Is CBD Oil Legal in the UK?

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Putting your mind at ease over the not so controversial world of CBD!

For so long there has been a lingering stigma attached to CBD oils and all of their associated products. And it's this stigma that has stopped so many people from taking CBD, who could have otherwise benefitted enormously from it.

The question: Is CBD oil legal in the UK? Will be answered fully in this article, we aim to fully set your mind at ease if you still aren't sure about CBD, its legality, and the stigma surrounding it. 

Estimated reading time: 11 minutes

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1. Is CBD oil Legal?

The short answer – yes, yes – 1000x yes!

CBD products, including CBD oils of different strengths, are entirely legal in the UK. Like anything, however, they do have to abide by legal requirements. These dictate how they can be produced, advertised, and sold. It wasn't until the last couple of years however that regulation on CBD products was enforced – and we couldn't have welcomed it any sooner!

2. Novel Food Licensing

 In 2019, CBD was classified as a ‘novel food‘ in the UK and by the European Commission. These are essentially food products that haven't had a long or established history of consumption. So are monitored by the Food Standards Agency for safety. Applications for a licence ended on 31st March 2021. As a member of The European Industrial Hemp Association, The Real CBD is covered under their joint novel food license.

To obtain this licence, all the products produced and sold by companies had to undergo strict testing. To ensure their legitimacy and quality, the tests included:

• Full Chemical Analysis
• Stability Testing
• Microbiological Testing
• Toxicological Evaluations
• ADME Evaluation

What this means for you, as a consumer, is that you can be 100% certain that all of our products are safe to use, regulated and trustworthy.

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3. CBD is a Food Supplement

CBD extracts and products being classified as a novel food essentially means that they are a food supplement. This doesn't mean, however, that taking CBD can't have life-changing effects. Nor does it detract from the benefits that people see while taking it for various ailments and illnesses.

There are undeniable benefits when you take various other food supplements like; cod liver oil, multivitamins, probiotics, vitamin D, proteins, magnesium etc. However, the wealth of emerging evidence places CBD front and centre of the health benefit line-up. 

It's not at all surprising for people to start taking CBD as a supplement alongside prescribed and over-the-counter medicines. Only to find that they can achieve the same benefits with CBD alone! That being said, you should always consult with your doctor before taking it alongside medications. This is because CBD can have an effect on certain medicines – see here for more information.

Check out some of our other blog posts specific to each area for more information on how CBD is changing people's lives already – by clicking here!

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4. So, What Was All the Confusion About?

One of the main areas of concern for consumers of CBD, was that it was so difficult to know which producers and sellers you could trust. But with the gladly enforced regulation of the CBD market, there will be filtering out of sellers and producers who aren't putting out the products they say they are.

So, whilst CBD products were never illegal, it was harder for you as a consumer to be confident in the products that you were buying!

Another reason why CBD legality was always seen as a grey area in the UK was the association with the recreational drug, cannabis. This has a big part to play in the confusion for some people, whether CBD products were legal or not. So, while CBD is entirely legal, it is true that cannabis (Marijuana) is still currently a Class B drug under UK drug laws. 

More about CBD

• Where to buy pure CBD oil in Spain
• Is CBD legal in Germany?
• Can you travel with CBD?
• Why is a Novel Food Licence for CBD important?
• Can CBD help Jetlag?

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5. Cannabis (THC) is Still Illegal – For Now…

Cannabis (Marijuana) is a variant of the cannabis plant. Specifically, grown to have higher levels of the cannabinoid called tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).  It is the THC found in the cannabis plant that affects the brain and gets you high or stoned. But what most people don't know is that there are over 120 different cannabinoids found in cannabis plants, one of them being cannabidiol, AKA CBD.

So, it is the THC within the plant that is responsible for cannabis finding its way onto the list of Class B, illegal drugs currently in the UK. The caveat to this is that CBD products containing less than 0.2% THC content are also legal because they are unable to produce any psychoactive effect. 

The penalties for possessing cannabis can land you with up to 5 years in prison and/or an unlimited fine. However, the most likely consequence of being found to have cannabis (marijuana) for personal use on you is confiscation and an on-the-spot £90 fine. Supplying or producing cannabis for supply is still considered a more serious offense, and can lead to a prison sentence of up to 14 years. This is also true for unregulated hemp growth in the UK, as bizarrely the law currently makes no distinction between hemp, cannabis or marijuana plants.

6. Will Cannabis be Illegal for Much Longer?

Whilst still illegal, cannabis-related offences are a highly subjective affair, even amongst different police forces in the UK. For example, back in 2015, Durham's Police and Crime Commissioner, openly declared that they would no longer actively pursue cannabis consumers or small-scale growers. This act was met, almost entirely, with support from the public as an example of common-sense policing. 

CBD in the USA

In fact, you are starting to see more and more places beginning to legalise cannabis production, sales and consumption. Did you know that as of writing this article 15 states in the USA have fully legalised cannabis use? With a total of 36 states, recognising its benefits, and legalising it for medical use!

CBD in Europe

Other European nations are beginning to legalise or decriminalise its use, too. Perhaps the most famous of all for cannabis is the Netherlands approach to cannabis use in cities such as Amsterdam. In Spain and Italy also, it is legal to grow and consume cannabis within the privacy of your own home. Other countries like Germany, minimising action taken against people consuming cannabis for personal use. Portugal has gone one step further than most and decriminalised almost all drug use of any kind!

Many commentators and activists suspect that the UK will follow the example being set by other countries around the world. Most believe that cannabis use will continue to be slowly decriminalised, as its use and popularity grow. Again, the answer to the question: ” Is CBD oil legal in the UK?” is YES

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7. Is CBD the Same as Medical Cannabis?

Because of the amazingly beneficial results, people see from taking CBD products to help with symptom relief and medical conditions, there is sometimes confusion over whether CBD and medical cannabis are the same things. 

They are not.

As we mentioned before, CBD is a food supplement. That can sometimes provide people with the same benefits that you can get while taking some prescription medications.

Medicinal cannabis is something entirely different and once again, it's not quite as straightforward as you might think.  Natural medical cannabis was first legalised in California, USA way back in 1996. Nowadays, there are approximately 3500 strains of medical marijuana found all across the USA, issued by expert dispensaries for a variety of illnesses, most notably as part of cancer treatments.

However, in the UK and across the EU, there are only two types of synthetic cannabis-based medicines available, which are Epidyolex and Sativex. These are used in the UK for a very select group of conditions including rare forms of epilepsy and their use is tightly regulated. Natural, medicinal cannabis in its raw plant form is not available or legal for medical use at all in the UK or in the EU.

Where legality is concerned, the most important difference between CBD and medicinal cannabis products is in the THC content. For example, Sativex contains a mixture of 1 part CBD to 1 part THC. Because the THC content of these 2 medications is much higher than the >0.2% found in some CBD products, it's only available on prescription. 

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8. Can I Travel Abroad with My CBD?

Many countries are starting to open up to the idea of legalisation of all cannabis products. Therefore most western countries are openly embracing CBD oil and other CBD-based products. 

However, some countries around the world, like China and Russia, are still incredibly restrictive when it comes to any product derived from the cannabis plant. As such, it is crucially important that you always check before traveling with CBD, so that you don't land yourself in any trouble outside the UK.

9. Can I Order CBD from Abroad?

You can order CBD products from abroad, however, you should be incredibly careful and always source them from a respected, tested and regulated source. Outside the UK and the EU CBD product regulation is not as tightly controlled.

For example, you might be ordering and taking something that isn't what it says it is in terms of purity, strength or even content. You might also unknowingly be importing a product that's THC content makes it illegal within the UK or EU if you order from outside these areas. 

Therefore, it is vitally important to only order CBD products from trusted, reputable and most importantly, regulated companies – like The Real CBD, which trade all across Europe!

10. Get in Touch…

So, hopefully, by now you are a little more aware of the law surrounding CBD products in the UK. If you have any other questions or queries regarding anything CBD or CBG related, please feel free to contact us as we are always more than happy to help out!

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11. FAQ – Is CBD legal in UK?

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The Real CBD is legal in UK