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Are CBD Hemp Flowers Actually Legal In The UK?

CBD hemp buds look and smell just like regular weed. They can also be smoked just like the ‘real thing’. And while smoking hemp buds won’t get you high, it does offer a profoundly relaxing and anxiety-relieving effect.

This has made CBD hemp flowers very popular with people who want to smoke weed without experiencing the heady high that traditionally accompanies it. It’s also being bought by many people who get anxious and paranoid when they smoke high-THC weed, as well as people who are trying to cut down their THC intake.

Despite its growing popularity, however, high-CBD hemp flowers are causing some confusion among cannabis industry professionals and consumers alike. So, in order to try and clear the matter up once and for all, this article will attempt to answer the question: Are CBD hemp flowers legal in the UK?

Hemp flowers are legal – providing they have been ‘processed’

The bottom line, as far as we can tell, is that unprocessed hemp flowers and buds are illegal in the UK under the Misuse Of Drugs Act 1971. However, once the raw material is ‘processed’, it becomes legal. Therefore, buds that have been processed – for example, trimmed and cured – are, in fact, legal in the UK.  

What are CBD hemp flowers?

Hemp is simply cannabis with very low levels of THC that has been grown under licence. As THC is the chemical compound in cannabis that gets you ‘high’, hemp does not offer any psychotropic effects.

It is legal to grow hemp in the UK (and most of the world) providing you have a government-issued licence and you only plant seeds from a list of EU-approved strains. This list features cannabis strains that reliably produce less than 0.2% THC (the UK limit).

Although these hemp varieties are traditionally grown from industrial purposes like in the manufacture of textiles and rope, many European hemp farmers are now growing crops purely for their CBD content. Some extract the CBD to make other products, while some harvest the flowers of the hemp plants, cure and trim them, before selling the raw product on to the consumer.

The resulting product – trichome-rich, high-CBD, low-THC cannabis buds – has become very popular in the UK over the last six months. It follows in the footsteps of similar industries in Switzerland, Austria, Italy, France and Germany, where the product is often sold as a tobacco substitute.

What the law says…

First of all, let’s confirm that products containing CBD are legal providing they contain less than 1mg of THC per unit. The 0.2% limit is a limit imposed on hemp that is being grown under licence by hemp farmers. It is not applicable to CBD products.

Now here’s the fun part; trying to dissect the UK’s confusing drug laws. Under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, cannabis is a Class B controlled drug. In order to allow the hemp industry to continue, however, some exemptions were brought in. These exemptions only include the stalk (used for fibre) and seed (used for food) – not the leaves or flowers (buds).

Judging by this statement, it would seem that hemp flowers are illegal to be possessed or sold in the UK. But not so fast. There is also a condition that says that when a part of the legally-grown hemp part is processed (i.e. changed from its raw form) then it’s allowed. This is why some companies (even some certified by the CTA, a self-appointed regulatory body for the CBD industry) sell hemp buds that have been ground up – the act of grinding the bud counts as a process.

In this vein, it can then be assumed that if a hemp flower product has undergone processing such as curing and trimming, it is, therefore, also exempt from the misuse of Drug Act 1971. So, for a company to stay within the law, it is advisable that they make it clear the buds they are selling have been ‘processed’, whether that be by trimming, grinding, or some other such process.

What the police say…

Police forces of the UK are also apparently very confused on the matter. We have received word of a recent incident in which someone who was in possession of CBD-rich hemp flowers had their house searched. The officers were apparently satisfied that the cannabis was low-THC and therefore did not confiscate it.

There have been other incidents where hemp buds have been confiscated, only to be returned five months later after an analysis revealed it to have minimal levels of THC. We have not heard about any case where someone has been prosecuted for possessing CBD-rich hemp flowers.

We are aware of some companies having their shipments held up at customs, however.

What Clear says…

Clear, who are cannabis law reform group affiliated with the Cannabis Trade Association, have a slightly different view. They recently published an article warning against purchasing CBD hemp buds, claiming that every seller is operating illegally.

As mentioned earlier, however, at least one of the certified CTA members (Zenon Hemp Farm) is currently selling crushed up hemp buds. We can therefore assume that the CTA and Clear classify the act of grinding up hemp buds to be a ‘process’ and that trimming and curing does not count in their eyes. It would seem that the real issue here is the definition of a ‘process’, something which the law doesn’t cover.

Clear has also brought attention to the fact that the 0.2% THC limit applies to hemp plants being grown and not exempt products, such as CBD oil and other CBD containing products. Rather, these products must not contain more than 1mg of THC and/or CBN per

However, a simple way around this is to simply sell hemp flowers in small amounts, say by the gram, so that no one pack has more than 1mg of THC.

Where can you buy high-quality CBD hemp flowers?

You can currently buy CBD hemp flowers from a number of different online shops as well as from a few bricks-and-mortar shops around the UK. In London, you can visit Hemp Botanics in Portobello Road, Kanaco on Fulham Road, or Otherside London, also on Portobello Road.  There’s also Little Head Shop in Crewe and no doubt many others that we aren’t aware of.

If you are shopping online, you have many options. Check out our regularly updated directory ‘Where To Buy CBD Hemp Buds In The UK’.

Conclusion

The UK’s drug laws are outdated and misinformed. Not least, our cannabis laws, which have directly led to the undue suffering of many. Now, as the UK wakes up to the therapeutic potential of cannabis, CBD has been forced into the spotlight. And one of the most exciting and intriguing CBD products on the market today is CBD-rich hemp flowers. But there is some confusion surrounding their legality.

Some people are saying they are illegal, some say otherwise. Either way, companies are selling them and the police are doing very little to stop them. At the very least, the rise of CBD hemp flowers shows us that not everyone wants to use cannabis to get ‘high’. It also highlights the ineptitude of the draconian drug laws we live under. Due to this, we may very well be seeing the formation of new regulations for the CBD and hemp industries very soon.

Therefore, you can expect to hear more about CBD-rich hemp flowers in the coming months. The non-psychoactive buds are already sweeping through Europe and taking the U.S by storm. And while they don’t get you high like high-THC weed, their popularity is great ammunition for the push for full legalisation of cannabis.

 

 

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After failing to cure my mum's arthritis with a chocolate brownie I obtained some THC liquid stuff....maybe it was oil. I did the pest control in a laboratory where they made CBD but they also did all

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6 minutes ago, mackem said:

Are CBD Hemp Flowers Actually Legal In The UK?

CBD hemp buds look and smell just like regular weed. They can also be smoked just like the ‘real thing’. And while smoking hemp buds won’t get you high, it does offer a profoundly relaxing and anxiety-relieving effect.

This has made CBD hemp flowers very popular with people who want to smoke weed without experiencing the heady high that traditionally accompanies it. It’s also being bought by many people who get anxious and paranoid when they smoke high-THC weed, as well as people who are trying to cut down their THC intake.

Despite its growing popularity, however, high-CBD hemp flowers are causing some confusion among cannabis industry professionals and consumers alike. So, in order to try and clear the matter up once and for all, this article will attempt to answer the question: Are CBD hemp flowers legal in the UK?

Hemp flowers are legal – providing they have been ‘processed’

The bottom line, as far as we can tell, is that unprocessed hemp flowers and buds are illegal in the UK under the Misuse Of Drugs Act 1971. However, once the raw material is ‘processed’, it becomes legal. Therefore, buds that have been processed – for example, trimmed and cured – are, in fact, legal in the UK.  

What are CBD hemp flowers?

Hemp is simply cannabis with very low levels of THC that has been grown under licence. As THC is the chemical compound in cannabis that gets you ‘high’, hemp does not offer any psychotropic effects.

It is legal to grow hemp in the UK (and most of the world) providing you have a government-issued licence and you only plant seeds from a list of EU-approved strains. This list features cannabis strains that reliably produce less than 0.2% THC (the UK limit).

Although these hemp varieties are traditionally grown from industrial purposes like in the manufacture of textiles and rope, many European hemp farmers are now growing crops purely for their CBD content. Some extract the CBD to make other products, while some harvest the flowers of the hemp plants, cure and trim them, before selling the raw product on to the consumer.

The resulting product – trichome-rich, high-CBD, low-THC cannabis buds – has become very popular in the UK over the last six months. It follows in the footsteps of similar industries in Switzerland, Austria, Italy, France and Germany, where the product is often sold as a tobacco substitute.

What the law says…

First of all, let’s confirm that products containing CBD are legal providing they contain less than 1mg of THC per unit. The 0.2% limit is a limit imposed on hemp that is being grown under licence by hemp farmers. It is not applicable to CBD products.

Now here’s the fun part; trying to dissect the UK’s confusing drug laws. Under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, cannabis is a Class B controlled drug. In order to allow the hemp industry to continue, however, some exemptions were brought in. These exemptions only include the stalk (used for fibre) and seed (used for food) – not the leaves or flowers (buds).

Judging by this statement, it would seem that hemp flowers are illegal to be possessed or sold in the UK. But not so fast. There is also a condition that says that when a part of the legally-grown hemp part is processed (i.e. changed from its raw form) then it’s allowed. This is why some companies (even some certified by the CTA, a self-appointed regulatory body for the CBD industry) sell hemp buds that have been ground up – the act of grinding the bud counts as a process.

In this vein, it can then be assumed that if a hemp flower product has undergone processing such as curing and trimming, it is, therefore, also exempt from the misuse of Drug Act 1971. So, for a company to stay within the law, it is advisable that they make it clear the buds they are selling have been ‘processed’, whether that be by trimming, grinding, or some other such process.

What the police say…

Police forces of the UK are also apparently very confused on the matter. We have received word of a recent incident in which someone who was in possession of CBD-rich hemp flowers had their house searched. The officers were apparently satisfied that the cannabis was low-THC and therefore did not confiscate it.

There have been other incidents where hemp buds have been confiscated, only to be returned five months later after an analysis revealed it to have minimal levels of THC. We have not heard about any case where someone has been prosecuted for possessing CBD-rich hemp flowers.

We are aware of some companies having their shipments held up at customs, however.

What Clear says…

Clear, who are cannabis law reform group affiliated with the Cannabis Trade Association, have a slightly different view. They recently published an article warning against purchasing CBD hemp buds, claiming that every seller is operating illegally.

As mentioned earlier, however, at least one of the certified CTA members (Zenon Hemp Farm) is currently selling crushed up hemp buds. We can therefore assume that the CTA and Clear classify the act of grinding up hemp buds to be a ‘process’ and that trimming and curing does not count in their eyes. It would seem that the real issue here is the definition of a ‘process’, something which the law doesn’t cover.

Clear has also brought attention to the fact that the 0.2% THC limit applies to hemp plants being grown and not exempt products, such as CBD oil and other CBD containing products. Rather, these products must not contain more than 1mg of THC and/or CBN per

However, a simple way around this is to simply sell hemp flowers in small amounts, say by the gram, so that no one pack has more than 1mg of THC.

Where can you buy high-quality CBD hemp flowers?

You can currently buy CBD hemp flowers from a number of different online shops as well as from a few bricks-and-mortar shops around the UK. In London, you can visit Hemp Botanics in Portobello Road, Kanaco on Fulham Road, or Otherside London, also on Portobello Road.  There’s also Little Head Shop in Crewe and no doubt many others that we aren’t aware of.

If you are shopping online, you have many options. Check out our regularly updated directory ‘Where To Buy CBD Hemp Buds In The UK’.

Conclusion

The UK’s drug laws are outdated and misinformed. Not least, our cannabis laws, which have directly led to the undue suffering of many. Now, as the UK wakes up to the therapeutic potential of cannabis, CBD has been forced into the spotlight. And one of the most exciting and intriguing CBD products on the market today is CBD-rich hemp flowers. But there is some confusion surrounding their legality.

Some people are saying they are illegal, some say otherwise. Either way, companies are selling them and the police are doing very little to stop them. At the very least, the rise of CBD hemp flowers shows us that not everyone wants to use cannabis to get ‘high’. It also highlights the ineptitude of the draconian drug laws we live under. Due to this, we may very well be seeing the formation of new regulations for the CBD and hemp industries very soon.

Therefore, you can expect to hear more about CBD-rich hemp flowers in the coming months. The non-psychoactive buds are already sweeping through Europe and taking the U.S by storm. And while they don’t get you high like high-THC weed, their popularity is great ammunition for the push for full legalisation of cannabis.

 

 

Thanks 

great link very informative

interesting to see finola on the list of approved strains

 

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this could be a step closer to getting cannabis legalised or they will change the  drug laws to make the selling of cbd bud illegal and close the loopholes because this will cause a lot of confusion and money to the police having to get everyones weed they confiscate tested  for the % of  thc content 

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Just now, greg64 said:

this could be a step closer to getting cannabis legalised or they will change the  drug laws to make the selling of cbd bud illegal and close the loopholes because this will cause a lot of confusion and money to the police having to get everyones weed they confiscate tested  for the % of  thc content 

Its already causing confusion,weed confiscated and returned once the cannabinoids are tested and found to be negligible etc,wont be long before YouTube clips showing kids baiting plod by smoking CBD as they walk past them start cropping up,the law is an ass in this aspect anyway,pay your cash and you can grow and export,its all for the uber-rich to get richer,laws are flexible and open to common sense interpretation,its a plant (even though that defence wont stand up in court) do your own thing and keep under the radar,change is around the corner.One thing I did note is the Hemp Botanics in Portobello road is completely sold out of Hemp flowers and is awaiting restock,it must be popular.

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Customer reviews....

Anonymous icon.verified.png?18336515052685061871 Verified Buyer
on Jun 24, 2018
Very happy, new loyal customer

First time I try this product and really happy!
The staff at the shop is lovely, and the online delivery is quick and reliable.
I really enjoy how natural it feels and the effect of relaxation without high. No stress, no breaking the law, no fear of being tested, just enjoyment. 10 on 10!!!

Darren H. icon.verified.png?18336515052685061871 Verified Buyer
on Jun 27, 2018
First order and will be again.

Where do I start Let’s just make it short and sweet. After suffering with back for many years taking prescription pain killers and not sleeping with pain. I purchased this made myself a nice brew half hour before bed and treat myself to a little smoke. Wow relaxed for first time in years and slept for six hours straight with no pain. Amazing First night sleep for many years. Will defo be purchasing again. ??

Anonymous icon.verified.png?18336515052685061871 Verified Buyer
on May 11, 2018
cherry o

Was very pleased with speed of delivery. I've tried a few hemp flower types now, from different companies an this is the best so far. Price was reduced on offer but still a bit too expensive to buy regularly. I use it for smoking and just like to try these products out of interest. When ground up the herb does smell a bit cherryish. Gives a pleasantly mild relaxed feeling. Not much flavour in the smoke but gives off a nice thick body. If it was cheaper i'd be on it all day. I see on your website you have a couple of different strains so might get a bit more to try if I have spare cash. Let me know if you get some stronger stuff in.

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Does anyone on here have a grasshopper vape ?

ive had a good summer and I’m going to treat myself to a new vape, I want a decent one this time I’ve got 2 cheap conduction vapes and 1 butane jet lighter powered vape

i was looking at the pax 3 and the Davinci iq both look really good then I saw the grasshopper which is convection heating

5 second heat up you can turn it off and on as and when you want a hit 

any thoughts if anyone has any of these 3 vapes would be great thanks 

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Had mine since April, no problems as of yet...just brush it out after each use and then a bit more of a thorough clean once a week and it's been fine. Gets a but hot in the hand but that's not a major issue

Make sure you buy one from a licenced retailer and not 3rd party though otherwise they won't honour the warranty

 

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On 30/09/2018 at 19:37, trapperman said:

Grasshopper £180

pax 3 £170

Davinci iq £220

im liking the reviews on the Davinci now I’ve been watching loads of review videos it’s a real piece of kit

Screenshot_20181005-200216.png.4a9ca4b86443d900b4b5888dfdde00b2.png

Ive had a few, these are the best by far?

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