Is It Legal to Sell CBD Products in the UK?

Everyone knows that cannabis products, or anything cannabis-related, are fundamentally illegal and dangerous, right?

Yet, despite this apparently “universal” truth, CBD products have begun cropping up all over the UK. From local pharmacies to retail stores, CBD oils, CBD capsules, and many other types of CBD have started appearing.

How is this possible? Is it legal to sell CBD products in the UK?

What Is CBD?

Well, for starters, you need to properly understand what CBD is. While a lot of people might assume that it is just cannabis, CBD is incredibly distinct from regular marijuana.

Interestingly, the cannabis plant contains a multitude of different ‘cannabinoids’. While THC is the most infamous, the other famous cannabinoid is CBD. CBD, or cannabidiol, is a non-psychoactive compound that interacts with your body’s endocannabinoid system, resulting in a myriad of effects.

The CBD itself is usually extracted from cannabis plants using a process that is called supercritical carbon dioxide extraction. This involves heating carbon dioxide to a supercritical temperature, allowing it to act as both a uniform gas and a liquid. This will enable it to retrieve the cannabinoids from the plant, leaving behind all of the unwanted plant matter.

This is how the most basic CBD products are made, and it results in an effect known as CBD oil. From there, this base ingredient can be used in all kinds of different CBD products, from CBD edibles to CBD lotions.

However, how is it possible for CBD products of any kind to be sold in the UK? Isn’t everything related to cannabis totally illegal?

The Legality of CBD Products

While it is undoubtedly true that regular cannabis is illegal in the UK, this doesn’t include every single type of product made from the cannabis plant.

For example, while most people think of cannabis as only being a recreational drug, some cannabis plants with no THC in them are used as a common textile material.

The rules concerning CBD in the UK are primarily tied to its THC concentration. This means any products made from cannabis plants can be considered legal, so long as they do not contain any more than 0.2% THC.

As long as your product doesn’t contain over the permitted limit of THC, then you will never have a problem. However, there are still numerous regulations surrounding CBD’s sale and production, despite its initial legality.

While the growth distribution of cannabis and hemp plants is treated pretty much the same as regular agriculture in other countries, this is not the UK’s case. If you want to grow cannabis plants in the UK, you need a special license from the government. These licenses are incredibly challenging to obtain, and there can only ever be a few given at a time.

It can also help if you already have some kind of connection to the government, as in the case of the UK’s biggest hemp grower, Paul Robert Kenward. His wife is the Tory MP Victoria Atkins, who was previously in charge of the distribution of cannabis plants all over the country.

So, while CBD itself might be perfectly legal in the UK, being able to cultivate and make CBD to sell can sometimes be a bit of a challenge if you do not have the right connections.

Final Thoughts: Is It Legal to Sell CBD Products in the UK?

The legality of CBD products in the UK has always been somewhat confusing for the average person. Surrounded by a whole host of legislation and rather specific criteria, it can feel like you need to complete an exam before you are allowed to buy it.

Thankfully, retailers like Provacan make the whole thing much easier. Instead of having to worry about being in breach of specific rules or having to do your research, Provacan simply provides all the info you need right there.

You can just buy one of their products and be confident that you are staying within the law because they are a British company that conforms to the law. Additionally, they provide copious helpful lab reports, always ensuring that you have every single piece of information you might need when buying CBD oil.

While you can certainly do all the necessary research and find other brand options, it is a lot easier to simply shop at places like Provacan and know that you are getting the best.