Nowadays CBD oil is gaining a lot of momentum, mostly as a result of its many health benefits. For one, thisis what people arelookingany kind of health or wellness product. It isalso commonly known that CBD is non-intoxicating, which means that it doesn’t get you ‘high,’ while Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) does.
However, the legality surrounding the use of CBD is still hotly contested. This is because of the different conflicting laws regarding the use of CBD products at both the federal and state levels.
Is CBD legal? It depends.
At the Federal level, CBD oil derived from the hemp plant is legal. It, however, must be cultivated by a licensed grower and must have less than 0.3% THC content. THC is the compound generally considered to cause the feeling of getting ‘high,’ which is associated with the cannabis plant.
These conditions for its legality are backed by the 2018 Farm Bill, signed into law in December 2018 by President Donald Trump. The 2018 Farm Bill classifies hemp as an agricultural product, thus removing it from the federal list of controlled substances.
A misconception of this bill is that it legalized the general use of CBD, whether it be from hemp or marijuana. This is not the case, as the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) classified CBD as a Schedule I substance, which makes it illegal.
Regulations regarding the cultivating of hemp are classified under the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and not under the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), as they were before the signing of the 2018 Farm Bill.
But the legality of CBD is still not quite clear. The 2018 Farm Bill gives authority to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and the Public Health Service Act, to regulate products that contain cannabis, which includes CBD. As such, a product that contains CBD can only be sold across the state lines after it has passed through regulation by the FDA.
As of today, the safety of CBD oil and products is still under evaluation by the FDA. The FDA has released statements saying that products that include CBD, such as dietary supplements and consumables, have no legal backing to be sold across the states of America. However, many vendors sell CBD online to get around these legalities.
State Laws Concerning CBD oil
The push for the legalization of CBD oil has made so much progress that only three states – Idaho, Nebraska, and South Dakota – do not allow consumption of cannabis in any form. You should be able to buy CBD oil legally outside of these states.
Is CBD allowed on Planes?
In recent times, the TSA updated its policies to go be in step with the requirements created in the 2018 Farm Bill. The updated policies allow passengers to carry marijuana-based drugs approved by the FDA and CBD products with less than 0.3 percent of THC.
This is however under technically legal terms, as most states in the US do not have guidelines to test such products. This means your product may contain more THC content than advertised, which could ultimately lead to your arrest and detention by airport authorities.
Ultimately, knowing the laws around using CBD products is an important step in using and enjoy the product. While the United States has made progress in allowing CBD to be sold and consumed in various forms, it is still a long way off from wholly making cannabis-based products legal.
