Driving and CBD – The Facts, The Laws & The Studies

CBD has shot into the health and wellness stratosphere over recent years as laws around the cannabis plant are relaxed. With its rise in popularity, comes a rise in the uncertainty around its use, especially when driving.

A survey by YouGov  found that around 10% of people in the UK have tried CBD products, with up to a quarter of the population intrigued and tempted to trial the compound. As CBD has no psycho-active effects, you can drive after using it, without impairment.

The technicalities of the law are where the water is muddied. Whilst CBD is legal and falls under no prohibition or laws, its mere affiliation with the cannabis plant means many feel unsure about their legal obligations after using the compound.

The Legal Standpoint

There are many ways in which CBD (cannabidiol) can be taken, with vapes, oils, drinks, sweets and creams all utilising the health properties of the compound. Whilst the hemp flower still remains illegal in the UK, extracted CBD has been passed for use, providing it has below 0.2% THC.

THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) is prohibited for use in the UK. The limit for which keeps you on the right side of the law when driving is 0.2mg per litre of blood. For that reason, using a reputable CBD vendor becomes paramount to both driving safely, and in accordance with the law.

We caught up with Eoin Keenan of  Goodrays , a UK based manufacturer of CBD products. He had this to say about keeping on the right side of the law.

“At Goodrays, we source our CBD from reputable growers in Colorado, this ensures we can guarantee 0% THC across our entire range. With the law still very much in opposition to the use of cannabis, the association of CBD with the plant casts doubts in people’s minds when it comes to the use of CBD products.

This is why we are trying to educate people on the use, as well as provide safe-to-use products. The benefits of using CBD can help in all areas of life, from boosting drive and focus, to helping you relax, sleep and in some cases reducing chronic illness and pain”

When asked about the effects and legality of the compound when driving he added,

“It’s perfectly legal, so long as the THC content remains below 0.2%. There are no laws in the UK pertaining to CBD use, so if you are using it during the day, or even while driving, there is no evidence to suggest that your driving will be impaired. In fact, at low doses, CBD can help increase your focus and improve energy levels, contrary to the more sedating effects regularly associated with the mind-altering cannabis compound, THC.

Goodrays recently posted their own views on driving after consuming CBD, to help set their customers at ease. You can read their blog on the subject, amongst many other informative and thought-provoking articles through this link.

CBD Driving Test

A study by the University of Sydney and Maastricht University, found there to be no impairment from CBD use when driving. The study tested different levels of both THC and CBD, in participants who were then required to undertake a 100-kilometre drive, after forty minutes and four hours, respectively, after the dose.

The study found cannabis which contained mainly CBD had no effect on subject’s ability to drive at either forty minutes or four hours. Whilst cannabis with higher THC content posed mild effects after forty minutes, it also had no effect after four hours.

With the laws as strict as they are in the UK, it is easy to be caught out after using cannabis, even within 48 hours of smoking, traces can still amount to over the legal limit. As with much of the black market, the product remains unregulated, and more potent strains could land you in hot water, even with what you deem to be a sufficient break between smoking and getting behind the wheel.

For that quarter of the UK’s population keen to test the benefits of CBD, reputable vendors such as Goodrays, offer a safe, legal and sustainable way to do so. Their drinks, gummies and oil each boast between 25 & 30mg of colorado grown CBD, and guarantee their products to be 100% THC free.

It may be some time yet before the UK follows America’s progressive stance on the plant, so in the mean-time, CBD offer some way of putting the plant to use, whilst remaining on the right side of the law.