Cannabidiol – usually referred to as CBD – is a chemical compound found in both marijuana and hemp. It is very popular as it has almost no psychoactive effects. It is very likely that people still have a great many questions about the compound, which seems to have rapidly increased in popularity over the last ten years. Here are a few useful answers to common questions.
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Is It Marijuana?
CBD can be derived from both marijuana and hemp. The two plants are related but contain wildly differing levels of THC – the active compound that gets people ‘high’. A lot of CBD products are created using hemp. When you order CBD gummies online from a legitimate provider, you’ll likely be getting a product that has not been taken from the same plants that have major psychoactive properties.
It is true, however, that CBD can be obtained from marijuana plants. In countries where marijuana is legal, a great deal of CBD is derived from it.
How Long Have People Used It?
While marijuana has been used for millennia, CBD was only isolated for the first time in 1940. the widespread use of CBD has only caught steam in the mid-2000s.
Is It Legal?
CBD is legal in a number of countries, although not all. For instance, in 2018, the US Congress passed the Agriculture Improvement Act and officially signed it into US law. Essentially, this new law removed hemp from the federal Controlled Substances Act. What that meant was that CBD was thus legal thereafter, so long as it comes from the hemp plant.
Governments worldwide are still on the fence about CBD. In some countries, it is absolutely illegal and has no regulation. However, in the US and a few other countries, such as the UK, CBD from hemp has been legalized as long as the products are safe for consumption and accurately labeled.
Furthermore, many of these CBD regulations in countries and states where the product is legal also prohibit the use of certain ingredients and make it illegal to make medical or therapeutic claims about CBD and CBD products without authorization. All this red tape is actually good news for CBD consumers. It means that the CBD industry is more heavily regulated, safer, and more reliable to users.
Can I Grow And Harvest It Myself?
The answer to this question is almost certainly “no” in most countries. Cannabis and hemp are both controlled plants in most nations – even in ones where CBD and/or cannabis are legal. Many countries do not allow the public to grow their own plants due to their use in creating THC-rich weed, which is usually illegal. However, in some places, it is possible to get licensing to grow these plants as crops. For instance, in the UK, prospective farmers have to sign up for a license that enables inspections of their crops and products to make sure that they are not growing THC-rich plants unlawfully.
Low THC cannabis is legally categorized as ‘industrial hemp’ in the UK. These licenses are not generally granted to people looking to grow plants for personal CBD harvesting. You are much better off buying CBD products from respected retailers and producers that have direct relationships with licensed farmers – not just in the UK but no matter where you are purchasing CBD products (so long as it is legal to do so in your country, of course).
