Is CBD Oil Legal in Australia?

Cannabis products have grown in popularity over the last few years spiking public curiosity on the benefits of these products. While there are many benefits of using cannabis products, for example, CBD oil, the Australian government is stepping up to regulate the cannabis market. CBD oil, in particular, has gained popularity in Australia and many Australians are looking forward to benefiting from this cannabis product. But is CBD oil legal in Australia?

In Australasia, CBD oils and other medical cannabis products are legal. However, you need a medical prescription to use products from the Hemp plant. The prescription is after the medical assessment of the patient’s condition and circumstances. Using cannabis products without a prescription is illegal.

What is CBD oil, and why is it popular?

Cannabidiol, also referred to as CBD, is among the many chemical compounds found in Cannabis Sativa. Unlike other cannabis products or chemicals, CBD does not get you high – it is psychoactive. CBD oil products are made through extraction of chemicals from the marijuana plant and diluting it with a carrier oil, namely coconut oil or hemp seed. But why is CBD oil gaining traction among Australians?

Today there are many claims and supposed benefits of CBD, including the ability to help with pain relief and seizure. With CBD oils, the administration can be oral as capsules, or you can add to drinks and baked foods. You can also consume CBD directly by placing one drop of oil under your tongue. If you are interested to know the benefits of CBD oils, you are in the right place.

Benefits of CBD Oil

There are numerous benefits of CBD oil. However, not all are backed up by medical evidence as a result of human testing. Since the legalisation of cannabis for medical use, scientists are conducting studies to understand more benefits of CBD oil. Therefore, before you think of using cannabis for medical grounds, you need to know the medically approved benefits of CBD oil. Below are six medical benefits of CBD.

Anxiety Relief

If you have anxiety problems, then CBD may help you manage this disorder. Medical research shows that CBD oil can change the way your brain’s receptors respond to serotine. Sero tonin is a chemical responsible for mental health. Receptors, on the other hand, are tiny proteins that receive chemical messages and help your cells respond to different stimuli.

A medical study found that a 600mg dose of CBD oil helped individuals with social anxiety improve and give a speech. Other studies on animals showed that CBD might relieve anxiety by:

• Inducing sleep for cases of insomnia
• Improving symptoms of PTSD
• Reducing stress
• Reducing physiological effects of anxiety

Anti-Seizure

CDD is a potential treatment for epilepsy. Scientists are still doing the research and are testing the quantity of CBD oil that can reduce the number of seizures in persons with epilepsy. Also, researchers are considering the safety of medical cannabis as anti-seizure. The latest research shows that cannabidiol can treat seizure disorders. The research is in the advanced stages to determine the effectiveness of cannabis oil in treating seizure and its safety.

There was a study in 2016 involving 214 people with epilepsy. The participants supplemented their anti-epilepsy medication with doses of 2 to 5mg of CBD oil per day. They were monitored for 12 weeks recording all the adverse side effects and checking recurrence of their seizures. After 12 weeks, the study showed that the monthly number of seizures was reduced by 36.5%. However, 12% of the participants had severe effects.

Pain Relief

The effects of cannabidiol CBD oil on the brain receptors may help manage pain. Medical studies have shown that medical cannabis offers excellent benefits when used after chemotherapy treatment. Other non-clinical studies are looking at the role of medicinal cannabis in relieving symptoms triggered by:

• Chronic pain
• Muscle pain
• Arthritis
• MS pain
• Spinal cord injuries

Nabiximols, which is a multiple sclerosis drug made up of a combination of CBD and TCH, is approved in some countries such as Canada and the UK to treat MS pain. However, some experts think that the drug has side effects with its anti-inflammatory properties. This is why researchers are still researching to determine whether medicinal cannabis should be a solution for pain management.

Acne Care

The effects of CBD products on receptors in your immune system may help in the reduction of overall inflammation in your body. Conversely, CBD seed oil may offer great benefits for acne management. A human study found that cannabis oil prevented functions in sebaceous glands. These glands produce sebum, which is a natural oily substance that hydrates body skin. Too much sebum is what leads to acne.

Before you start using CBD seed oil for acne treatment, you need to discuss your options with a dermatologist. While it works for some people, it may not work for you and hence the need to consult an expert.

Cancer Treatment

There have been many studies investigating the role or medicinal cannabis in preventing cancer cell growth. While there have been positive results, the study is still in early stages. NCI says that cannabidiol (CBD) may help alleviate many cancer symptoms and cancer treatment negative effects.  However, NCI does not endorse medicinal cannabis fully as a cancer treatment. The action of cannabis plant oil that is promising for cancer therapy is its ability to regulate inflammation and that it changes how cancer cells reproduce. Medical cannabis reduces the ability of tumour cells to reproduce. This means it can, to some extent, treat cancer. But do not buy CBD oil over the counter or in the black market. You need a medical assessment to determine the suitability of this treatment method.

Neuroprotective

Scientists are looking into how CBD seed oil helps individuals with neurodegenerative disorders. These are mainly diseases that cause the nerves and brain to degrade over time. CBD products help the CB1 receptor block related neurodegenerative disorders. It is ongoing research and researchers are investigating the role of medical cannabis for treating:

• Stroke
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Alzheimer disease
•  Parkinson disease

CBD products may also help in reducing inflammations that make neurodegenerative conditions worse. However, more research is needed to understand the effects of CBD oil for neurodegenerative disorders.

What Makes CBD Oil Different From Marijuana

Before you buy CBD oil now that you know the benefits, you may be wondering the difference between CBD and Marijuana. Well, read more to find out.

For easy understanding of CBD and Marijuana, we need to introduce another term – Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The cannabis plant comprises both CBD and THC substances. THC is the compound that you will find in the black market or the streets. This means that it is cultivated for recreation purposes. In addition, street cannabis is unlikely to contain other CBD that is helpful to any medical condition. THC is the psychoactive compound of cannabis that elicits a psychoactive responsive – it makes you feel high.

On the other hand, CBD or medicinal cannabis reduces the psychoactive properties of THC. The right proportion of CBD to THC is helpful to the body depending on prescription, and the results are less psychoactive. Therefore, people using cannabinoids need to use the right ratio of CBD to THC for the treatment to be effective. This is why you will find many CBD products in Australia with different ratios of CBD to THC for different conditions.

You will find both CBD and THC in the Controlled Drug Register in Australia. This means that cannabis plant products cannot be sold directly to the public. Only products that have less than 0.01% of any Cannabinoids are sold directly in Australia. However, 0.01% is not enough as a therapeutic dose.

The Difference Between CBD Oil and Hemp Oil

Today you can find Hemp products in local supermarkets. These are products extracted from Hemp seed such as Hemp seed oil and Hemp Seed powder. While Hemp seeds offer many helpful nutrients such as omegas, iron, and protein, it does not contain therapeutic quantities of Cannabinoids. On the other hand, CBD oil is defined as cannabis oil with significant proportions of cannabidiol. The CBD is extracted from leaves, flowers and stalks of the cannabis plant, unlike Hemp oil which is extracted from the seeds.

Another difference is that cannabis is grown for medicinal and recreational purposes while Hemp is grown for industrial purposes, for example, in the textiles and food industry.

Buying CBD in Australia

There are two methods of buying CBD in Australia. There is the legal method and black-market method or illegal method. We recommend that you use the legal method.

The Legal Method

Australian law requires that you get authorisation from Authorised Prescriber Schemes which are administered by the Therapeutic Goods Administration or undergo the Special Access to access CBD oil. There are two legal ways of accessing CBD oil

Through your GP

You need to visit your general practitioner if you are receiving treatment for a medical condition that can as well be treated using cannabis products. Your GP will then determine whether your current treatment method has been effective. If the treatment is not working, you can talk to your general practitioner to apply on your behalf to the Therapeutic Goods Association. This will help you get approval and prescription to use medical cannabis.

The main challenge of getting CBD from your GP is that many doctors are not familiar with medical cannabis. Others do not know how to prescribe medicinal cannabis. However, this is changing with the increased awareness of cannabis health benefits.

Through a Specialist Clinic

If your general practitioner doesn’t know much about medical cannabis, you can find help from a specialised clinic. There are several clinics in Australia that can help you process and apply for legal cannabis prescriptions. Some of these clinics include Cannvalate, Cannabis Doctors Australia, Tetra health, among others.

The Illegal Method – Black Market

Due to the restrictions by the government when buying medical cannabis, many Australians are desperate. They want to enjoy the benefits of CBD, and they have taken the risk of buying CBD oil online.

Many people are choosing the easy way of buying cannabidiol CBD from local and international sellers without a medical prescription. Apart from being illegal, the problem of buying cannabis products online without a prescription is that one may not know the right dosage nor have information on what they are buying. Also, there are scam products where the seller will provide the wrong information to make sales.

With many unscrupulous brands and scam products flooding online markets, many buyers are getting scammed. For this reason, and to avoid breaking the law, it is unwise to buy CBD online without a prescription.

Those purchasing CBD online, should be aware of the following:

• You need an authentic prescription to use medical cannabis legally in Australia.
• By buying CBD products online, your feedback is not included in the health data, which is collected by Australian clinics and doctors during the government-approved process.
• Once more – note that buying without prescription is not legal in Australia – keep out of trouble!

Conclusion

Australia is among the strictest countries when it comes to CBD oil laws. Therefore, cannabis products being legal in Australia does not mean you can buy them over the counter or online without a prescription. You should only buy or use these products if you are legally allowed. Otherwise, you will face the law.

Frequently asked questions

Is it legal to buy CBD products online?

It is legal to buy CBD oil online provided you have permission. You need a prescription from your doctor.

Where can I buy CBD oil in Australia?

You can buy cannabis products by contacting specialised clinics, talking to your GP or ordering online.

Does Chemist Warehouse sell CBD oil?

No. Chemist Warehouse does not sell CBD oil. However, Bod has plans to partner with Chemist Warehouse to distribute cannabis products. The leading pharmacy chain will manage the dispensing of Bod’s medical cannabis nationally. Additionally, the cannabis company – Bod will train pharmacists at Chemist Warehouse to understand the products better.