A lot of confusion surrounds CBD: what it is, whether it’s legal, and whether or not it can be sold online. The details can be a bit murky, but with the right information, you can sort through the details and get started with your own CBD business.
What is CBD?
The first step in unraveling the confusion around CBD is understanding its connection to marijuana. The term CBD is shorthand for cannabidiol, and if that word seems a lot like “cannabis,” you’re on the right track to understanding the problem. Cannabidiol is just one of more than 400 compounds found in the cannabis, or marijuana, plant.
But CBD is not the same thing as marijuana, and two should not be confused. For one thing, the CBD compound isn’t found only in marijuana. For another, CBD has powerful medicinal benefits and therapeutic applications but is not psychoactive.
The compound responsible for a marijuana “high” is THC, not CBD. CBD is entirely different from marijuana; yet some still struggle to separate the two in their minds, especially because federal and state laws are not the same when it comes to CBD or marijuana.
Why are there any questions about selling CBD online?
Select CBD reviews will detail how well people respond to the medicinal benefits of CBD, and you might wonder why shipping it should be a question. The issue lies in the fact that federal law classifies CBD from cannabis as a Schedule I illegal drug.
That’s because CBD extracted from the cannabis plant will still contain traces of other compounds. When the DEA clarified their thoughts about CBD, they said that “if it were possible to produce…an extract that contained only CBD and no other cannabinoids, such an extract would fall within the new drug code.”
This statement has been widely taken to mean that CBD derived from hemp, which cannot contain any illegal cannabis compounds, doesn’t fall afoul of the law. So far, regular practice seems to back up this interpretation of the DEA’s statement.
Selling your own CBD
If you want to sell CBD online, it’s crucial that your product be high-quality, pure, and come from the hemp plant. Your first step should be to find a reliable source of quality CBD supplements. Once you do, you can dropship CBD, transferring customer orders directly to the wholesaler who will then ship directly to the customer.
The advantage of drop-shipping CBD is that you don’t have to worry about keeping a large stock on hand, particularly if your business is mostly online and you have limited physical space.
With drop-shipping, you can expand the variety of your online offerings quickly so that your business stays competitive and flexible. You also don’t have to spend money on a physical space if you’re not likely to attract a lot of walk-in customers.
Keeping up with the paperwork
To have a successful online business, you need to keep accurate records. This is crucial for every business, but it is especially important for anyone working with CBD. Although the market for CBD is robust, selling and shipping are still enough of a gray area that you should cover all your bases.
Keeping the most accurate records is the best way to show you have a legitimate business and keep things functioning smoothly. Try using fully accountable – accounting for ecommerce business. This gives you a fast and intuitive way to keep up with all your financials and be sure you have accurate records.
You should also be extra careful to have the right state and municipal permits for your CBD business. These vary by state, but as long as you are in line with your state’s laws, you are unlikely to have any trouble with federal law, even if you’re selling online.
