Edibles are a delicious way to consume CBD oil and offer a great alternative for those who don’t enjoy the flavour of CBD oil products.
But with current Australian legislation, they are not as easy to get as other CBD products through both the medical pathway and the green market.
Read this guide to learn whether you can buy CBD edibles in Australia, what the risks are and the benefits and drawbacks of consuming this form of cannabidiol.
If you want to learn more about where you can get medical cannabis products in Australia, this article covers everything you need to know.
Are Edibles Legal In Australia?
There is no legal way to buy CBD edibles in Australia without a medical prescription. With a prescription, you are allowed to buy CBD edibles with less than 0.3% THC content, and less than 2% of all cannabinoids other than CBD overall.[1]
Can You Buy CBD Edibles Online?
Buying CBD edibles online is the easiest route to take. This can enable Australians to choose from a wide variety of CBD edibles for sale in established legal markets, such as the USA.
This is usually where the best CBD edibles online are found, with accurate and consistent dosages produced under conditions compliant with food safety regulations.
Shipping CBD edibles and other CBD products to Australian customers is not legal. As a result, many online shops will not ship their products to an Australian address.
Because shipping CBD edibles to Australia is not legal, not all companies are willing to do it.
Importing CBD products from overseas always carries the risk of your goods being delayed or seized at customs, and the possibility of legal consequences. [2]
Buying from legitimate international sellers often also means using a traceable payment method such as Visa or PayPal. Although importing small amounts of CBD products rarely has serious legal consequences, there’s no guarantee you won’t land yourself in hot water.
Prescription CBD Edibles
If you have a medical CBD prescription, you can access CBD edibles through an online pharmacy or telehealth clinic. You won’t find much in the way of tasty treats by taking this route though.
CBD and cannabis edibles approved for medical use are limited to chewable tablets and capsules, and cookie-like wafers.
These are available in a range of CBD and THC concentrations, so you can find CBD edibles to meet a wide range of prescribed dosages.
Should You Buy CBD Edibles Online From The Green Market?
You can also buy CBD edibles from the online green market.
Some of these sites accept cryptocurrency and implement other measures to help protect customer identities, but there are still risks associated with buying through these websites and it’s important to do thorough research before handing over your money.
It is very common for products to be mislabeled or provide incorrect information about their potency or purity.
For example, you may find that products sold as CBD edibles actually contain delta-8, CBG, or other cannabinoids that produce intoxicating effects, including THC.
Importing any of those products can be a much more serious legal issue, on top of not getting the high-CBD edible you wanted.
Edibles from the green market can also have highly variable dosages, even within a single batch, so there is no real way to know how much CBD you are taking each time. This can make it difficult to find and maintain the right dosage for your needs.
Reading CBD edible reviews can give you a better idea of the consistency of these products, but there are no guarantees.
In contrast, edibles sold in legitimate markets have accurate dosages and public test results, making for more consistent results.
Additionally, reaching out to the company to see if they can provide a COA (certificate of analysis) can help ensure you are getting exactly what you’re paying for.
Other Ways To Get CBD Edibles in Melbourne
Besides buying online, the other method people often use to get CBD edibles is to simply make their own. CBD edibles can be made using cannabidiol oil or hemp flower.
If you are using hemp flower, you will need to make CBD oil from the hemp flower first.
You can make edibles out of any recipe that uses a small amount of oil, such as a cookies or brownies recipe.
CBD oil, especially full-spectrum extracts, can sometimes have an unpleasantly bitter or earthy taste, so foods with strong flavours usually work better.
If you are cooking with a full-spectrum or broad-spectrum plant extract, stick to recipes that don’t go higher than 180°C. Temperatures higher than this will evaporate some of the cannabinoids and terpenes in your oil, reducing the benefits you could gain from the entourage effect.[3]
The Benefits of CBD Edibles
As you can see, CBD edibles are not the easiest way for most people to get their CBD oil. So why do people choose edibles over other ways to consume CBD?
One reason is that they are simply more enjoyable to take. CBD oil has an earthy flavour that some find unappetising. It is easier to keep up a consistent routine of taking CBD if it is not unpleasant to do.
While not as harmful as smoking tobacco, smoking hemp flower and other smokable CBD products is still a long way from good for you. Likewise, vaping might be better for you than smoking, but still not great if you have any form of respiratory condition.
However, these methods of using CBD are very enjoyable to a lot of people, and it can be difficult to replace them with less enjoyable alternatives. Whether you get your CBD from oil or an edible, there are many studies suggesting it may help with conditions such as pain and inflammation, anxiety and PTSD, plus a wide range of other health conditions.
Reputable edible manufacturers achieve highly consistent dosages in their products. This can make it easier to manage your doses compared to using an oil dropper.
Drawbacks of CBD Edibles
CBD edibles are a convenient and discreet way to get cannabidiol into your system. They do have some drawbacks though:
Inconsistent Dosages
Depending on where you are getting your edibles from, there can be a lot of variation in the dosage of each individual edible. This makes titration and maintaining a consistent dose difficult compared to more controlled methods.
Sugar Content
CBD edibles often contain a lot of sugar and other unhealthy ingredients, as most CBD edibles are sold in the form of sweet snacks like cookies or gummies.
Slow To Take Effect
Consuming CBD oil as food may improve its bioavailability, but it results in a slow release that takes longer to have an effect than other methods like inhalation.
Access to buds
Hemp is rich in CBD and is most often used to create CBD oils and other products. Unfortunately, it can often be difficult to access hemp buds in Australia.
Are CBD Edibles Worth It?
CBD edibles are a great way to take CBD oil, and there are plenty of safe, high-quality options available internationally.
There is no legal way to buy CBD edibles without a prescription in Australia however. This makes it harder than it should be for Australians to get consistent doses of CBD through edibles, along with other risks.
As a result, while you can certainly get CBD edibles via international websites, there are safer and easier alternatives such as making your own.
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