Is CBD legal in Kentucky? Anyone who wishes to consume hemp-extracted products in Kentucky has this question in mind. Well, hemp is something that connects the past of Kentucky with its future. Kentucky was the largest hemp supplier in the US from the 18th century until the 1930s. But soon, both cannabis and hemp were criminalized. When the 2014 Farm Bill was passed, it permitted the cultivation of hemp. Also in 2014, Democratic Governor Steve Beshear signed SB 124 into law. It stated that patients could use non-psychoactive CBD products if they had a written order from a doctor. Kentucky reinstated hemp as one of its primary crops after the introduction of the 2014 Farm Bill. Since then, it has become one of the most successful pilot programs for robust industrial hemp.

 

Kentucky legalized the non-psychoactive CBD in 2014. However, it was only for patients who required medicinal CBD. The bill that legalizes CBD had no mention of producing or selling CBD outside medical contexts. Remember, this was in 2014. In 2017 they passed law that it is legal in the state of Kentucky to purchase and consume CBD products that are derived from hemp as long as they don’t contain any more than 0.3% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or other cannabinoids. Hemp-derived CBD is not allowed to be sold in flower form at all in the state. CBD products like tinctures, oils, topicals, and some foods are perfectly legal if the THC content is correct.

After the Hemp Farming Act was passed in 2018, it made all hemp products to be sold legally on the federal level as long as they met the 0.3% THC standard. The US Department of Agriculture has the responsibility for managing rules and regulations of quality and safety standards. The FDA controls the power over how CBD when it comes to marketing and regulating additives to food products, therapeutic claims, and labeling.

Kentucky has some of the most advanced legislation when it comes to protecting the industrial hemp production under the 2018 farm Bill. Kentucky was among the first states to introduce hemp legislation. This paved the way for hemp production on both a state and federal level.