CBD laws vary across the nation, and it can be hard to keep up with what’s legal in every state. Even in states like Vermont where cannabis is legal, CBD laws aren’t always so easy to decipher. If you’re local to the area, you may be looking for answers—
Is CBD legal in Vermont? If so, where can I find it?
Short answer—yes, CBD is legal in Vermont, and the state has virtually no restrictions to prevent any type of CBD from being sold in the state.
However, this lack of restrictions could put consumers at risk. To be safe, you should get a good understanding of Vermont CBD laws before you buy:
Table of Contents
Legal Concerns About CBD
What are the CBD laws in Vermont?
Is full spectrum CBD legal in Vermont?
Does Vermont have a CBD possession limit?
Do you need a prescription for CBD in Vermont?
Where to buy CBD in Vermont?
How old do you have to be to buy CBD in Vermont?
Is CBD legal in all 50 states?
Resources
Disclaimer: We’re always working to stay informed on the latest CBD laws and research. However, state laws are subject to change and we advise that you do your own research to verify the information you find in this article. This is not intended as legal advice.
Vermont was one of the first states to legalize medical cannabis, and subsequently CBD for medicinal use. In 2013, the state passed laws to redefine hemp as a separate substance from marijuana.
Now, CBD is fully accessible in the state, and you don’t need a prescription to access it.
Vermont laws require CBD to be labelled a certain way, but they do not require stringent quality and safety tests. For this reason, you should learn how to carefully vet your CBD brands before you buy.
Shopping online may give you better oversight of brand quality, and many online CBD brands ship legal CBD products to Vermont to buyers aged 18 and up.
It’s true that CBD gained its federal legal status in 2018. The Hemp Farming Act effectively removed industrial hemp and its natural derivatives (like cannabinoids) from the Controlled Substances Act.
But there’s a catch, and it complicates things:
Legal CBD products must come from industrial hemp.
This classification is designated to hemp material that meets a strict set of standards. The most significant is that it contains less than 0.3% THC on a dry weight basis. If CBD products are made from any cannabis strain that contains more than 0.3% THC, it is not a federally legal product.
That’s not all—
The final product must contain less than 0.3% THC, too.
That means that even if a brand starts with legal hemp material, they need to carry out careful manufacturing procedures to produce a legal end product. It’s possible for certain cannabinoids to be “concentrated” during the extraction process, leading to higher THC concentrations than in the original material. Proper manufacturing and careful testing need to be employed to avoid this issue.
Because there is very little regulation in the CBD industry, it’s important to evaluate a brand carefully before you buy. It can be hard to tell if a CBD product is made from a legal hemp source and meets the federal guidelines for legal hemp products. The best way to ensure that your CBD products are legal is by checking the third-party lab tests for cannabinoid potency.
Of course, these regulations only apply on a federal scale. You must also ensure that your products meet the standards laid out by federal guidelines and those set by your state.
Vermont is historically cannabis-friendly, and cannabis was legalized for medicinal use in 2004, effectively making medicinal CBD products legal to anyone in the state with a medical card.
In 2018, Governor Phil Scott signed H 511 into law, which also legalized adult-use cannabis for anyone aged 21 and up. The bill failed to lay out regulations and rules regarding cannabis sales in the state, and cannabis-derived CBD was still mostly inaccessible at the time.
In 2013, the state finally passed legislation directed at hemp agriculture in the state. S 157 defined hemp as an agricultural commodity, and declared it a different entity from marijuana, providing it contained less than 0.3% THC. The bill gave authority over hemp licensing and regulations to the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food, and Markets.
Now, hemp can be grown and processed in Vermont, but all resulting products (including CBD) must meet certain labeling requirements. Most of Vermont’s testing and labelling requirements are focused on identifying the cannabinoid content of each product, and they don’t necessarily require quality or purity testing.
The state does not prohibit the use of CBD in foods and beverages (a restriction that Minnesota, New Hampshire, California, and many other states have adopted). Instead, these products may be subject to the Vermont Meals Tax, which means they may come at a slightly higher price.
It’s easy to assume that CBD isolate, which contains no THC, is legal in most places. Laws surrounding full spectrum products that contain some amount of THC are not always so clear. Vermont law allows for CBD products to contain up to 0.3% THC, which means full spectrum CBD products are legal in the state.
Vermont does not define a CBD possession limit, providing the products are derived from hemp and meet state regulations. Other CBD products, like those with more than 0.3% THC, are considered cannabis products and are subject to different rules and restrictions.
There is no need for a prescription to access CBD products in Vermont. In fact, doctors typically cannot “prescribe” CBD products that are sold over the counter, rather they may “recommend” them. Even in states where medical marijuana is legal, access usually requires a doctor’s recommendation, not a prescription.
CBD is still new, and only one CBD product has been approved by the FDA to date. This product, GW Pharmaceuticals’ Epidiolex, is designed to treat rare forms of childhood epilepsy. Aside from this product (which comes with stringent usage guidelines), many doctors are still learning about CBD. If you’re interested in the benefits of CBD, you may need to spark a conversation with your doctor.
Vermont has very few restrictions on where CBD can be sold, and many different types of CBD products are available in the state. You may find hemp-derived CBD in grocery markets, convenience stores, and health stores local to you.
However, Vermont does not impose strict quality regulations and doesn’t require safety testing. Therefore, it’s important to understand how to carefully review CBD brands and products before you buy.
Buying CBD online is a suitable option for most consumers. When you buy CBD online directly from the brand, you get better oversight of the brand’s manufacturing practices. Looking at the brand’s hemp source and lab testing procedures can help ensure that the CBD products you choose are clean, potent, and meet legal guidelines.
Buying CBD directly from a brand instead of from a third-party market may also be less costly since you won’t have to pay the extra fees that are often tacked on by the middle man. Of course, premium CBD can be expensive to manufacture, so you should also be wary of products that offer low-ball prices.
Finally, buying CBD online may be the best way to access many different types of CBD. The most common type of CBD product is an oil tincture, but you can find a variety of CBD edibles, topicals, and other specialty products when you shop online.
For more information on how to find high-quality CBD products, check out our CBD Buyer’s Guide.
In theory, CBD should be accessible to people of all ages, especially since it originally gained popularity as a treatment for various childhood illnesses. Of course, some products may not be suitable for people of all ages, like smokable hemp flower or CBD vaporizers.
CBD age limits are mostly undefined, both at the state and federal level. Vermont requires consumers to be 21 to purchase adult-use cannabis products, but there are no rigid age requirements for purchasing CBD.
Instead, the minimum age for purchase is often decided by the vendor. The legal age for buying tobacco has been increased to 21, and it's possible that most CBD vendors will require buyers to meet this minimum age requirement as well.
Many CBD brands allow customers who are 18 or older to order online and will ship legal CBD products to Vermont.
Thanks to federal updates, CBD has the potential to be legal in every U.S. state. CBD is legal in Vermont, but every state has different regulations regarding the manufacture and sale of CBD. Click here to find out where CBD is legal.
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