How Old Do You Need to Be to Buy CBD?

by Kat Austin June 16, 2021 4 min read

How Old Do You Need to Be to Buy CBD? - VO Inc

If you’ve found yourself asking “How old do you need to be to buy CBD products?”, we’ve got answers.

Generally, you need to be 18 years old to purchase CBD products, but there is actually no federal age restriction in place. The age limit for buying CBD changes by state, product type, and purchasing location, and in most cases it's up to the seller.

We’ll dive into the legal age for buying CBD products and general CBD legality below:

Key Takeaways

  • There are no specific age requirements for CBD in many areas, but the general rule is that you need to be at least 18 years old to buy CBD tinctures and edibles and at least 21 years old to buy flower, vapes, and other smokables.
  • If you intend to buy CBD in a cannabis dispensary, you need to be 21 years old.
  • Before you buy CBD in stores or online, there are a few things to look for to ensure you are buying a high-quality, safe product.

Is CBD Legal?

A CBD oil tincture and smokable hemp flower, two CBD products that have different legal age requirements in most place.

Before we can dive into the legal age for buying CBD, let’s discuss some CBD basics. Mainly, is CBD even legal? And if so, how do the laws concerning buying age vary across the country?

Luckily, CBD is legal on the federal level thanks to updates in the 2018 Farm Bill that clarified the unique difference between hemp and marijuana (hint: hemp has less than 0.3% Delta-9-THC).

Because CBD is derived directly from legal hemp material, it’s also legal--federally, at least. Every state has different CBD laws, and some states restrict CBD entirely, while others only restrict some product types, like products intended for smoking.

The general consensus in the majority of states, however, is that CBD is legal for adult use. State laws don’t always address the legal purchasing age, however, which leaves it up to the seller.

What’s the Legal Age to Buy CBD?

So, in a nutshell, CBD is legal in most places, but how old do you have to be to buy CBD?

It depends.

Generally, you can buy CBD at 18, but not always.

As we mentioned earlier, the general age for buying CBD products is 18 years or older, but this isn’t a consistent rule. That’s because there are actually no legal age requirements set forth by the federal government, but there may be varying state laws that set age restrictions for buying CBD products. (You can check the CBD laws in your state in our State by State Guide to CBD Laws.)

A woman making an online CBD purchase, where she will be required to verify her age.

Plus, the minimum age for buying CBD will change depending on the type of CBD you intend to purchase and where you intend to buy it.

For instance, most CBD tinctures and edibles are available to consumers who are at least 18 years of age, but you usually need to be 21 to purchase CBD vaporizers, flower, or other products intended for smoking.

If you want to buy CBD at a medical cannabis dispensary, you’ll need to be 21 years old unless you have a medical cannabis card that qualifies in the state.

How do stores verify age when buying CBD?

Usually, brick and mortar stores in your state will ask for proof of I.D. to verify that you meet your minimum age requirements, and online CBD stores will ask you to input your age to verify that you are at least 18 years old, and in some cases 21.

How to Find Good, Legal CBD Products

After you’ve determined that you’re of legal age to buy CBD in your area, you can start the search for high-quality CBD products. Unfortunately, this isn’t always so easy since there’s not much consistency in CBD regulation across the country.

That means that while safe, effective CBD exists, so do low-quality, potentially harmful formulas. There are some steps you can take to determine if a CBD product is worth your money before you actually spend it. When you get ready to buy a CBD product, whether in stores or online, look for:

  • Products made from U.S. grown, premium-quality industrial hemp. Avoid brands that don’t specify their hemp source.
  • Brands that are transparent and use current Good Manufacturing Practices, which are the manufacturing standards that are suggested by the FDA to be safest and most effective in producing quality products.
  • Third-party test results. Brands who have nothing to hide will always provide a Certificate of Analysis for every product batch. These tests should show information that accurately matches the product’s label.

Where to Buy CBD at 18

Ready to shop? If you live in a state where CBD is legal, you can likely find CBD products in stores across the state, or you can shop online for CBD today.

Vida Optima Vitality CBD Chews

At Vida Optima, our products are manufactured in cGMP compliant facilities from top-quality, U.S. grown industrial hemp. You can find the third-party test results on every product page.

Not sure where to start? Our  Vitality CBD Multivitamin Gummies, CBD Chews, and  CBD Oil Tinctures are always a good bet.

Resources

  1. “Farm Bill (2018)” https://www.usda.gov/farmbill

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