Is CBD legal in Spain?

Is CBD legal in Spain? Cannabidiol, better known as CBD, is a non-psychoactive cannabinoid that Cannabis Sativa L plants produce. Recently, more seed banks have been working on breeding strains with high amounts of CBD. You can now find plenty of specific cannabis strains that contain plenty of this cannabinoid but can’t be legally grown due to the fact that they also produce THC.

This particular cannabinoid isn’t psychoactive and has many different medicinal properties, which is why it’s in the spotlight right now. However, there have been conflicts in Spain regarding the cannabinoid from March 2018 onwards, which is when CBD products began to be prohibited and removed from shelves if marketed for human consumption as CBD flowers, CBD oil, CBD pipes or CBD hash.

To understand what exactly is going on with CBD in Spain, Europe and around the world, let’s have a look at the main organizations in charge of regulating and overseeing what products can and can’t be sold.

Is CBD legal in Spain? | Regulating organizations

WHO

The WHO (World Health Organization) is part of the UN (United Nations) and is one of the main authorities when it comes to regulating products and discussing health benefits and risks. They currently operate in six different regions: Africa, Europe, South Asia, Eastern Mediterranean, Western Pacific and the Americas. The office that regulates European legislation is known as the Europe Regional Office (EURO).

The WHO essentially deals with health coordination, promotion, prevention and intervention policies on a global scale. In regards to the topic at hand, Cannabidiol, the WHO issued a statement confirming that CBD does not create a chemical addiction, it does not produce negative side effects and it does indeed contain an incredible amount of beneficial properties.

EFSA

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is in charge of investigating and analyzing any possible risk associated with food safety in the European Union. If you read between the lines, it’s clear that this particular organization is the one responsible for removing food-related CBD-rich products from Europe, and therefore Spain. In Spain, the organization in charge of regulating the EFSA’s decisions is called the AECOSAN (Agencia Española de Consumo, Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutrición).

AEMPS

The AEMPS (Agencia Española de Medicamentos y Productos Sanitarios) is an organization that’s in charge of regulating products that may, in the future, be commercialized as food products or dietary supplements in Spain. In this regard, they have yet to register CBD as a product that’s safe to consume. This means that it can’t be sold as a food product or a product to be ingested. The EFSA de-authorized the legal sale of CBD, so these two organizations seem to be on par with their regulations.

The legal loopholes regarding CBD in Spain allowed it to be sold until the EFSA gave the signal to remove all CBD-rich food products or products designed for ingestion from the market. This has caused quite the confusion and stir among national CBD producers, as many aren’t quite sure as to the legality of it.

Can I sell CBD for nutritional uses in Spain?

Well, it would seem that according to the start of this article, CBD has been banned in Spain by the relevant authorities. However, keep in mind that CBD isn’t even on the list of products regulated by the Spanish authorities that decide exactly what is and isn’t nutrition. This means that technically it isn’t legal nor illegal.

Thanks to the free commerce regulation of the EU and the European Justice Court, CBD-rich products, such as CBD Gummies, can be acquired in Spain as nutritional products. However, they must be imported from a country in the EU in which CBD can be legally consumed and sold as nutrient supplements. The organization involved must simply garner the relevant information regarding the legality of CBD in the country of origin, making sure that it can be legally sold in the country where it was produced.

Is Cannabidiol (CBD) legal in Spain?

In Spain the use of CBD and the production of CBD-rich products is legal as long as the product in question is intended for external use, for example, CBD creams or CBD oils for skin care or for the treatment of different types of skin conditions, among other uses. In this case, the organisation in charge of regulating the legality of CBD for topical use is the The Spanish Agency for Medicine and Health Products (AEMPS)

Also, it should be noted that the sale of seeds is allowed as long as it is intended as a collector’s product. Although if we talk about working with seeds for industrial use or extractions destined to cosmetics, it has to be certified as one of the varieties of the Royal Decree of Hemp 1729/1999. Which indicates that hemp seeds can be used for licensed extractions or transformations. Therefore, until the European Union adopts the WHO recommendations, the sale of CBD for consumption is illegal.

Further, it should be noted that despite these conditions, the CBD market in Spain continues to grow. This is possible thanks to the climate of the Iberian Peninsula, which makes it a privileged place for hemp cultivation. The increase of plantations is related to the economic possibilities that CBD is giving, since its profit is higher than the cultivation of hemp to obtain seeds.