Dear Stoner: The CBD oil I used to buy online now calls itself full-spectrum hemp oil. Is that the same stuff?
Kelly
Dear Kelly: Industrial hemp was legalized a few weeks ago when President Donald Trump signed the 2018 Farm Bill. While that did legalize hemp-derived CBD and open the door for endless products made from hemp, it also puts CBD under the spotlight of federal regulations.
Now that hemp is legal federally, hemp-derived CBD products consumed by humans and animals fall under the jurisdiction of the Food and Drug Administration, which must inspect and approve these products before deeming them safe for consumption and approving them for interstate commerce.
If CBD companies want to sell their products online and distribute to other states, expect them to drop pesky references to CBD and to start using terms like “infused with 20 milligrams of hemp extract” or “full-spectrum hemp extract.” If the products are made and sold in Colorado, where hemp has been fully legal since 2012, you’re still likely to see labels that refer to CBD. What does all this mean at the end of the day? You're probably consuming the same products, but they're labeled differently, causing more research and work for you, the consumer.
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