The trade and possession of cannabidiol made from hemp are legally allowed in the district of Washington DC. If made from marijuana, it is possible to purchase cannabidiol only from Washington DC-regulated medical dispensaries using a medical cannabis card.
The above is what many allude to when they ask this question: ‘Is CBD legal in DC?’ The answer to it depends on which form of cannabidiol you want to use and how. You could buy a low-THC CBD item without any prescription. Conversely, buying a high-THC version of it requires the aforesaid card. Keep reading to know more information concerning CBD in Washington DC.
CBD-Related Laws In DC
The District is yet to pass laws specific to this plant and launch a hemp program. This may seem odd, given that the Agricultural Amendment Act has already been passed. Under the act, hemp derivatives’ sale is legal in DC provided that their tetrahydrocannabinol levels do not go beyond 0.3%. Last July, the District Attorney General, Karl Anthony Racine, signed an official document seeking clear guidelines from the FDA on the production and trade of cannabidiol.
Cannabis is legally allowed here for recreational and medical use. It was made legal way back in 1998 as per Initiative 59, but it took 15 more years for it to be formally implemented. Patients who have medical cannabis cards can buy cannabis-derived cannabidiol from those regulated dispensaries.
As per 2015’s Initiative 71, adult cannabis use became lawful for those aged 21 years or above. Anyhow, the ballot initiative never made any provision on the trade of cannabis. Its possession and utilization are not legally allowed in public spots. As of April 2020, the District was working to make recreational marijuana commerce legal through the Safe Cannabis Sales Act of 2019.
CBD Licensing Requirements
The District has no established hemp program as yet. There are no laws unique to the growing, licensing, testing, or the making of this plant. Retailers do not have to meet any licensing-related requirements for selling low-THC CBD products. Anyhow, the aforementioned act from 2019 put forward cannabis derivative labeling requirements.
Cannabidiol Possession Limits In DC
The District is yet to establish any specific limit to how much cannabidiol one can possess. However, this does not mean that it is possible to possess any amount of CBD you want. The 2019 act has put forward ‘72 ounces’ as the daily limit for a phytocannabinoid product that comes as a liquid. However, this proposal is yet to be turned into official law.
If derived from the cannabis herb, cannabidiol users are supposed to follow the possession limits. These are yet to be explicitly communicated, but there exist the limits unambiguously stated for the plant or its strains. For your information, the word ‘strain’ here refers to a variety of cannabis.
People who possess over 2 ounces of it might face misdemeanor charges, be in prison for as far as 6 months, plus have a fine of up to $1000.
Which Are The Best CBD Sources In DC?
You can buy low-THC CBD items from health shops and CBD-only physical stores. When buying from a DC storefront, especially if it specializes in cannabidiol, a staff member is likely to guide you through the purchase. Tell them what kind of product you are seeking, why you want to consume it, and they could give you the right guidance.
Washingtonians can also purchase low-THC CBD from an e-commerce website. It is worth noting that any website that sells CBD items can be deemed an e-commerce site. This could be the case even if the site is more into promoting the product than selling it. This means you can find quality CBD goods from CBD brand websites too. It is also possible to discover and learn about the finest CBD brands from those online review portals that test and verify their goods.
As stated above, you can shop for a high-THC CBD product from the District-regulated medical dispensary with the card. By high-THC CBD, we mean a cannabidiol product made from cannabis or marijuana. The difference between marijuana and hemp is in the concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol in these plants. If the cannabis plant has below 0.3% tetrahydrocannabinol, the federal legislation would consider it hemp. Otherwise, it would be deemed marijuana under the legislation.
Tips On Buying The Product
No US federal agency properly regulates CBD to ensure that it is pure and safe for people to use it. Therefore, several contaminated hemp derivatives exist in the market. This is why you must check the label carefully when buying any of these products. The product label should at least mention its dosage, THC level, its date/batch code, and whether it is isolate, broad-spectrum, or full-spectrum.
You should also ask the seller for a third-party laboratory test result to confirm that the product has no contaminant. This piece of information is unlikely to be printed on the product label.