Cannabidiol (CBD)

Information for consumers about CBD

Close-up photo of vibrant green cannabis leaves

What is CBD?

Cannabidiol (CBD) is a cannabinoid which can be extracted from the cannabis plant and added to foods.

It has no psychoactive properties and, depending on the method of extraction, should contain little or no tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the other key compound in cannabis which causes users to get high.

Read the Home Office guidance on the licensing of CBD and presence of THC.

During the past few years there has been significant growth in the number of products sold that contain CBD. These food products are classed as ‘novel foods’ and CBD may be found in a variety of food products and supplements including, but not limited to:

  • oils
  • drops or tinctures
  • capsules
  • sweets and confectionery
  • baked goods
  • drinks

How safe is CBD?

Like all new products and ingredients, foods containing CBD require pre-market safety assessment and authorisation by Scottish Ministers as novel foods before they can be legally placed and sold on the Scottish market. No CBD food products have yet been authorised as novel foods in Scotland.

At Food Standards Scotland we are working closely with local authorities to keep the safety of CBD food products under review and to ensure that products labelled as containing CBD do so.

If you have any concerns about food products containing CBD that are sold in your area, please contact your local authority.

 

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Consumer advice

Since our original consumer advice in February 2020, we have asked the CBD industry, through the novel foods process, to provide data specific to CBD use in food as part of the safety assessment on these products. On 12 October 2023, the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT) and the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes (ACNFP) released a joint statement on CBD food products.

Access the COT and ACNFP's joint statement on CBD food products.

COT and ACNFP have been reviewing the safety evidence submitted as part of the novel food process. Our updated advice is based on the review of this evidence by these independent Scientific Advisory Committees (SAC).  Based on this research, we recommend the following advice for consumers in relation to CBD. 

Research

The COT and the ACNFP published advice on CBD in October 2023. These SACs will continue to monitor new data and if this changes their views, FSS will consider impacts on consumer advice.

Access the COT and ACNFP’s October 2023 joint statement on CBD food products.

Our previous advice was based on an original report published by the COT in February 2020 and their position paper on the potential risk of CBD in CBD food products in July 2020.

Access the original report which our previous advice was based on.

Access the COT and ACNFP’s original position paper on the potential risk of CBD in food products.

Who is responsible for the regulation of CBD?

Food Standards Scotland has regulatory responsibility for CBD used in food products.

Products containing the psychoactive substance Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) above legal limits, with limited exemptions, are classed as controlled drugs under the Misuse of Drugs Act and for Police Scotland and the Home Office.

Medicinal use of CBD is the remit of the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, and most other uses of CBD such as for vaping are for Trading Standards. 

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