Is CBD Oil Legal in the UK?

Over 1.3 million people in the UK use CBD oil. When it comes to cannabis and legalization, there are co compounds that contain more excitement than CBD (cannabidiol) and THC (tetrahydrocannabinol). CBD has such a wide appeal around the world, and in the UK because it is not a psychoactive. This means that CBD will not get you high – and because of this it attracts people who have never used cannabis before, and have no plants to begin.

When it comes to cannabis legalisation, Canada is leading the way, along with a few states in the USA such as California, but, what’s the law in the UK? Is CBD oil legal?

The UK is actually one of the world’s largest producers of legal cannabis, yet, the cannabis policies in the UK are a lot more strict than in Canada and America – however, things are changing.

So, let’s take a look at the laws regarding CBD oil in the UK.

CBD Oil in the UK is legal – but some restrictions apply.

CBD oil and other CBD products in the UK are legal under certain conditions. CBD is legal in the UK under the following conditions:

1. Is derived from industrial Hemp.
2. Contains less than 0.2% THC.
3. The THC cannot be easily separated from CBD.

So, as long as your CBD contains less than 0.2% THC, is hemp based and the THC cannot be separated from the CBD, then it is perfectly legal to buy. Here at Balance CBD, we comply with UK regulations.

Balance CBD oils are made hemp from British farms, all of our CBD products that we offer in the UK are made in the UK and our products contain zero THC – so if you buy CBD oil from Balance CBD you can be perfectly confident that you are buying legal CBD oil.

We want to empower our users to make good decisions, so let’s talk about cannabis laws in more detail, but first lets talk about the differences between the cannabis and hemp plants. 

What is the difference between hemp plants and cannabis plants?

In the UK, this is where the confusion arises so we’ve made it simple for you to understand.

• Hemp plants are rich in CBD and low in THC.
• Cannabis plants have an abundance of both THC and CBD.

As cannabis plants contain so much THC and other cannabinoids, CBD derived from them is not legal.

As hemp plants are rich in CBD – CBD oil and CBD products created using the hemp plant are legal.

When you buy CBD from high-street stores in the UK, they will often talk to you about “hemp oil”. Hemp oil, is not actually CBD oil and it’s made from seeds of the hemp plant. It’s essentially a cooking oil so we do not recommend buying CBD oil labelled as hemp oil.

In fact, hemp seed oil isn’t even good for cooking or frying. It has a low smoke point which means that it starts to burn at a low temperature. So, we recommend sticking to buying CBD from trusted brands like ourselves! We made lab results and third party tests available for everyone to see, this means that you know exactly what is in the CBD product you are buying.

Is THC legal in the UK?

Anything containing more than 0.2% THC is illegal under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 – unless you have a prescription from a doctor, although even with a prescription, the sad reality is that you’ll probably still face barriers in getting cannabis-based medicine.

However, according to the law, as of Nov. 1, 2018, specialist doctors in the UK have been allowed to prescribe medical cannabis containing more than 0.2% THC, with the exception of Northern Ireland. The distinction of “specialist doctors” is important because that means general practitioners (GP’s) cannot prescribe medicine containing CBD or THC. Additionally, to get THC in the UK your doctor must demonstrate that you need an exceptional clinical need, and that THC is only used as a last resort when no other legal medicines could work.

This means that it’s very difficult to get products with THC in the UK – and this is where the law around CBD becomes more confusing.

If you order CBD from the USA, or other countries then you might be buying CBD that contains more than 0.3% THC.

In the USA, the laws are slightly more relaxed than the UK – however, many of these companies also ship to the UK. If you order CBD from a company that ships from the USA or any other country then you risk having your CBD seized by customs.

This is because it contains more than THC than is legal. In the USA there’s also been many cases of companies selling CBD oil that actually contains more THC than 0.3%, and also selling synthetic CBD.

This is why it’s doubly important to check the third party lab test result. You need to make sure that you are buying high quality CBD oil that is legal in the UK!

Where can I get CBD oil in the UK?

So as CBD oil is legal in the UK, you can buy it from many different sources including health stores on the high-street – however, it’s very easy to be confused about what you are buying.

Professor McGuire, from the Institute of Medical Sciences at the University of Aberdeen says that it’s easy to get confused about what exactly you are buying. “The products sold in health stores often contain very small amounts of CBD, and may also be mixed with other compounds derived from cannabis.

“In contract, the CBD that has been found to be effective in clinical trials is pure CBD, and has a much higher dose”.

Here at Balance CBD, you can buy a great range of CBD products – all of them are third party and independently lab tested.