Who Should Not Use a CBD Tincture? 7 Groups and the Source for Each

If you’re asking who should not use a CBD tincture, start with what the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says. The agency strongly advises against CBD in any form during pregnancy or while breastfeeding. This guide covers six more groups and names the source behind each one, whether that’s a federal agency, a prescription drug label, or our product warning.

We’re Standard CBD, a family-owned Humboldt County CBD shop, and we sell gummies, tinctures, and capsules to adults 21 and over. For each group, you’ll see what the source says and what to take to your doctor or pharmacist.

We can’t tell you whether a tincture is right for you, and we won’t try. If you have a question about a label or a lab report, contact our Humboldt County team or call or text 949-903-8695.

This article is for general informational purposes only and is not medical advice. It does not replace a conversation with your doctor or pharmacist about your health and medications. The Food and Drug Administration has not evaluated these statements. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. This product is intended for adults 21 and over.

In This Guide

• What is a CBD tincture?
• 1. People who are pregnant or breastfeeding
• 2. Children and teens
• 3. People who take other medicines
• 4. People who drink alcohol or take sedating medicines
• 5. People with liver problems
• 6. People who are drug tested
• 7. People who drive or operate machinery
• The seven groups at a glance
• Other cautions from the same sources
• How to use a CBD tincture label and dropper
• Questions to ask before you buy
• Frequently asked questions

Key Takeaways

• The FDA strongly advises against using CBD in any form during pregnancy or while breastfeeding.
• Our products are for adults 21 and over. It doesn’t yet know how CBD affects the developing brain.
• CBD can affect how other drugs work, and using it with alcohol or sedating medicines increases the risk of drowsiness.
• CBD can cause liver injury, and it’s concerned that injury could go undetected if a healthcare provider isn’t monitoring for it.
• CBD products may contain THC, which matters if you’re drug tested.
• The FDA advises avoiding CBD during pregnancy and breastfeeding, and the federal agency SAMHSA recommends that children not use over-the-counter CBD products. For the other groups, the step is to ask your doctor or pharmacist before you buy.

What Is a CBD Tincture?

A CBD tincture is a liquid CBD product sold in a small bottle with a dropper. You measure each serving yourself, which is the main difference from a gummy or a capsule. You’ll also see the format called CBD oil, or a CBD oil tincture.

None of the agency pages cited in this guide are about tinctures alone. The FDA, NIH and SAMHSA pages cover CBD and CBD products in general, and the FDA lists how different methods of consumption affect intake among the things it doesn’t know yet.

You’ll see “full spectrum” on many tincture labels. A peer-reviewed study of 202 CBD products sold in the United States describes full spectrum CBD products as containing multiple hemp-derived cannabinoids, other naturally occurring compounds, and trace amounts of THC.

The products were bought online from October to December 2021, and the study was sponsored by Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the company named on the label of the prescription CBD drug Epidiolex. Here’s what it found when it checked labels against lab results:

• 67% of the products labeled full spectrum met the researchers’ criteria for that product type.
• 74% of all products tested had CBD amounts at least 10% off the label.

A full spectrum CBD tincture is one whose label makes that claim. The lab report shows this, and the THC line matters most to group 6.

1. People Who Are Pregnant or Breastfeeding

The FDA strongly advises against using CBD in any form during pregnancy or while breastfeeding. The agency says there’s no comprehensive research on how CBD affects a developing fetus, a pregnant mother, or a breastfed baby, and that what it does know gives significant cause for concern.

The FDA’s wording for this group is to avoid CBD. Its page on using cannabis, including CBD, when pregnant or breastfeeding gives these reasons:

• High doses of CBD in pregnant test animals caused problems with the reproductive system of developing male fetuses.
• The FDA expects that some amount of CBD will be transferred to babies through breast milk.
• CBD products have the potential to be contaminated with substances that may pose a risk to a fetus or breastfed baby, including THC.

What the FDA says to do: avoid using CBD in any form during pregnancy and while breastfeeding. Its page adds, “Do not put yourself or your baby at risk by using cannabis products while pregnant or breastfeeding.” The agency also says to speak with your doctor, nurse, or pharmacist before taking any medicines, vitamins, or herbs while pregnant or breastfeeding.

2. Children and Teens

Our products are for adults 21 and over, and we don’t sell to anyone younger. The FDA lists the effect of CBD on the developing brain among the things it doesn’t know yet, and it names children and adolescents as groups it’s still studying.

You can read both points in the FDA’s consumer update on products containing CBD. Two more facts from federal sources belong here:

• The one approved CBD drug is a prescription. The FDA has approved one CBD product, a prescription drug for seizures associated with three specific conditions in people one year of age and older. It isn’t what we sell.
• SAMHSA‘s advice to parents is direct. The federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration tells parents and caregivers not to allow children to use over-the-counter CBD products.

That second point comes from SAMHSA’s 2023 advisory on CBD.

What to do: SAMHSA‘s wording is “Do not allow children to use over-the-counter CBD products.” If you keep a tincture at home, store it where children can’t reach it. A parent with a question about a child’s health should take it to the child’s doctor.

3. People Who Take Other Medicines

The FDA says CBD can affect how other drugs you take work, potentially causing serious side effects. It says that taking CBD with other medications may increase or decrease the effects of those medications. The agency says consumers should discuss any CBD product with a healthcare provider.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) overview of cannabis and cannabinoids says CBD use has been associated with interactions with other drugs. SAMHSA’s advisory tells the public not to use CBD concurrently with medications, alcohol, or illicit drugs.

MedlinePlus, the National Library of Medicine’s health site, has a page on prescription cannabidiol that names two nonprescription or herbal products that may interact with it, St. John’s wort and caffeine supplements. That page is written for people taking the prescription drug. What applies to you depends on what you take, so the useful step is a short one:

1. Write down every prescription, over-the-counter medicine, vitamin, and herbal product you take.
2. Add the tincture you’re considering, with the amount of CBD per serving from its label.
3. Hand the list to your pharmacist and ask, “Will this cause problems with anything here?”

A bad sign: any seller, including us, telling you CBD is fine with your medications. We don’t know what you take, and we’re not qualified to say.

4. People Who Drink Alcohol or Take Sedating Medicines

The FDA says using CBD with alcohol, or with other drugs that slow brain activity, increases the risk of sedation and drowsiness, which can lead to injuries. Its examples are medicines used to treat anxiety, panic, stress, or sleep disorders. Ask your pharmacist whether that includes anything you take.

The one FDA-approved CBD drug carries a similar line. The prescribing information for Epidiolex says using it with other central nervous system depressants, including alcohol, may increase the risk of sedation and somnolence.

Two limits on what those sources can tell you:

• The Epidiolex label describes a prescription drug taken under a doctor’s care. It doesn’t tell you how a nonprescription tincture will act.
• The FDA says it hasn’t evaluated unapproved CBD products, which includes ours, for how they could interact with other drugs or foods.

SAMHSA‘s advisory goes further than the FDA and tells the public not to use CBD concurrently with medications, alcohol, or illicit drugs.

What to ask: name the medicine and ask whether CBD changes anything about taking it.

5. People With Liver Problems

The FDA says CBD can cause liver injury, and early liver problems are often identified through blood tests. It’s concerned that injury could go undetected without a healthcare provider monitoring for it. If you have a liver condition, bring the question to the doctor who manages it.

Here’s what the sources say, each in its place:

• FDA: the risk of liver injury was increased when CBD was taken with other drugs that impact the liver, and signs of liver injury were also seen in patients not taking those drugs.
• NIH: CBD use has been associated with liver injury.
• The Epidiolex prescribing information: it tells prescribers to run liver blood tests before a patient starts the drug, and it recommends adjusting the amount for patients with moderate or severe liver impairment.

Those instructions are written for doctors prescribing one specific drug. We include them because they show how closely doctors watch the liver when CBD is used under medical care.

What to ask: “Given my liver history and my other medicines, should I be using CBD at all, and would you want blood work if I did?”

6. People Who Are Drug Tested

NIH says over-the-counter CBD products may contain contaminants such as THC. SAMHSA says people who use CBD products that claim to contain no delta-9 THC may still screen positive for marijuana. We can’t tell you how a test will read, so ask your doctor or the testing program first.

SAMHSA says use of unsuspected THC may threaten a person’s current or prospective employment, including athletics, and may produce inaccurate medical test results. Its advisory tells the public that the risk of CBD products containing THC is unknown and that using them may affect employment drug screenings.

Two more points from the sources:

• Full spectrum products, as the study above defines them, contain trace amounts of THC.
• The Epidiolex prescribing information tells doctors to advise patients of the potential for positive cannabis drug screens. NIH describes Epidiolex as the purified CBD product sold as an FDA-approved prescription drug.

What to check: the THC line on the lab report for the exact product. A report tells you what a lab measured in one sample. It can’t tell you what a drug test will show.

7. People Who Drive or Operate Machinery

The FDA lists drowsiness or sleepiness as a side effect of CBD. The Epidiolex prescribing information tells prescribers to advise patients not to drive or operate machinery until they know whether the drug affects their ability to do so. Our product warning says these products may impair that ability.

The FDA says the side effects you might notice should improve when CBD is stopped or when the amount used is reduced. It lists them this way:

• Changes in alertness, most commonly drowsiness or sleepiness
• Gastrointestinal distress, most commonly diarrhea or decreased appetite
• Changes in mood, most commonly irritability and agitation

What to do: call your doctor if you have a problem you think is connected to a CBD product. Call 911 for symptoms that are severe or come on suddenly.

We can’t tell you how a tincture will affect you. If your job involves driving or operating equipment, raise that with your doctor before you buy, and read your employer’s policy.

The Seven Groups at a Glance

This table puts each group next to its source. For the first two rows, the source’s wording is to avoid CBD or not to allow it, and the last column says who to talk to.

Group	Who says so	What the source says	Who to ask
Pregnant or breastfeeding	FDA	Strongly advises that you avoid using CBD in any form	Your doctor, nurse, or pharmacist
Children and teens	FDA, SAMHSA	Effect on the developing brain is unknown; don’t allow children to use over-the-counter CBD products	The child’s doctor
Taking other medicines	FDA	CBD may increase or decrease the effects of other medications	Your pharmacist, with your full list
Alcohol or sedating medicines	FDA	Increases the risk of sedation and drowsiness, which can lead to injuries	Your pharmacist
Liver problems	FDA	CBD can cause liver injury that could go undetected without monitoring	The doctor who manages your liver care
Drug tested	NIH, SAMHSA	CBD products may contain THC; users may still screen positive for marijuana	Your doctor or the testing program
Driving or operating machinery	FDA, our product warning	Drowsiness or sleepiness is a listed side effect (FDA); these products may impair your ability to drive or operate machinery (our product warning)	Your doctor

Other Cautions From the Same Sources

The same sources name a few more situations. Each one is a reason to ask your doctor or pharmacist before you buy.

• Older adults. The FDA names the elderly among the groups whose response to CBD it’s still studying. We cover that in our Humboldt County shop’s guide to CBD for seniors.
• People who take herbs or supplements. The FDA says there’s limited research on interactions between CBD products and herbs or other plant-based products and that consumers should use caution when combining them.
• People who regularly use THC. NIH says CBD may also produce psychotic effects or cognitive impairment in people who also regularly use THC.
• Men planning a family. The FDA says studies of animals exposed to CBD have reported male reproductive toxicity. It says it’s not yet clear what those findings mean for people.
• People with allergies. The Epidiolex prescribing information says that the drug shouldn’t be given to anyone with a history of hypersensitivity to cannabidiol or to any ingredient in it. Read the full ingredient list on any tincture, and ask your doctor about anything you’ve reacted to before.

The FDA also says there are many things about CBD it doesn’t know yet, including what happens if you take it daily for sustained periods of time.

How to Use a CBD Tincture Label and Dropper

If you’re asking how to use a CBD tincture, we can’t tell you how much to take. The FDA says unapproved CBD products haven’t been evaluated by the agency to determine what the proper dosage is. Here’s how to read the label and the dropper.

Do these in order before you open the bottle:

1. Find the serving size. Look for one serving stated as a volume, such as a number of milliliters or a full dropper.
2. Find the CBD per serving. Look for the milligrams of CBD in one serving. The number in a product’s name can be the total for the whole bottle.
3. Look at the dropper. Check whether it has measurement lines and what units they use.
4. Match the label to the lab report. Compare the CBD and THC the lab measured with what the label states. Check that the report names the same product and shows a date.
5. Take those numbers to your pharmacist. The per-serving amount is what they need to weigh the product against your medication list.

A bad sign: a label that doesn’t state how much CBD is in one serving, or a seller who tells you how much to take for a health problem.

You can compare a label against a report on the lab reports page on our Humboldt County shop’s site.

Questions to Ask Before You Buy a CBD Tincture

Print this page or save it to your phone. The first list is for your doctor or pharmacist, and the second is for whoever is selling the product, including us.

Ask your doctor or pharmacist:

• Here’s everything I take. Will CBD cause problems with any of it?
• I drink alcohol, or I take something for sleep or anxiety. Does that change your answer?
• Do I have any liver concerns that matter here, and would you want blood tests?
• I’m pregnant, breastfeeding, or planning a pregnancy. What does that mean for CBD?
• I’m drug tested. What should I know before I use a product that may contain THC?
• What side effects should I watch for, and when should I call you?

Ask the seller:

• Where’s the third-party lab report for this exact product, and what’s its date?
• How many milligrams of CBD are in one serving?
• How much THC did the lab measure?
• What’s the full ingredient list?

For anything we sell, we’ll tell you what the label says and where the lab reports page is. The first list belongs to your doctor or pharmacist.

Read the Label and the Lab Report, Then Call or Text Us

If you’re in one of the groups above, your next step is a conversation with your doctor or pharmacist, and it comes before a purchase. Bring the checklist and the product’s label.

When you’re ready to look at products, the catalog from our Humboldt County shop lists what we sell. If you can’t find a report or can’t make sense of a label, call or text 949-903-8695 and a real person will get back to you, usually within a business day.

We can read you the label and point you to the lab reports page. Whether to take it is between you and your doctor.

Frequently Asked Questions About Who Should Not Use a CBD Tincture

Who should not take CBD?

The FDA strongly advises that you avoid using CBD in any form during pregnancy and while breastfeeding, and SAMHSA says not to allow children to use over-the-counter CBD products. This guide’s sources also raise cautions about other medicines, alcohol, liver problems, drug tests, and driving.

Can you take a CBD tincture with other medications?

We can’t answer that for you, because it depends on what you take. The FDA says that taking CBD with other medications may increase or decrease the effects of those medications. Ask your pharmacist to check your full list before you buy.

Can a CBD tincture make you fail a drug test?

We can’t say how a test will read. NIH says over-the-counter CBD products may contain contaminants such as THC, and SAMHSA says people who use CBD products that claim to contain no delta-9 THC may still screen positive for marijuana. Ask your doctor or the testing program first.

Can you drive after taking a CBD tincture?

We can’t tell you how a tincture will affect you. The FDA lists drowsiness or sleepiness as a side effect of CBD, and our product warning says these products may impair your ability to drive or operate machinery. Ask your doctor before you plan to drive.

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Written by: Standard CBD
Last updated: October 14, 2026

Sources: U.S. Food and Drug Administration, “What You Need to Know (And What We’re Working to Find Out) About Products Containing Cannabis or Cannabis-derived Compounds, Including CBD,” content current as of March 5, 2020. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, “What You Should Know About Using Cannabis, Including CBD, When Pregnant or Breastfeeding,” content current as of October 16, 2019. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, “Cannabis (Marijuana) and Cannabinoids: What You Need To Know,” last updated November 2019. DailyMed, National Library of Medicine, “EPIDIOLEX (cannabidiol) solution” prescribing information, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Inc., revised May 2026. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, “Cannabidiol (CBD): Potential Harms, Side Effects, and Unknowns,” Advisory, Publication No. PEP22-06-04-003, February 2023. MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine, “Cannabidiol,” last revised August 15, 2026. Gidal, Vandrey, Wallin, et al., “Product labeling accuracy and contamination analysis of commercially available cannabidiol product samples,” Front Pharmacol, March 18, 2024.