Is CBD Legal in Alaska?

While Alaska-grown marijuana has been hanging in legal limbo for years due to conflicting laws behind THC, another one of the plant’s naturally occurring compounds has been rapidly growing in popularity: CBD.

There seem to be competing interpretations for CBD, stemming from the fact that CBD oil can be extracted from both marijuana and hemp plants, making it a regulatory challenge for multiple Alaska agencies who lack explicit enforcement authority or manpower.

“This is a murky area with evolving laws at the federal and state level,” said Jana Weltzin, owner of JDW, LLC, a law firm in Anchorage specializing in cannabis law. “Anyone interested in getting involved in CBD should definitely do their homework.”

CBD’s surging demand has made many businesses comfortable importing it to sell in Alaska, even in its quasi-legal state.

With Alaska’s hemp pilot program still being developed, the CBD sold across Alaska hasn’t been through in-state lab testing. While some CBD products may have originated from states with industrial hemp programs and rigorous testing protocols, much of the CBD available for purchase has been imported from other countries with significantly lower quality and safety standards, leaving consumers to do their own research.

For this reason, many people who rely on CBD for health or medical reasons are cautious about their source but will openly share stories about CBD helping with a myriad of physical and mental ailments ranging from anxiety to seizures, although the FDA has yet to support these testimonials.