Terpenes have been used in many different forms for centuries, but are terpenes legal here in the United States? Here's everything you need to know about the legal status of terpenes.
In short, yes! Terpenes are perfectly legal. Even when they're found in cannabis or extracted directly from cannabis.
Terpenes are the source of many familiar aromas and flavors and are found in all of the plant life and vegetation on Earth. With that in mind, they're legal everywhere, and not just the United States.
Terpenes are infused in many major products on the market today from health supplements to natural holistic remedies as well as found naturally in every fruit, vegetable, flower, and plant. Terpenes can be found in a number of different industries from cannabis, aromatherapy, food and beverage to the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, soap, and perfume industries. The FDA has deemed that terpenes are safe for consumption and are therefore completely legal. However, it's still worth mentioning that highly-concentrated terpenes can be dangerous in high doses.
But does the legality of terpenes change when it comes to the role they play with cannabis? Although cannabis is not legal in all 50 states, the terpenes extracted from the different strains of cannabis are still legal. Terpenes play a role in the aroma and smell of cannabis as well as contributing to some of the other properties of different strains, however, the terpenes themselves do not cause a high and aren't considered dangerous or controlled substances. Terpenes are found in cannabis but it does not change the way they are viewed in the law.
Either way, if you have ever used essential oils, botanical scented lotions, ate food or bought a bouquet of flowers for your significant other then you have already been in contact with terpenes. To ban terpenes would mean banning a lot of the things we use on a daily basis without even realizing that they contain terpenes.
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