Is CBD Oil Legal

The Farm Bill: Where is CBD Oil Legal?

The 2018 Farm Bill, officially known as the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, removed cannabis sativa plants with no more than 0.3% THC from the Controlled Substances Act. Legally termed "Industrial Hemp". Since hemp is now federally legal, any state that wants to create and sell derivatives from it can, with the most popular derivative being CBD oil. The 2018 Farm Bill grants the FDA the authority to regulate products containing cannabis as well. While federal laws limit hemp-derived CBD to 0.3% Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), individual state laws may allow CBD items to have more than 0.3%.

However, CBD can also be derived from marijuana products, and these products may or may not adhere to the 0.3% rule if marijuana is legal in the state. Let's take a closer look at state laws around the United States to give you a better idea at which cannabis products are legal and illegal. CBD and cannabis laws are still rapidly changing, so make sure you look up your state's current restrictions before buying as it may differ from the information below.

US States Where Both Hemp And Marijuana CBD products Are Legal

12 US states have essentially no restrictions on CBD products: Washington, District of Columbia, Oregon, Alaska, California, Nevada, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, Vermont, Maine, and Massachusetts.

28 US states allowed hemp-CBD for recreational use, but restrict marijuana-CBD for medical purposes only: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

US States Where Only Hemp-CBD Products Are Legal

10 US states that allow hemp-derived CBD, but ban marijuana-derived CBD: Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.

US States Where CBD Laws Are Fall Into A Legal Grey Zone

South Dakota technically only allows FDA-approved CBD for medical use. However, there is currently one CBD item approved which is designed for humans and is an isolate. State laws have reclassified CBD from a Schedule 1 to a Schedule 4 substance.

Idaho allows use of FDA-approved CBD, and non-marijuana unregulated CBD products that contain no traces of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol. Because Idaho lumps both the hemp and marijuana plant together, for a CBD product to be legal in the state, it must be derived or produced from (a) mature stalks of the plant, (b) fiber produced from the stalks, (c) oil or cake made from the seeds or the achene of such plant, (d) any other compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of the mature stalks, or (e) the sterilized seed of such plant which is incapable of germination.

CBD's Legality In The United States Summarized

So is CBD oil legal along with other CBD products? When limited to no more than 0.3% THC, the sale of hemp-derived products from hemp such as CBD is federally legal in the United States. However, the legal status of CBD in the United States allows state laws to prevail over federal law.

What is CBD, Hemp, Cannabis, and More

For the most part, CBD is taken from hemp vs. marijuana plants because hemp lacks notable amounts of THC, where marijuana has a lot of it. What happens when you have a lot of THC and you decide to consume it? Well, you can probably guess, and that is you get high. However, while the compound plays a large part in many of the medical benefits that come from marijuana, it’s not the only one by far! Cannabis has hundreds of different compounds that appear to all have medical properties that can benefit health. And not just our health, but pets' health too. Like our dogs and cats!

Funny enough, besides THC, the other therapeutic compounds in cannabis either can’t cause a high due to the pathways they take in the body, or they appear in such trace amounts they stay what many call “non-psychoactive”. The latter is what happens with it when taken from hemp. That’s right! While responsible for the marijuana’s high, it can’t always cause a high.

This happens for two reasons. First, because when you or someone else don’t consume enough, it won’t overstimulate the Endocannabinoid System (ECS). This is the internal regulatory system that the compounds in cannabis largely interact with. Second, THC can’t always cause a high if there are significant levels of some of the other compounds found in cannabis. For instance, cannabidiol (CBD).

While named after a single compound found in cannabis, CBD oil, and other CBD products contain all the compounds found in cannabis. However, CBD items can’t cause a high because they are restricted to containing trace amounts of THC. As well, they have boosted levels of CBD itself, which blocks the notorious compound from overstimulating the ECS.

To better understand how this all works, let’s look at how the compounds in CBD oil and products derived from cannabis work within the body to improve health.

How CBD Oil Works?

While named after one single compound found in hemp plants, the vast majority of CBD products contain all the hundreds of different compounds found in the flowers of these plants. We call these products full spectrum, such as full spectrum CBD oil. While there are a lot of different compounds, we can divide them into two groups based on their structure and actions. This gives us our cannabinoids and terpenes. Both THC and CBD are cannabinoids. 

Homeostasis

Most of the benefits that come from any cannabis product are due to it interacting with the ECS. This regulatory system is made up of two types of receptors (CB1 and CB2) along with specialized neurotransmitters (2-AG and anandamide) that activate them. For simplicity, we refer to the ECS as being made up of cannabinoid receptors and endocannabinoids that activate them.

CB1 and CB2 receptors are found throughout many parts of the body and in other regulatory systems. When activated, they release signals to the surrounding area, helping it calm down and ensure it’s properly carrying out its role even when overworked. One example of this is the ECS's ability to help the immune system remain calm, promoting good inflammation that attacks pathogens while keeping away bad inflammation that attacks the body through mistaken identity.

When the body carries out actions like this, we call it homeostasis. Homeostasis includes everything from regulating body temperature to maintain an inner calm. Without it, we and every other mammal alive, would cease to exist. A fun example of homeostasis is yawning, which we still aren't still exactly sure what it's for. One thought is that yawning quickly helps fills the body with oxygen when levels are low. The other major thought is it's a great way to release heat building up in the brain/head region. While we still aren't sure why exactly organisms yawn, both are examples of homeostasis and how it maintains health.

Tetrahydrocannabinol vs. Cannabidiol

THC has the ability to stimulate CB1 receptors more so than our self-created endocannabinoids can. When large amounts of it are ingested, too many CB1 receptors are over-activated. When this happens, the result is the feeling of the high that can bring on some serious side effects depending on the person. Put these two things together, and you get a lot of restrictions on it. The case cannot be made for CBD, however.

CBD, on the other hand, binds to CB1 receptors in a different place, preventing it from overstimulating them. As well, it blocks THC compounds from fully attaching, also preventing overstimulation.

Then, CBD inadvertently really helps out the body by ensuring enough CB2 receptors are being naturally activated by self-created endocannabinoids. CBD does this by helping the body from prematurely recycling endocannabinoids for reuse before they can even do their job.

Because CBD works more "naturally", the effects of CBD are often described as intangible because CBD is more so helping the body perform as it should vs. THC, which can hide the pain in a way the body naturally can't. This alone makes CBD a safer option. The amount of tetrahydrocannabinol in a cannabis plant or product, legally defines whether it can be sold under the 2018 U.S. Farm Bill. This bill limits tetrahydrocannabinol to no more than 0.3 percent, allowing it to be sold as a legal hemp product and not a marijuana one.

That’s right, out of hundreds of therapeutic compounds, it’s just one that separates the legal definition between hemp and marijuana. Technically, a CBD product containing less than 0.3% THC can come from both marijuana and hemp plants. Extraction methods make it fairly easy, but expensive to remove it without removing the other cannabinoids. This means you can take a marijuana crop with 30 percent THC and create CBD oils from it with less than 0.3 percent THC. This creates a legal grey zone where a CBD oil derived from marijuana plants is legal in states that have legalized marijuana, but not in states that haven't. The Farm Bill is typically amended every year, so future bills may address this issue of CBD's legal status.

Hemp CBD And Its Benefits

Limited to no more than 0.3 percent THC, CBD oil can't cause a high like medical marijuana can. However, they share many of the same benefits. Both research and personal reports show hemp-derived CBD may help with anxiety, pain, inflammation, epilepsy, appetite, general health, and more.

Does CBD oil actually do anything?

By supporting the endocannabinoid system, CBD can help support regulatory health, from supporting a healthier appetite to keeping the immune system stable. The likely reason CBD helps so much and in so many cases is because diseases can both result from a weakened ECS or cause one. This creates an endocannabinoid deficiency, which CBD helps correct.

Is Hemp Oil Legal?

Hemp oil, or more appropriately called hemp seed oil comes from exactly where it sounds like. Hemp seeds, while rich in fiber, omega fatty acids, protein, and antioxidants don’t contain any cannabinoids. This is why products derived from the seeds are easy to find in grocery stores and were available legally before CBD was.

CBD Laws Around The World

In the United States, the sale and use of hemp products containing CBD are allowed under the 2018 Farm Bill, otherwise known as the Agricultural Act. This Act removes the sale of hemp and products derived from hemp that contains CBD from the Controlled Substances Act.

CBD is legal in many places around the world. As well, the following countries have federal laws allowing the use of cannabis products like CBD. However, each country has its own restrictions. CBD products are legal in Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Belize, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Franch, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guam, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Republic of Slovenia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Virgin Islands, The United Kingdom, and Uruguay.

it's important to know that the definition of marijuana and hemp-derived products like CBD may differ from country to country.

Can I Drive After Taking CBD Oil?

Current research and accidental evidence all point to it is safe to drive after taking CBD. The concern with driving when using a cannabis product is on THC. Studies are mixed on how THC affects driving, with some showing little impairment and others quite a bit. Fortunately, as long as the CBD taking follows the federally legal limit on THC, there appears there is little to no risk.  

Now, driving laws are quite diverse and muddy, so it's important to research the driving laws concerning cannabis in your area. 

Will CBD Ruin A Drug Test?

It is extremely unlikely a legal CBD hemp will ruin a drug test. If you consume extremely large dosages daily (1,000 mg)+, theoretically enough tetrahydrocannabinol metabolites could build up to cause positive, or more likely false-positive. Many places no longer test for marijuana as well. But you may wish to discontinue the use of CBD a week or two leading up to a drug test. 

Safely Buying CBD

In 2018, the Farm Bill removed hemp-derived products from the Controlled Substances Act allowing the sale of CBD. We are happy to say we ship to all states in the United States. All of our hemp and CBD products have been independently tested for purity and potency with available Certificate of Analysis easily found on our website's front page. We only use organic and non-GMO hemp. With Innovet Pet, you're getting the guarantee that your CBD product is completely legal under federal law. While hemp is low in THC, getting levels down to 0.3% is incredibly difficult. This results in many CBD products with levels of THC, that while likely don't have enough to cause a high, can still be a potential danger to our pets' health. As well, they are illegal under federal and likely state laws.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not currently regulate CBD, treating it like a dietary supplement. This lets companies to freely mislabel their CBD hemp products. This means besides the potential risk of too much THC in a CBD product, the CBD item may have little to no CBD at all. Then there could be other potential safety issues such as toxic metals to pesticide residue contaminating the product.

The Hemp Plant And Cannabidiol

Since CBD is legal in the U.S. on both the federal and state level thanks to the Farm Bill, in just a few short years it's made incredible progress separating itself from marijuana. Which still remains illegal under federal law due to the Controlled Substances Act and completely illegal in several states. However, it's easy to see why CBD is legal, and that's because, unlike even medical marijuana, it can't cause a high, yet still delivers many of the health benefits cannabis is touted for having.

Because in most states CBD oil can't have more than 0.3% THC, or it becomes illegal, it's important you buy reputable and high-quality CBD. That means never buying CBD oil without seeing a COA first, along with always going for organic hemp-derived CBD. This is even more important when buying CBD oil for dogs and cats as they are more sensitive to THC than us. That's why at Innovet Pet, all our CBD products, from our CBD oil to our CBD treats and chews, come with less than 0.3% THC, which you can confirm for yourself with our readily available COAs.