CBD (Cannabidiol)
cannabidiol, hemp extract
Sold freely in United States and banned in China. Same substance, same evidence, different decisions.
A non-intoxicating hemp compound sold for calm, sleep and pain.
CBD shows how a single ingredient can be legal, restricted, and banned all at once, often within the same region, because three different rules apply to it: how much THC it contains, whether it counts as a "novel food," and whether it makes a medical claim. The result is a patchwork where a CBD oil may pass customs but the same brand's gummies may not, and where the line keeps moving as authorities tighten their stance.
Where it stands, jurisdiction by jurisdiction
United States
Unregulated, unregulated, sold anywayDecided on: Contested
Hemp-derived CBD with no more than 0.3 percent THC is widely sold, but the FDA holds that CBD does not meet the statutory definition of a dietary supplement and may not lawfully be added to food, because CBD is the active ingredient in an approved drug, Epidiolex, cleared in 2018 for certain seizure disorders. In January 2023 the FDA concluded that existing food and supplement frameworks are not appropriate for CBD, declined to start rulemaking, and said it would work with Congress on a new pathway. The agency continues to issue warning letters over CBD products marketed with disease claims or added to food. State rules vary considerably.
European Union
Unregulated, unregulated, sold anywayDecided on: Precaution, Contested
The European Commission classifies extracted CBD as a novel food that requires pre-market authorization, and no CBD novel-food application has been authorized. EFSA cannot yet establish safety and has kept its evaluations on hold pending new data. In an updated statement adopted in early 2026 EFSA set a provisional safe intake level of 0.0275 mg per kg of body weight per day, about 2 mg per day for a 70 kg adult, while stating safety cannot be established for people under 25, pregnant or breastfeeding women, or those on medication. Separately, the EU Court of Justice ruled in the 2020 Kanavape case that CBD lawfully produced in one member state is not a narcotic and that national marketing bans must be justified by public health and stay proportionate. Enforcement still varies sharply by member state.
United Kingdom
Unregulated, unregulated, sold anywayDecided on: Precaution, Contested
The Food Standards Agency treats ingestible CBD (oils, drinks, gummies, capsules) as a novel food that needs authorization. No CBD product is yet authorized. In England and Wales, only products on the FSA public list, marked validated or awaiting evidence, may stay on sale pending a decision; products not on the list must be withdrawn. CBD flower and products above the trace THC limit remain controlled and can be seized. The FSA also advises healthy adults to limit intake to 10 mg per day.
China
Banned, bannedDecided on: Precaution
China's National Medical Products Administration prohibited CBD and other cannabis sativa derived ingredients in cosmetics from May 2021, when it added them to the inventory of prohibited cosmetic ingredients. Separately, from 1 September 2024 several ministries placed CBD under precursor-chemical controls, subjecting it to licensing, reporting and export restrictions as a precursor of psychoactive cannabinoids. There is no lawful consumer market for CBD products.
Regulatory positions change, sometimes quickly. Check the date on a source before relying on it.