CBD Classification Under Federal, State, and Global Law

Under U.S. federal law, the legal classification of CBD depends on where the CBD came from and how much THC is in the finished product: cannabidiol extracted from hemp containing no more than 0.3% delta-9 THC is not a controlled substance, while CBD from marijuana or from any product above that threshold is Schedule I. That is the rule today. It changes on November 12, 2026, when a new federal statute tightens the definition of hemp in ways that will push most full-spectrum CBD products back under the Controlled Substances Act. And even now, “not scheduled” does not mean “freely sold”: the FDA still prohibits CBD in food and dietary supplements.

The Federal Line: 0.3% Delta-9 THC

The 2018 Farm Bill drew a legal boundary through the cannabis plant using one number. Cannabis and its derivatives containing no more than 0.3% delta-9 THC on a dry weight basis are classified as “hemp” and were removed from the Controlled Substances Act. Anything above that threshold remains “marijuana,” a Schedule I controlled substance.¹

CBD itself is not the thing being scheduled. The molecule is treated according to its source and the THC content of the product it lives in. CBD extracted from compliant hemp is not a controlled substance; CBD extracted from marijuana, or found in a product that tests above 0.3% delta-9 THC, is.²

There is a further condition that is easy to miss. The Farm Bill exemption applies only to cannabinoids derived from hemp grown in compliance with federal and state regulations by a licensed grower. Cannabinoids produced outside those parameters remain Schedule I substances, regardless of the THC number on a certificate of analysis.²

Why the FDA Still Bars CBD in Food and Supplements

Removing hemp-derived CBD from the CSA did not clear it for use in food or as a dietary supplement. The FDA has consistently held that CBD cannot be marketed in either form under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

The legal reasoning is technical but decisive. A substance is excluded from the “dietary supplement” definition if it is an active ingredient in an FDA-approved drug or has been the subject of substantial public clinical investigations. CBD meets both tests: it is the active ingredient in the prescription drug Epidiolex, and clinical trials of CBD drugs were publicly authorized before CBD was ever marketed as a supplement. A separate provision, Section 301(ll) of the FD&C Act, bars adding an active ingredient of an approved drug to food introduced into interstate commerce.¹

The only cannabis-derived ingredients the FDA has recognized as safe for human food are hulled hemp seeds, hemp seed protein powder, and hemp seed oil. None of those naturally contains CBD or THC.¹

In January 2023 the FDA formally concluded that its existing frameworks for foods and dietary supplements are “not appropriate” for CBD, citing potential liver damage, drug interactions, and risks to children and pregnant individuals. The agency denied three citizen petitions asking it to open a supplement pathway and said any new pathway will have to come from Congress.³

Enforcement follows the position. The FDA has issued a steady stream of warning letters to CBD sellers, focused especially on products marketed with disease-treatment claims or aimed at children. A June 2022 letter to New Sun Inc. cited CBD gummies and oils marketed for serious illnesses and specifically flagged the marketing of CBD as safe for children.⁴ A May 2022 letter to Plantacea, LLC covered CBD products sold for both humans and food-producing animals, noting the absence of safety data on CBD residues in meat, milk, or eggs.⁵

What Changes on November 12, 2026

The most significant shift to CBD’s federal classification in years was signed into law on November 12, 2025. Section 781 of the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2026 (P.L. 119-37) rewrites the statutory definition of hemp, effective one year later.⁶

Three changes matter for CBD:

The measurement standard shifts from delta-9 THC to “total THC,” which includes THCA, delta-8 THC, and any other cannabinoids the Secretary of Health and Human Services determines have similar intoxicating effects.
Final hemp-derived cannabinoid products for human or animal use may contain no more than 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container.
Cannabinoids that cannot be naturally produced by a cannabis plant, or that occur naturally but were synthesized outside the plant, are excluded from the hemp definition entirely.

Products exceeding these thresholds after November 12, 2026 will revert to marijuana under the CSA, meaning Schedule I.⁶ Industry estimates suggest the 0.4 mg per-container limit is restrictive enough to eliminate roughly 90 to 95% of current hemp-derived consumer products, including the majority of full-spectrum CBD products. Psychoactive cannabinoids such as delta-8 THC, THCA flower, THC-O, and HHC will be classified as Schedule I once the provisions take effect.⁷

The statutory limits cannot be undone by executive action. Only Congress can amend them.⁸ A repeal bill, H.R. 6209, was introduced in November 2025 by Representative Nancy Mace, but its prospects remain uncertain.

The Executive Order and DEA Rescheduling Don’t Rescue Full-Spectrum CBD

On December 18, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order titled “Increasing Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research.” It directed the Attorney General to expedite moving marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III and instructed officials to work with Congress on updating the hemp-cannabinoid definition to preserve access to full-spectrum CBD while restricting products that pose health risks. It also called for a regulatory framework covering THC limits per serving, per container, and CBD-to-THC ratio requirements.⁹

On April 28, 2026, the DEA issued a final rule moving two categories of marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III: FDA-approved drug products containing marijuana, and marijuana subject to a state-issued medical license. Unlicensed bulk marijuana, extracts, and derivatives outside those two categories remain Schedule I. The rule explicitly noted that hemp-derived CBD products already below the 0.3% THC threshold are generally unaffected, because those products were already excluded from control as marijuana.¹⁰ An administrative hearing on whether all marijuana should move to Schedule III is scheduled to begin June 29, 2026.¹¹

None of that fixes the November 2026 problem. The rescheduling touches marijuana, not the hemp definition. Full-spectrum CBD products that clear the 0.4 mg per-container ceiling will still be reclassified as marijuana on that date unless Congress acts.

Full-Spectrum, Broad-Spectrum, and Isolate

The type of CBD product matters because each formulation carries a different THC load.

Full-spectrum CBD contains the full range of cannabis plant compounds, including THC, typically below 0.3%. These products are the most exposed to reclassification under the November 2026 per-container limit.
Broad-spectrum CBD contains other plant compounds but has THC reduced to trace amounts or removed.
CBD isolate is purified CBD, generally 99% or higher, with essentially no THC or other plant compounds.

All three are currently legal at the federal level when derived from compliant hemp. None is approved by the FDA for sale as food or as a dietary supplement. Drug testing is a separate issue: even products labeled below 0.3% THC can accumulate enough THC with regular use to trigger a positive test. The Department of Transportation has warned that CBD use is not a legitimate medical explanation for a positive marijuana test result for safety-sensitive employees, and a study cited by the Mayo Clinic found that 18 out of 84 CBD products tested contained measurable THC.¹²¹³

State Rules Can Be Stricter or Looser Than Federal

Individual states have moved in different directions. Some have passed their own laws permitting CBD in food and supplements despite the federal prohibition. State-licensed marijuana regulators have generally pushed for stricter standards, and industry observers have described the resulting split as an uneven competitive footing, with hemp-derived CBD sold in gas stations and vape shops facing lower tax and compliance burdens than dispensary products.⁷

Some states have begun aligning with the stricter federal standards set by P.L. 119-37 ahead of the November 2026 effective date. Others, such as North Carolina in early 2026, had not, meaning products still legal under state law could become federal felonies once the new definitions take effect. Federal authorities retain jurisdiction to enforce federal controlled substance law within states regardless of state legality, as established in Gonzales v. Raich.⁷

How Other Countries Classify CBD

Internationally, CBD is not listed in the schedules of any of the three major UN drug conventions. The World Health Organization’s Expert Committee on Drug Dependence reviewed CBD in 2018 and found it “exhibits no effects indicative of any abuse or dependence potential” in humans and recommended that pure CBD preparations not be scheduled under international drug control.¹⁴

The European Union classifies CBD as a “novel food” under Regulation (EU) 2015/2283, meaning it cannot be sold in food products without European Commission authorization. No CBD products have been authorized. In September 2025 the European Food Safety Authority proposed a provisional safe daily intake of 2 mg per day for a 70-kg adult and said safety could not be established for people under 25, for pregnant or breastfeeding women, or for those on other medications. Seventeen CBD applications were under EFSA risk assessment.¹⁵ In February 2025, France’s food safety agency ANSES proposed classifying CBD as a “presumed human reproductive toxicant” (Category 1B) under the EU’s Classification, Labelling and Packaging Regulation, a step that would effectively ban CBD in cosmetics and foods across the EU if adopted.¹⁶

The United Kingdom treats CBD as a novel food as well. No CBD extracts or isolates had been formally authorized for sale in Great Britain as of 2026. Products on the market before February 13, 2020, with a valid novel food application submitted by March 31, 2021, may remain on shelves while their applications are processed; the Food Standards Agency removed over 100 products from its public list in early 2025. The FSA has set a provisional acceptable daily intake of 10 mg of CBD per day and a safe upper limit of 70 micrograms per day for delta-9 THC.¹⁷¹⁸

Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration reclassified low-dose CBD in December 2020 from Schedule 4 (prescription-only) to Schedule 3 (pharmacist-only), permitting over-the-counter sales for products that meet strict criteria: at least 98% CBD of total cannabinoid content, no more than 1% THC, a maximum daily dose of 150 mg, and registration on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods. No products had actually met all the Schedule 3 requirements for registration as of the most recent available information.¹⁹

Canada regulates CBD as a controlled substance under the Cannabis Act. CBD products can only be sold through provincially or territorially authorized cannabis retailers or federally licensed medical cannabis sellers. CBD cannot be included in natural health products, cosmetics, or veterinary health products, and any health product containing CBD that makes a health claim must be approved as a prescription drug.²⁰

The One Approved CBD Drug

Epidiolex, a purified CBD formulation, is the only cannabis-derived CBD drug product approved by the FDA. It was approved in June 2018 for seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome in patients two years of age and older, later expanded to tuberous sclerosis complex in patients one year and older.¹

Its scheduling history shows how the categories interact. The DEA placed Epidiolex in Schedule V in September 2018, the least restrictive category.²¹ In April 2020, after the 2018 Farm Bill had already removed hemp-derived CBD from the CSA, the DEA descheduled Epidiolex entirely, confirming that FDA-approved CBD products derived from material containing no more than 0.3% THC were no longer controlled substances.²²

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