Is CBD Oil Arkansas Legal & Where To Buy? – 2021 Guide

Arkansas, commonly referred to as the Natural State, is well known for its beautiful green pastures of land. However, are all-natural products in the state, especially CBD, legal?

With CBD establishing itself as an industry of its own and growing vastly in the health and wellness market, it is natural for state residents to wonder where one could easily score this compound praised for having many health benefits.

Arkansas hasn’t been a cannabis-friendly state for a while now. However, you can quickly obtain hemp-derived CBD products in the state thanks to the federal CBD laws outlined in the 2018 Farm Bill.According to federal laws, Arkansas defines cannabis as plants that have more than 0.3% THC and marijuana and hemp as the plants containing less than 0.3% THC. A new legislation, House Bill 1518, was passed in 2019 that removed products derived from hemp plants from Arkansas’s list of controlled substances.

Is CBD Legal in Arkansas?

Very simply, yes!

The bulk of the state’s CBD laws is a lot as with the federal law because it centers around whether CBD contains less than 0.3% THC and has been derived from industrial hemp. The Arkansas Department of Agriculture, through the Arkansas State Plant Board (ASPB), has been managing hemp-related activities in the state.

Hence, ASPB has been a critical player in establishing the natural state’s rules regarding CBD. On August 31^st, 2018, the ASPB released a document that intended to clarify the essential rules for CBD in the state.  

The document helped make a distinction between cannabis and industrial hemp. In alignment with the federal law, the document considered anything with more than 0.3% THC to be cannabis and illegal and anything with less than 0.3% THC to be industrial hemp. Hence, as per the document, products that had been derived from industrial hemp are considered legal.

This also means that cannabis-derived CBD products are considered illegal in the state. However, this is except for patients who participate in the state’s medical-marijuana program.

The document also helped clarify how hemp-derived CBD products are to be sold in the state. For the products to be coined as ‘publicly marketable hemp products’:

• It should be derived from industrial hemp.
• Should not include any living hemp plant seeds and materials
• Shouldn’t contain more than 0.3% THC
• CBD-derived products should only be prescribed as medication if the FDA has approved it.

If the products meet all the above requirements, they can be legally possessed, sold, and consumed in Arkansas. The board also requires people who want to produce CBD products or grow hemp plants to be licensed by the state.

Eighty hemp farmers have been approved to grow hemp plants as of June 2019. The ASPB’s 2018 document lays out rules that align with the federal CBD and hemp laws. Governor Asa Hutchinson signed HB 1518 in March 2019.

The bill removed all forms of hemp-derived CBD from Arkansas’s list of controlled substances. It also included CBD products that aren’t approved by the FDA. The bill has made the CBD market in the state less restrictive compared to federal rules.

Arkansas Democrat Gazette, the Little Rock newspaper, reported that hemp-derived CBD can now be sold at stores throughout the state. Arkansas hasn’t specified limits on how much CBD you are allowed to buy, consume, or possess. Hence, hemp-derived CBD is somewhat unregulated in this state.

Arkansas State also runs a medical marijuana program for qualifying to enlist with a licensed physician’s recommendation. However, it is illegal to be in possession of marijuana for recreational purposes with or without a medical marijuana ID card. You could attract offense penalties that go up to 10 years in prison and hefty fines. As of 2018, 5085 patients have registered for the medical marijuana program in Arkansas.

Why You Should Buy CBD Oil Arkansas Online?

Buying CBD online is definitely convenient, faster, and much easier than the hassle of driving down to the store, securing the right parking spot, and picking out the CBD product you want. You can always forego that hassle and order whatever brand and type of CBD oil you want without having to leave your bed or getting off your comfy sweats. 

With online shopping, you can quickly check for Third-Party Lab reports and confirm the extraction method of the oil as well as the THC level. This way, you can make sure that the product you want to buy remains within the state’s limit.

However, always make sure that the reports on the website aren’t too old. Ensure that the CBD product has been made from 100% Organic Industrial Hemp to be completely safe, and the extraction method used is preferably CO2 extraction.

You have the leverage to check the CBD products per Dollar Ration and compare them with others to make sure that you get a product within your budget and ensure value for your money. You also have a chance to check what others are saying about the products from customer reviews. You can also get in touch with customer support and gauge how genuine they are from their behavior and communication.

Once you find a brand that ticks all your boxes, then you should check their shipping rates before you comfortably buy from them. Within a couple of days, you will have your order delivered right to your doorstep.

Where to Buy CBD Oil in Arkansas and Benefits of Buying Online?

While buying CBD oil online is a much safer option, due diligence is still necessary. You can still find both marijuana extracted CBD oil and Hemp extracted CBD oil from some local stores within Arkansas. Memphis has several 5-star CBD shops as well as other cities like Conway, Fayetteville, Camden, Little Rock, and Fort Smith.

There is no shortage of places in Arkansas where you can buy CBD as stores are opening every now and then to capitalize on the CBD craze that has been throughout the US. However, buying CBD oil from local retailers can have its own set of dangers.

Buying locally means that you have to heavily and solely rely on how much you trust the store. Like in most states, local CBD brands may fail to have the necessary authorization and licenses to sell CBD products in the first place. They may also be ignorant of the guidelines laid by the State Government for selling CBD.

Hence, while it can be much more convenient to buy CBD products from local stores, you can get a much better CBD product at a much lower cost online with only around 2-3 days of delivery waiting time. However, you should also know what you are buying online to avoid being deceived.

Final Thoughts

To be on the safe side of the law in Arkansas, you need to make sure that you buy CBD oil products with no more than 0.3% THC, derived from industrial hemp. Whether you purchase CBD oil locally or online, make sure that the products meet the regulatory requirements given by the state.

Frequently Asked Questions

Resources

• Arktimes

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