden’s Herbals can offer a variety of products, including CBD Gummies, CBD Tinctures, CBD Topicals, and CBD Isolate. It is worth noting that these products come in a range of sizes and dosages, everything from 1000 mg oil to 4000 mg oil.

Thanks to federal legalization, CBD can be legally purchased and sold anywhere in the United States. Additionally, it can be shipped across state lines, so as long as you live in the United States, you can purchase Eden’s Herbals and have it shipped right to your doorstep.