CBD sleep beverages are showing up on shelves from boutique dispensaries to national grocery chains, but that visibility can be misleading. They are not clearly legal in every U.S. state, and at the federal level they still sit in a regulatory gray — and in some ways, red — zone.

At the core of the issue is the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Because CBD is the active ingredient in the approved epilepsy drug Epidiolex, FDA takes the position that CBD cannot legally be added to foods or dietary supplements under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The agency has repeatedly stated that CBD is not “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS) for use in food or beverages and that existing frameworks are not appropriate for CBD products.

As a result, any CBD sleep drink introduced into interstate commerce is technically unlawful at the federal level, regardless of whether it is sold as a ready-to-drink beverage, shot, or powdered mix. Legal hemp seed ingredients (such as hulled hemp seed, hemp seed protein, or hemp seed oil) are allowed in food and beverages, but those ingredients usually contain only trace CBD and are not the same as a functional “CBD sleep beverage.”

On top of federal rules, brands must navigate a patchwork of state and local regulations. Some states have carved out explicit paths for hemp-derived cannabinoids in food and beverages, while others treat any CBD-infused consumable as an adulterated product:

• Colorado allows certain hemp ingredients in food, subject to registration, sourcing, and THC limits, and has built a comprehensive hemp-in-food program.
• Other jurisdictions explicitly prohibit CBD in food or drink. Maryland’s health department, for example, states it is unlawful to manufacture or sell any food containing CBD or cannabis-derived ingredients.
• Alcohol regulators in states such as Massachusetts have clarified that food and beverages containing CBD or THC cannot legally be manufactured or sold under their authority, further constraining on-premise and packaged drink programs.

These inconsistent approaches mean a CBD sleep beverage that is tolerated — or even formally regulated — in one state may be banned in another. For multi-state brands and retailers, the result is a complex compliance map where product formulas, packaging claims, and distribution channels often have to be customized market by market.

Recent federal action aimed at hemp-derived THC beverages adds another wrinkle. Congress has moved to close Farm Bill loopholes by capping total THC content in hemp beverages and banning many synthesized cannabinoids, a shift that threatens large portions of the low-dose THC drink market. While these measures are primarily targeting intoxicating THC products rather than non-intoxicating CBD sleep drinks, they underscore that cannabinoid beverages as a whole are under heightened scrutiny.

Practically speaking, many CBD sleep beverages continue to be sold in brick-and-mortar retail and online, but their legality depends on three overlapping filters: federal restrictions, state-level statutes and guidance, and local health or alcohol agency policies. Until Congress creates a specific regulatory pathway for CBD in ingestible products, or FDA changes its position, CBD sleep beverages will remain widely available but not uniformly legal across the United States.