Is CBD Bud Legal In Australia?

CBD bud, also known as CBD flower or hemp bud, is one of the oldest methods of taking CBD.

It is now fairly easy to get a prescription for legal premium CBD flower in Australia and have it shipped straight to your front door.

In fact, prescriptions for flower products account for 40% market share in Australia [1], meaning this is becoming one of the most popular medical cannabis products currently available.

Is CBD bud the best option for your condition? Read on to find out what you need to know and whether you can buy CBD flower online.

You can also learn more about accessing CBD oil in Australia here.

What Is CBD Bud?

CBD bud is the dried flowers of hemp plants. Unlike cannabis flowers, hemp flowers contain only small amounts of THC. However, they do contain large quantities of cannabidiol, other cannabinoids, and terpenes.

As a result, consuming CBD buds can confer all of the benefits of CBD, along with the full entourage effect of the other compounds found in hemp, without any of the intoxicating effects of THC.

As it contains all of the same compounds, CBD bud looks, smells, and tastes exactly like cannabis bud, and it can be difficult to tell them apart.

It can also be consumed in all of the same ways as cannabis bud, from smoking or vaping to cooking it in food. This makes it a very versatile way to enjoy all the benefits of full-spectrum CBD use.

Because CBD bud can be smoked and is not addictive, it is also popular as a tobacco or cannabis alternative for people trying to quit or cut down. [2]

Is CBD Bud Legal In Australia?

CBD bud can be prescribed by a doctor or authorised prescriber as a medical cannabis product. This is currently the only legal way to buy CBD bud at a physical shop or pharmacy.

Although it is now legal for businesses to sell low-dosage CBD oil products over-the-counter without a prescription, there are no CBD bud products that have been approved by the ARTG for over-the-counter sale yet.

This puts buying CBD bud without a prescription in a bit of a legal grey area. It is not a crime for you to possess or use CBD bud, but it is not legal for anyone to sell it to you yet.

Where are CBD Buds For Sale?

You can buy legal CBD buds from an online pharmacy or telehealth clinic after getting a medical prescription for CBD.

Your usual doctor can prescribe CBD for you, but this can be a lengthy and tedious process due to the additional steps they must take to get approval for prescribing it.

Instead, it is usually easier to make an appointment with a clinic or telehealth service that specialises in cannabis medication.

These clinics have pre-approval to prescribe legal CBD buds and cannabis, streamlining the process for you. They are also more experienced in helping patients use CBD to treat specific symptoms effectively.

If you do not have a medical prescription that allows you to buy CBD or cannabis from a pharmacy, your remaining options are overseas shops and the green market.

In theory, you should also be able to buy CBD bud over-the-counter after consultation with the pharmacist, but until some CBD bud products are approved by the ARTG, this is not an option.

Buying CBD Bud From Overseas

There are plenty of online stores in countries where CBD bud is legal for online sales that are willing to ship to Australian customers and are experienced in doing so discreetly.

The US and European CBD markets are very well established and have a much larger product range than we do here in Australia.

However, while their business’s location may put them beyond the reach of Australian law, it does not protect you. Importing CBD products from overseas, including CBD bud, is not legal.

Whether you have a prescription or not, buying CBD bud online from an unauthorised seller always carries the possibility that your goods will be confiscated or delayed at customs.

As previously mentioned, it looks exactly like cannabis and possesses the strong, distinctive smell of cannabis, making it easier to detect than other CBD products.

CBD bud is also sold by unlicensed online cannabis shops, otherwise known as the green market. However, CBD bud is much less common on these sites than regular cannabis bud and other intoxicating bud products such as delta-8 and CBG bud.

It is often difficult to verify the quality and purity of products sold on these sites. While products may be advertised as popular brands and strains, there are no guarantees that you will get what was advertised.

Furthermore, you have no recourse if you are unhappy with your order or do not receive it at all. Some sellers may reimburse you if your order was seized, but this is certainly not guaranteed.

As a result, it is usually easier and safer to get a prescription for legal CBD bud instead. Finding CBD flower for sale online isn’t as straightforward as some may hope.

Is It Legal To Grow CBD Bud?

Under federal law, you are only allowed to grow hemp or cannabis for personal use if you have been granted a licence for medical reasons.

However, some states are more lenient. For example, in the ACT, you can grow up to 2 cannabis plants at your home per person, up to a maximum of 4 per household. [3]

In most states, though, the answer is no. You cannot legally grow hemp to make CBD bud without a license, which can be difficult to obtain. Even in places where you can, you may not use artificial cultivation techniques or grow plants anywhere the public can access.

As a result, growing hemp is not possible in every home, even if it is legal to do so.

In states where growing hemp is illegal, you may be fined and imprisoned for up to a year.

CBD Bud Offers Many Benefits To Medical Patients

CBD bud is many people’s preferred way to get their cannabidiol intake, thanks to the many ways to take it and the full-spectrum benefits of getting all of the cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids directly from the hemp flower without extraction into an oil.

While there are many other popular options, such as CBD edibles, CBD vapes, and CBD capsules or oils, these products can still be difficult to access in Australia at the moment.

Sadly, you’re going to need a prescription to get it for now, but this is sure to change as more CBD products get approved for sale as a Schedule 3 drug.