A question that has come up to me recently is whether or not CBD oil is legal in the State of Florida. This is a tough question to answer because state law and federal law seem to be at odds with each other throughout the country. Some can argue that state law does not endorse use of CBD oil without a prescription.
What is CBD?![]()
Let’s first talk about what CBD oil is. CBD is cannabidoiol which is made from cannabis. CBD does not produce a psychoactive effect when consumed for the most part. This is different from THC which is the active ingredient in marijuana. (The thing that gets you high.)
Florida’s law
In 2014 Florida, legalized non-euphoric strain’s of marijuana. This in effect was CBD oil known as “Charlotte’s Web.” In 2016, the legislature broadened the scope to encompass all types of marijuana. While it took legislature some time to get the regulations in place, it is a lot more commonplace to be prescribed now in 2018. The caveat of this law was the marijuana could not be smoked, it had to be taken in a different way.
In May, a judge in Tallahassee ruled that a law banning smokable medical marijuana was unconstitutional. This may give way to ending the statewide ban.
CBD
As discussed above, CBD oil has been legalized in Florida since 2014. However, it needs to be prescribed. Right now, the federal government has CBD oil as a schedule one substance, making it illegal. According to an article in Tech Crunch magazine, the FDA approved a drug to control seizures made from CBD. The article points out that this may cause the DEA to reschedule CBD not as a scheduled one substance.
Conflict
So the conflict comes into play that state law allows for CBD oil under prescription, but the federal law would ban it. This is much along the lines of the use of recreational marijuana in states like California, Colorado, Washington, and Oregon. The states have all legalize recreational marijuana even though the federal government still classifies it as illegal.
The concern comes to me as people point out they can go to natural medicine shops and purchase CBD oil. One wonders how you can go into a place of business regulated by a local municipality and purchase a substance that is on the DEA schedule one substance list? The answer is, I don’t know. It seems like federal law enforcement really isn’t targeting these operations. And I don’t know what local law enforcement is doing.
The question I give in return, is until there is more clarification to whether or not CBD oil is legal for purchase without a prescription, do you want to make that purchase? As the adage goes you might be the wrap but you can’t beat the ride.
I would venture to say things might change rapidly in the next 6 to 12 months. The more commonplace people are using marijuana and CBD oil for beneficial purposes the more likely we will see some real change. Check out this article here.
