Is CBD legal? According to a federal appeals court, CBD is still considered a Schedule 1 controlled substance as mandated by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
The decision, issued in early May by a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit in San Francisco, means that hemp producers can only sell cannabidiol where it is allowed under state law.
It also means that states that allow CBD — even if they don’t allow the sale of marijuana – are violating federal law, the same as states that allow recreational cannabis.
Still, there’s a loophole. The court noted that the 2014 Farm Bill allows states to experiment with hemp policy, giving CBD producers some protection if they can prove their products were legally produced.