Where is CBD legal? With the rising popularity of CBD and the growing number of users, more questions are being asked about the popular substance. Not only do people want to know more about what this substance has to offer, but also if they can benefit from it themselves.
One of the main things that is putting a real obstacle in people’s way when it comes to enjoying the benefits of CBD is legality. Yep, that’s right. CBD might be one of the most popular topics at the moment and may be taking the trend spotlight, but that does not mean it is legal everywhere?
Curious About CBD Laws? Learn More: UK CBD Law – An In-depth Analysis
What is CBD?
CBD is one of the main cannabinoids found in the cannabis and hemp plant. One of the main things that has caused people to believe that CBD is an illegal substance ‘everywhere’, is the fact that it comes from cannabis and hemp. However, CBD is different from other cannabinoids; like THC for example.
THC is also a cannabinoid, but there is one key thing that makes THC and CBD different from each other; psychoactivity. THC is famous for causing psychoactive effects or a “high” in users. CBD however, does not cause psychoactive effects.
CBD’s non-psychoactivity has allowed it to be legalised more ‘easily’ than THC. It has also allowed people to understand that CBD is meant to be used in a different way than THC, and it’s not just a ‘drug’ for ‘thrill seekers’.
Where is CBD Legal?
Although CBD being legal worldwide would make it easier for thousands of CBD users to enjoy their beloved substance, things are simply not that easy. The illegality of cannabis and hemp growth production has made the legality of CBD complicated, thus leaving CBD’s legality in a ‘grey area’.
Because of the ‘touchy’ legality of cannabis, there is an even more complicated process for CBD users that prefer cannabis-derived CBD, as opposed to hemp-derived CBD.
Another thing that makes the legality of CBD complicated is the different types of CBD products. Those that contain higher levels of THC can be illegal, but products that contain lower levels of THC are legal.
At times it can be quite difficult to find out the legal status of CBD in certain countries. While the United Kingdom and Canada seem easy enough to find information on, the United States is a whole different story as the laws change from state to state.
United Kingdom – One of the ‘hotspots’ for growing CBD companies and CBD communities is the UK. Thanks to the legalisation of CBD in 2018, thousand of CBD lovers in the UK are finally able to enjoy any CBD products that does not exceed the THC limit of 0.2%.
Canada– Thanks to the legalisation of cannabis on a recreational basis, CBD products of all descriptions are easy to find in Canada, and because of this, there is a flourishing community of CBD users and CBD companies.
United States – Although individual states of the USA make their own unique laws regarding the production and selling of CBD products, many of them allow the legal recreational use of marijuana, thus making CBD legal. These states include Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington.
While some states don’t allow the recreational use of cannabis, there are others that do allow some types of CBD products, majorly hemp-derived CBD including Oklahoma, New Mexico, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Georgia, Delaware, Florida and Connecticut.
List of Countries that Allow the Sale of CBD
Along with the above three countries, below is a list of countries that do allow the sale of CBD products that we know of. Please note, that this list is just a guideline and can change at any given moment depending on regulation changes in any of these countries.
European Countries
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- Georgia
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Slovenia
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- United Kingdom
Asia
- Japan
- Hong Kong
- India
North America
- Canada
- The United States of America
South America
- Argentina
- Belize
- Chile
- Colombia
- Costa Rica
- Guatemala
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Puerto Rico
- Uruguay
- U. S. Virgin Islands
Africa
- South Africa
As mentioned before, this list is just a guideline of countries that we do know that the sale of CBD is legal and can change at any given moment. Also, while somf of the countries that haven’t made it to the list, this doesn’t necessarily mean CDB is illegal in them. It just means that their regulations are very unclear or the info is just not easily accessible.
If you are looking to purchase CBD or bring CBD into a country that you are not sure of, always double-check the legal status first.
The Future of CBD’s Legalisation
Thanks to the growing demand of CBD, it seems that this popular compound has a bright future. Not only are more people wanting to learn more about this natural compound, but are also asking “when will we get the chance to enjoy it in our country too?!”.
Well, thanks to this interest, and the positivity of the CBD community, its worldwide legality might actually become a reality in a not so far away future. Another thing that might allow CBD to become more widely used and legalised is more proof and studies done on the cannabinoid.
The more that we learn about the cannabinoid, and what benefits it can offer users, the better. Even if we now only have limited information, and are still in a slight ‘grey’ area about what this compound can do, we have discovered many good things.
We hope to soon know more about CBD, what it can offer us, and how it can make our future brighter, and with this, we also hope to soon see it be legalised in more countries worldwide, so that a larger number of CBD lovers can enjoy this trendy compound.
