The category determines the rule
CBD does not have one legal status covering every product in Spain and the European Union. An ingestible supplement falls under food rules; a skin product must meet cosmetic requirements; a medicinal preparation belongs to pharmaceutical regulation. A low THC figure does not make those frameworks disappear. The practical legal distinction is the product’s composition, intended function and presentation, rather than the presence of the letters CBD on a label.
CBD remains an unauthorised novel food
ACSA’s update of 21 September 2026 states that no EU authorisation has been granted for cannabinoids as novel foods. That month EFSA issued a favourable assessment of a specific synthetic CBD product, but marketing still requires a European Commission decision under the novel-food framework. The assessment is product-specific; it does not authorise CBD gummies or supplements generally. CBD food sales and authorised cannabidiol medicines therefore remain separate regulatory categories.
A label cannot change the product’s reality
AESAN also addresses products that look like food while carrying labels such as ornamental use or not for food use. Such wording does not make otherwise unauthorised food-like cannabis products marketable. This matters because presentation is part of how a product is assessed. A sweet-shaped product cannot be understood solely through a disclaimer printed on its packaging. The food authority’s approach concerns the actual product and its appearance, rather than allowing a marketing phrase to decide the regulatory category.
Cosmetics follow another framework
The European Commission explains that CosIng, its cosmetic-ingredient database, is informational and has no legal value in itself. An ingredient entry is therefore not approval of every finished product containing it. The cosmetic framework requires, among other things, an EU responsible person and compliance with product-safety obligations. That is a different process from novel-food authorisation. Describing a product as external-use can identify an intended function, but does not itself demonstrate that the finished cosmetic meets all its applicable requirements.
[2] European Commission · CosIng[3] European Commission · Cosmetics legislation
What the European court decided
In its 19 November 2020 judgment in case C-663/18, the Court of Justice addressed CBD lawfully produced in another member state and concluded that the CBD at issue was not a narcotic drug. Restrictions on free movement required justification, including an appropriate public-health assessment. The ruling concerns a particular legal dispute and the conditions for restricting trade. It did not issue a blanket approval for all CBD foods, cosmetics or medicines, each of which still belongs to its own regulatory system.
Medicinal CBD is a separate use
Spain’s Royal Decree 903/2025 governs specified compounded medicines using registered standardised cannabis preparations. It establishes clinical and pharmaceutical responsibilities rather than a consumer-food category. The same molecule can therefore appear in very different legal settings without contradiction. A product can be outside narcotics classification yet still need food authorisation; a cosmetic ingredient can be listed in a database while the finished product still requires safety compliance. Product-specific regulation explains the apparent inconsistencies.
Sources & further reading
General information, not individual legal or medical advice.