CBD IN THE UK - IS CBD LEGAL IN ENGLAND?
CBD is legal in the UK, but CBD is found in hemp plants alongside the psychoactive ingredient tetrahydrocannabinol, or ‘THC’, which is a controlled substance. This means that special care must be taken to ensure that CBD products available in the UK do not contain more than trace amounts of THC. At SMOKO we use a cryogenic extraction process for our UK made CBD products with test certificates available online.
INTRODUCTION
With CBD products being so new to the market, and hearing that it comes from cannabis, it is only natural to think that there is something dodgy or illegal about CBD oils. Please note that CBD products are not the same as medicinal cannabis!
However the good news is that the CBD law is simple; is CBD oil legal? Yes, and are even being considered to be medicine by the MHRA when used to treat a medical condition. This is due to recent recognition of the value of cannabis based medicine.
Today then we are going to look at what CBD is, address some of the confusion around other cannabinoid products - like is hemp oil legal in the UK? - and why CBD is not only is it legal, but something that might help you!
WHAT IS CBD OIL?
CBD is a compound called cannabinoid, a chemical found naturally in cannabis sativa (otherwise known as marijuana or hemp plants).
However most CBD oils have more than just CBD in, it also has a whole host of other compounds from the industrial hemp plant or medical cannabis like terpenes and amino acids.
However in the making of CBD a key chemical is removed, which is the THC. Without the THC, CBD has the benefits of cannabis, but won’t get you “high”.
WHERE DOES CBD OIL COME FROM?
CBD is extracted from the cannabis plant, and depending how you extract the CBD there will also be hundreds of other helpful compounds as well.
The type of plant can change, but generally CBD will be extracted from the Cannabis strain sativa, which is low in THC and high in CBD. This can also be called hemp (as the word hemp is normally used for cannabis with only trace amounts of THC in).
Where that cannabis is grown can also differ between CBD oils. Here at SMOKO the cannabis used in our CBD is all grown in the USA on organic and sustainable farms, and then the CBD is extracted and made into CBD in the UK.
DOES CBD OIL HAVE AN INTOXICATING EFFECT?
The simple answer to whether CBD is intoxicating is… no!
When most people think of cannabis they think of the plant as the drug, but in fact the intoxicating effect only comes from one ingredient, THC. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC for short) is the chemical for intoxicating you when you smoke cannabis, and without it cannabis is just another plant.
The THC is extracted during the process from turning cannabis into the CBD oil. Different methods do a better job of this than others but all CBD which is sold will have less than 0.3% THC so there are no intoxicating side effects.
With less than 0.3% THC in, CBD oil cannot intoxicate you, all it can do is help.
IS CBD OIL SAFE?
CBD products are currently being sold as food supplements, and as such is tested to make sure that there is nothing wrong before it is sold.
CBD products are still new though, so although there have been plenty of clinical trials and tests on CBD (with all these studies showing CBD to only be beneficial) we will know more as longer term studies emerge.
For now though we do know that CBD seems to help, and there doesn’t seem to be anything in there that can hurt you.
The only notable side effects from CBD is if you are on other medication. CBD oil has what is known as a “grapefruit warning”, meaning that any medication that reacts badly to grapefruit will also react badly to CBD.
If you are unsure if your medication will react to CBD we would suggest talking to your doctor before trying CBD.
BENEFITS OF CBD OIL
We know that CBD is safe but why then are millions of people using CBD? That is easy, because of the wide variety of issues it can help with.
The three main ways CBD products can help are with relaxation and sleep, pain management and inflammation. Though this doesn’t sound like a huge amount when you say it like this, but these 3 issues are the root of hundreds of different issues.
For example CBD has been shown to help with the symptoms of:
- Chronic pain
- Diabetes
- Focus and concentration
- Anxiety and panic disorders
- Depression
- Arthritis and inflammation
- Insomnia and trouble sleeping
- Epilepsy
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome
It’s important to note that CBD products can’t cure any of these illnesses, but it can help with the symptoms.
CBD is able to do all this because of the endocannabinoid system. The endocannabinoid system (ECS for short) is a system of neurotransmitters and receptors which stretches throughout your body including your brain, organs and spine. The ECS works as our bodies produce endogenous cannabinoids naturally, and is the way our bodies talks to and regulates itself.
For example, if something happens, such as an injury or a fever, throws off your body’s natural equilibrium, your ECS kicks in to help your body return to its ideal operation.
CBD then helps the ECS by boosting this system and putting it into overdrive. As CBD is a cannabinoid like the ones our bodies make CBD seems to be able to make the ECS work harder, helping with everything we mentioned here.
There is also growing evidence that CBD oil could help to improve the overall health of the gut. This is significant due to recent discoveries finding how big the role of our gut plays in our overall health.
WHAT ARE THE LAWS AND LEGISLATION AROUND CBD PRODUCTS IN THE UK?
The reason that there is confusion about whether CBD products are legal in the UK is that cannabis (the plant that CBD comes from) is not legal in the UK.
At the moment cannabis is considered a Class B controlled substance under the misuse of drugs act in the UK, which means that it’s illegal to own the drug.
As we mentioned before though, the main chemical that makes cannabis intoxicating (the THC) is taken out of CBD. As CBD can’t get you “high” it isn’t classified as a drug. The current legal requirement is that anything with levels of THC less than 0.3% THC in is considered legal in the UK.
Even better, in 2016 the MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency) declared that CBD products could be considered for medical licence if they wanted.
As of yet, most no one in the CBD industry have put their CBD brands through the legal process, as it is extremely lengthy process, but the fact that the MHRA is happy to accept CBD as a medicine is encouraging!
For most CBD businesses, CBD products are considered "novel food", meaning that the Food Standards Agency (FSA) doesn't see it as a danger and will allow people to sell it.
But that doesn’t mean CBD are unregulated, as they are considered a form of food they are still controlled by the FSA to make sure that it is safe to sell.
As such they can’t claim that CBD will cure anything, you can point to the evidence and show what the science says, but any CBD that claims to cure anything is breaking the law.
WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF CBD PRODUCTS AVAILABLE IN THE UK MARKET?
CBD can come in all shapes and sizes, from creams, CBD drops and vapes. However you get your CBD though there are 3 different types of CBD that the products will be derived from.
These types are based on how the CBD is made, and how much of the THC is taken out. All three types will have less than 0.3% THC (so it’s all legal in the UK).
Full Spectrum CBD - This CBD type is trying to keep as much of the cannabis plant as possible. The full spectrum tries to take out as little as possible, so as to keep all the good cannabinoids, terpenes and fats in . Due to this, full spectrum will have almost all of the cannabis plant, but might well contain some THC
Broad-Spectrum CBD- Like full spectrum, this type tries to keep as much of the plant in the CBD, however the THC removal is more thorough, meaning that it is certain that there is no THC, but there might be slightly less of the other ingredients that make up cannabis
Isolate CBD Oil - This type is just the CBD compound, with no other cannabinoids, terpenes or THC.
At SMOKO we took the middle ground, and offer the broad spectrum type in our CBD products (CBD oils and CBD gummies). That way we can offer as much of the beneficial effects of cannabis as possible while still being certain there is no THC.
To add to the confusion, there are more products that are made from the hemp plant, such as 'hemp seed oil'. While similarly named, these products are very different. Hemp oil is made from the flower of the hemp plant and is often used to mean CBD oil, where hemp seed oil is made from pressing hemp seeds and contains a multitude of fatty acids and proteins as well as a variety of cannabinoids.
The problem with these definitions is that there is a lot of ambiguity when we talk about hemp oil. As mentioned, there are three different types of CBD product, but hemp oil implies that nothing is extracted from the product - like THC is extracted from CBD isolate and broad-spectrum CBD products.
Is hemp oil legal in the UK? Well, it may contain illegal levels of THC so it depends on the product itself. The THC content in hemp then begs another question: is it illegal to grow hemp in the UK? The answer is not exactly, it is classified as a controlled substance due to the THC, and requires a licence issued from the Home Office.
Typically, CBD is available as food supplements in the form of CBD oral drops, CBD tincture and CBD capsules. You can also find CBD balms or topical creams, and even CBD vape juice! These are all ok under UK law, as long as they abide the legal level of THC.
WHERE CAN YOU BUY CBD OIL IN THE UK?
Many places online and on the high street can be found selling CBD, but wherever you try and get it, make sure that you are buying from a responsible and respected seller.
An easy way to tell if the CBD is to a high quality is to check if the seller offers certificates showing exactly what is in the CBD. These certificates should be from an independent lab that has tested and approved of the CBD.
If the seller is a responsible CBD distributor then you will be able to find these certificates before even buying CBD from them.
At SMOKO we put a link to the certificates on each and every CBD product we sell, so everyone who wants to buy CBD from us can check before they buy. That way you can be sure that the CBD you are buying is of high quality.
CBD, IS IT LEGAL IN THE UK? CONCLUSION
If you have been hearing all about the benefits of CBD, but weren’t sure if it was legal, hopefully this has helped you make up your mind.
Make sure that your CBD doesn’t have THC in, and you are good to go.
To get started and see if CBD can help you as well, have a look at some of our range of CBD oral drops and CBD gummies!
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