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U.S. consumer source map—not medical or legal advice, an emergency service, a complete agency directory, or a promise that an agency will investigate an individual report. Websites, jurisdiction, programs, and reporting routes can change. Use 911 for an immediate life threat and Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 for a U.S. poisoning question.
THE USEFUL PART
Keep these in your head.
- Choose by job: emergency response, health evidence, treatment support, product regulation, state licensing, recalls, fraud, driving, employment testing, travel, mailing, and hemp production are different lanes.
- Start at the agency's own domain. A search result, screenshot, social post, AI summary, QR code, retailer page, or copied government seal is not the source record.
- Preserve the exact product, package, lot, dates, receipt, page URL, screenshots, messages, direct observations, and any case number. Do not send passwords, payment-card details, authentication codes, or unrelated medical records.
- An official page can still have a narrow scope or an old publication date. Record what the source controls, when you checked it, and which questions remain unresolved.
Route the immediate problem first
| Situation | Start here | What this route does not replace |
|---|---|---|
| Immediate danger | 911 or the local emergency number | Poison-center, regulator, employer, seller, or fraud reporting. |
| Possible poisoning or accidental exposure in the U.S. | Poison Control: 1-800-222-1222 or poison.org | Emergency services when a person cannot be awakened, has trouble breathing, collapses, has a seizure, or presents another life threat. |
| Suicidal thoughts, mental-health crisis, or emotional distress in the U.S. | Call or text 988 | Emergency response when there is an immediate physical threat; ordinary product complaints or treatment searches. |
| Treatment or recovery support | SAMHSA FindTreatment.gov or the National Helpline | Emergency response, individualized diagnosis, or an employer's policy process. |
Care comes before evidence collection. If safe, keep the package available for responders, but do not delay a call to photograph, calculate, search, induce vomiting, drive an impaired person, or confront someone who is agitated or disconnected from reality.
Use health agencies for health questions—not seller verification
These pages summarize evidence and federal product responsibilities. They do not diagnose a person, authenticate a seller, establish a state's possession law, or prove that the item in hand contains what its label says. For individual decisions, bring the exact product and medication record to an appropriate clinician or pharmacist.
Separate product, package, accessory, and seller problems
| Problem in front of you | Primary route | Preserve |
|---|---|---|
| State-regulated cannabis product or licensee | The responsible state cannabis regulator; in New York, OCM consumer, recall, incident, and license-verification pages | Package, producer, product, lot, dates, receipt, certificate link, seller, photos, symptoms, and regulator case. |
| Cannabinoid-hemp or CBD product with a serious suspected reaction or quality issue | FDA's applicable consumer complaint or MedWatch route; FDA explicitly includes cannabinoid-hemp products such as CBD in MedWatch scope | Exact product, ingredients, amount and route used, timeline, other medicines or substances, outcome, lot, seller, and remaining product. |
| Accessory such as a battery, charger, lockbox, lighter, or appliance | CPSC recall search and SaferProducts.gov reporting where applicable | Brand, exact model, serial or date code, seller, incident, photos, receipt, and current recall instructions. |
| Payment fraud, impersonation, fake store, or deceptive online sale | Payment provider promptly, then ReportFraud.ftc.gov or the appropriate consumer/law-enforcement route | Exact domain, ad, account, payee, messages, transaction record, dates, and dispute number—never publish account secrets. |
A single event can need more than one lane. A health event, mislabeled package, unsafe accessory, unlicensed seller, and payment scam remain separate claims even when they occurred in the same purchase.
Let state and tribal authorities answer state and tribal questions
- Identify every jurisdiction.
Possession, purchase, delivery, use, driving, employment, medical enrollment, cultivation, housing, airport, federal-property, and tribal rules may come from different authorities.
- Open the regulator record.
Use the state or tribal agency's current license, recall, product, patient, consumer, and enforcement pages. The site's 50-state law library is a dated route to those sources, not a substitute for them.
- Verify the exact seller and product.
Match legal name, address, license status, website, product producer, lot, certificate, and receipt. A regulator logo or social badge is not a license lookup.
- Check the date and legal status.
Separate enacted law, effective rule, emergency action, proposed rule, court order, guidance, FAQ, press release, and pending bill.
- Ask a qualified professional when consequences matter.
Official public pages cannot decide an individualized criminal, employment, immigration, custody, housing, medical, or benefits question.
Use the narrow federal lane that owns the question
| Question | Official starting point | Boundary |
|---|---|---|
| Driving and impairment | NHTSA drug-impaired-driving resources plus the current state motor-vehicle authority | A feeling, clock, dose, blood number, or legal purchase does not certify driving readiness. |
| DOT-regulated workplace testing | U.S. DOT Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy and Compliance and 49 CFR Part 40 | DOT rules do not answer every non-DOT employer, union, licensing board, state-law, or accommodation question. |
| Airport screening | TSA's current What Can I Bring entry and AskTSA | Checkpoint screening is not a possession, destination, federal-property, airline, or international-law clearance. |
| Mailing | Current USPS Publication 52 and Postal Explorer rules | Packaging does not legalize a prohibited shipment; carrier, product, federal, state, destination, and hazardous-material rules remain separate. |
| Hemp production | USDA's hemp program and the approved state or tribal production plan | Production status does not approve a finished food, drug, cosmetic, inhaled item, seller, health claim, or destination. |
Run the six-part source test
- Owner:
Does the agency or service actually control this question?
- Jurisdiction:
Does the page cover the right country, state, tribe, property, program, product, and person?
- Status:
Is it law, regulation, formal order, guidance, FAQ, research summary, recall, enforcement notice, or reporting portal?
- Date:
When was it published, reviewed, amended, effective, or accessed?
- Object:
Does it address the exact product, lot, license, job category, itinerary, shipment, or symptom question?
- Exit:
What official route handles an emergency, correction, complaint, appeal, treatment search, or professional question?
If one field is unknown, write “unknown.” Do not fill a jurisdictional gap with a retailer blog, copied chart, influencer post, forum answer, or search snippet.
Keep a source ledger that another person can audit
Official route shelf
Routes reviewed September 30, 2026. This directory links to current starting points and states their limits; the live agency page and applicable authority control.
Big Bud Man standard: know the source, read the batch, protect kids and pets, and never drive impaired.