Nebraskans are used to being behind the national curve when it comes to legalization movements in America. Marijuana, gay marriage, abortion – Nebraska is never at the forefront of social change.
Needless to say, many people like it that way. Nebraska is a solidly red state, and conservative values predominate among the majority of voters. And in an evenly-divided nation, Cornhuskers are far from alone.
That can make things difficult at times, though. It’s particularly difficult when potential medical breakthroughs intersect with traditional beliefs.
The first issue we mentioned, marijuana, is a perfect example. How do you balance a long-standing anti-cannabis policy, with growing evidence that shows the plant’s immense medical possibilities?
In Nebraska and many other states, you start with CBD.
In 2018, the federal government passed the law that essentially legalized the sale of cannabidiol products derived from hemp (cannabidiol is the long way of saying CBD). Nebraska lawmakers and the governor took the same action a few months later.
So it’s legal to purchase CBD in Nebraska. How do you know what products to choose from?
Read on.
CBD Oils in Nebraska
Royal CBD Oil
Here’s the bad news: it’s unlikely that you’ll find Royal CBD oil in most of Nebraska’s CBD stores. The company has limited distribution through brick-and-mortar retailers. However, you can purchase it online and have it delivered to your house or apartment.
That’s definitely worth considering because Royal makes the best CBD products you can find anywhere. They’re produced from full-spectrum cannabidiol from small organic hemp farms on the West Coast, which has been extracted via a state-of-the-art method (using supercritical CO2).
Royal CBD oil contains only two additional ingredients, an organic flavoring agent, and organic MCT carrier oil (the best choice). If you prefer natural-flavored oil, then it contains just the carrier oil and cannabidiol, nothing else artificial or unnecessary. There’s a wide range of potencies and flavors to choose from, too.
You’ll probably have to order Royal CBD online, and you’ll pay a little more than the CBD store around the corner charges for its generic products. But you’ll thank us later if you decide to give it a try.
Gold Bee CBD Oil
Gold Bee’s oil is slightly less expensive than Royal CBD, with fewer flavor and potency options. But it’s another high-end product. Gold Bee’s hemp is sourced from Colorado and California organic farms, and it’s processed and turned into full-spectrum CBD oil using the exact same methods that Royal uses to create its high-quality products. In other words, the two products are virtually the same until it’s time to choose strength and flavors.
While you might find Royal products in your town’s CBD stores, you won’t see Gold Bee’s products there. They’re only manufactured in very small quantities and only sold online. You can’t get them in the half-hour it would take you to visit Sam’s CBD Store down the street, but it won’t take that much longer to have them delivered – and trust us, Gold Bee CBD is better than anything you’ll find at Sam’s.
CBDPure Hemp Oil
You might be able to pick up a bottle of CBDPure’s full-spectrum hemp oil locally if you happen to have a terrific CBD store in your area. If so, here’s what you’ll find: the same high quality as Royal and Gold Bee oil, lower potency, no flavors other than somewhat-raw natural hemp – and lower prices. Otherwise, of course, it’s available online as well.
CBDPure doesn’t charge as much because they don’t put as much cannabidiol into their products, making them a lesser-strength option. That’s all that many people need, however, and the quality of the product is top-notch.
Is CBD Oil Legal in Nebraska?
Yes. It was legalized by the Farm Bill passed by Congress and signed by the president in 2018. Nebraska followed suit five months later with its own Hemp Farming Act, formalizing the legal status of CBD in the state.
The two laws have many provisions, but the key ones (for our purposes) legalized the sale and use of CBD – with a couple of important limitations designed to make sure the CBD you buy online or at a local store isn’t psychoactive.
The easiest way to understand those limitations is with a quick botany lesson.
There are two different types of cannabis plants, hemp, and marijuana. They each contain well over 100 different cannabinoids, the chemical compounds which provide most of the plant’s effects when its byproducts are ingested or inhaled.
One of the cannabinoids is known as cannabidiol, which is extracted from the plants to produce the CBD oils, capsules, edibles, and topicals you can now purchase throughout Nebraska.
Another cannabinoid present in both hemp and pot, in very different amounts, is THC. THC is the psychoactive one, of course, and there’s a lot of it in the pot plant. The presence of substantial levels of THC is what makes you high when you smoke weed. By comparison, there’s only a tiny amount of THC native to the hemp plant. That’s why you can’t get stoned by smoking hemp.
But how much THC is a “tiny amount?” That’s the reason for the legal limitations in the federal and state laws legalizing CBD. Both laws actually define how much THC can be in the cannabidiol you’re allowed to purchase: it can be no more than 0.3% of the total product. The laws also specify that CBD must be sourced from hemp plants, not marijuana plants.
(CBD extracted from marijuana is legal in states that allow the recreational use of pot and is available to patients in many other states with medical marijuana programs. In Nebraska, that so-called “marijuana oil” is illegal, period.)
Some analysts claim that the legal status of CBD in Nebraska is still a bit shaky. Despite the fact that it was legalized in 2018/2019, some local law enforcement departments continued to raid stores selling CBD under the pretense that they were selling illegal substances. However, there appears to be no justification for those actions. CBD no longer appears on the state’s list of controlled substances, so it is indeed legal.
Do You Need a Prescription or Medical Card to Buy CBD Oil in Nebraska?
There are no such things as medical cards in Nebraska, since there the medical use of marijuana is not permitted.
No prescription is needed to buy CBD oil or any other form of cannabidiol, as long as it’s been extracted from hemp and contains less than 0.3% THC. There’s one exception: Epidiolex, the only CBD extract produced as a medicine, and approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of rare forms of childhood epilepsy. It can only be obtained in Nebraska with a doctor’s prescription.
Is CBD Oil Legal in Nebraska for Minors?
Neither the U.S. Farm Bill nor the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act specifies a minimum legal age for the use of CBD. Most vendors won’t sell cannabidiol products to those under 18, but no law prohibits parents or guardians from giving their minor children CBD. There is an age requirement, however, for those applying for licenses to cultivate or process hemp in the state; they must be at least 18.
Is Traveling With CBD Oil Legal in Nebraska?
There’s no prohibition of any type of traveling with CBD in Nebraska since it’s legal to possess and use. Naturally, it’s illegal to possess – and therefore, to travel with – any form of marijuana, including CBD produced from the pot plant. Keep that in mind if you plan a short visit to Colorado (or South Dakota once their weed legalization takes effect).
What Type of CBD is The Right One for You?
Assuming you want to use cannabidiol to treat a medical issue or for general wellness, your natural inclination might be to look for the strongest CBD you can find. And since you can’t overdose on cannabidiol, that might be even more reason to search for powerful CBD products.
Actually, it doesn’t work that way. A smaller dose of CBD is actually better for some issues like stress, while there are other conditions like epilepsy that call for a high dose. Most people will do best with something in the middle. Starting small and increasing the dose as needed is the best approach.
Two other considerations are more important. One is the form that the CBD takes; the other is the type of CBD formulation. Let’s look at them one at a time.
Edibles and capsules take a long time to work because they have to be broken down in the digestive system first. Topical CBD usually only treats surface pain, since the skin blocks it from reaching the bloodstream.
By contrast, CBD oil administered under the tongue, or inhaled by vaping, will provide the fastest-acting doses and maximize bioavailability (how much of the cannabidiol is actually used by the body). And since most people don’t vape, or don’t want to, CBD oil is the most popular and most effective choice.
Now, let’s consider the optimal “type” of CBD. Basically, there are three to choose from:
- Full-Spectrum: This CBD contains all of the components of the hemp plant. That includes the 3% THC content that’s legally allowed and all other cannabinoids, plus flavonoids and terpenes (which determine the hemp’s physical characteristics). Full-spectrum CBD provides the best bang for your buck since all of its components work together in an “entourage effect” that boosts the performance of cannabidiol.
- Broad-spectrum: Take full-spectrum CBD, remove the THC, and you’ve left with broad-spectrum CBD. On the positive side, there still an entourage effect. On the negative side, it’s not quite as powerful. So what’s the point? If you have to take drug tests at work or school, you probably don’t want any THC in your system. Broad-spectrum CBD delivers the best performance with no THC content.
- CBD Isolate: This type of CBD doesn’t contain THC, either. It also doesn’t contain any of hemp’s other components, so there’s no entourage effect at all. It’s just isolated cannabidiol, which some people believe is the best choice from a medical standpoint – even though the research says otherwise.
So which type of CBD is best for you? Unless you have to pass a drug screening, full-spectrum CBD oil works best. Just start out with a lower dose until you see how well it does for you. (Pro tip: Full-spectrum CBD only triggers positive drug tests very rarely; isolate usually isn’t necessary.)
Is Marijuana Legal in Nebraska?
Marijuana remains strictly illegal in Nebraska, where it is classified as a Schedule I controlled substance right alongside heroin and meth. That doesn’t mean, however, that the state punishes all “drug” users in the same way.
In 1979 Nebraska decriminalized marijuana, to an extent. A first offense for possession of less than one ounce is considered to be a civil offense, known as an “infraction”. It’s penalized by a maximum fine of $300 (and possibly attendance at a drug education program). Subsequent offenses for possession are considered misdemeanors and not felonies.
The state also has no medical marijuana program, but that may change. The latest attempt to pass a constitutional amendment mandating a medical program via ballot initiative was blocked by the Nebraska Supreme Court in 2020. But activists are proposing a new initiative which they hope will pass court muster, as well as a second one that would legalize recreational weed use.
Where to Buy CBD in Nebraska?
Even before CBD was legalized in Nebraska, you could buy it at a number of vape shops and similar outlets. Once the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act pretty much cleared up the legal status of cannabidiol products, dedicated CBD stores started springing up like wildfire across the state. And if you can’t buy CBD at your local pharmacy or Walmart, don’t worry. It’s definitely on the way.
There’s another alternative, and it’s a better one for most people – particularly those who are first-time buyers new to CBD. In fact, if you’ve spent any time researching the subject online, it’s probably been hard to focus on the articles, since ads from Internet CBD vendors are nearly possible to avoid.
Not all online vendors are trustworthy, of course. However, some of them are arguably the best source for CBD products. Here’s why.
Your local CBD store is likely to carry whatever products pay them the highest commissions or offer them the best profit margins, whether or not the products are any good. In truth, it’s usually not worth it for brick-and-mortar vendors to carry high-quality CBD; those producers don’t need to “pay off” the stores to carry their products.
In most cases, high-end CBD (like the brands we spotlighted earlier in this article) is only available online or at a few selected chains which focus on quality. Most of those chains don’t have outlets in Nebraska.
Online CBD ordering, though, can be even more convenient than running out to a store. You can shop at your leisure, research, and compare products, check out their certificates of analysis to see exactly how much THC and cannabidiol are in them and have them delivered right to your door when you’ve made a decision.
So you can buy CBD almost anywhere these days. Your decision on where to buy is what makes all the difference.
Recommended/Trusted CBD Retailers
It seems that new CBD retailers in Nebraska pop up every week, making it difficult to track the best vendors.
But here are some of the ones worth investigating.
- Omaha: Greenlight Natural, CBD American Shaman (multiple locations), The CBD Oil Shop
- Lincoln: CBD Remedies (multiple locations), CBD American Shaman, Herbal Zen CBD
- Bellevue: Generation V, CBD American Shaman
- Grand Island: Herban Pulse, CBD American Shaman
Buying CBD in Nebraska: Final Thoughts
On one hand, it’s difficult to believe how easy it is to buy CBD in Nebraska, considering how tough the state has historically been on cannabis and those who sell it. On the other hand, it’s not surprising that Nebraska quickly hopped on board the cannabidiol train once the federal government fired up the locomotive; after all, the state was one of the first to somewhat decriminalize pot possession nearly fifty years ago.
CBD isn’t quite as available in Nebraska as it is in legal marijuana states, but that will come in time. Right now, you can find CBD oil and other products sold in nearly every city and town, with availability certain to grow in the coming years.
But the postal service, UPS and FedEx still serve Nebraska as well – so ordering CBD online is fast, easy, and one of the only ways Nebraskans can be sure they’re buying the highest-quality cannabidiol products on the market.
