Celebrity CBD brands: 10 brands, 3 hurdles in France
Since 2015, American celebrities from Snoop Dogg to Martha Stewart have launched or backed at least ten cannabis or CBD brands. Six sell THC cannabis, a controlled drug in France. Each runs into at least one of three French rules: the 0.3% THC limit, the ban on CBD in food and the ban on health claims, influencers included.
Key takeaways
- Ten star brands appeared between 2015 and 2021: six sell THC cannabis, four sell CBD.
- In France, a product with active THC is a controlled drug, whatever the name on the pack.
- CBD gummies, capsules and coffee count as foods, which the French agriculture ministry has deemed unauthorised since its notice of 20 May 2026.
- The law of 9 June 2023 bars influencers from presenting a product as a substitute for medical treatment.
- A famous name is no substitute for the batch analysis: CBD content, Δ⁹-THC below 0.30%, batch number.
Ten celebrity brands, from 2015 to 2021
Each brand in the table has a launch documented by a press release or a named media outlet. The table separates THC cannabis, which is psychoactive, from CBD, which is not, because everything else follows from that difference.
| Celebrity | Brand | Launch | Product | Molecule |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willie Nelson | Willie's Reserve | April 2015 | cannabis flowers | THC |
| Snoop Dogg | Leafs by Snoop | November 2015, Colorado | flowers, edibles, concentrates | THC |
| Whoopi Goldberg and Maya Elisabeth | Whoopi & Maya | 2016, closed February 2020 | medical cannabis | THC |
| Mike Tyson | Tyson Ranch | announced January 2018 | cannabis cultivation | THC |
| Willie Nelson | Willie's Remedy | February 2019 | hemp-infused coffee | CBD |
| Rob Gronkowski | CBDMEDIC (partner) | August 2019 | products applied to the skin | CBD |
| Megan Rapinoe | Mendi (ambassador) | October 2019 | CBD products | CBD |
| Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg | Houseplant | Canada 2019, United States March 2021 | cannabis flowers | THC |
| Martha Stewart | Martha Stewart CBD | September 2020 | gummies, softgels, oil drops | CBD |
| Mike Tyson | Tyson 2.0 | 2021, California | cannabis flowers and products | THC |
Some details on these launches. Martha Stewart's range, developed with the Canadian group Canopy Growth, is made from CBD isolate according to the September 2020 press release. In August 2019, a release announced that the American football player Rob Gronkowski was becoming an investor and partner in the maker of CBDMEDIC, a company Charlotte's Web has since bought. Whoopi & Maya, aimed at period pain, closed in February 2020 according to CBS, after disagreements between its founders and the arrival of new rules in California.
Other stars took a public position without starting a brand. The actor Morgan Freeman, for example, argued for legalising cannabis in 2015. Statements like his are personal opinions and carry no scientific weight.
Why so many stars in this market
When several US states and Canada legalised recreational cannabis, a mass market appeared, comparable to spirits or cosmetics. On shelves full of similar products, a famous name lets a brand stand out fast. Seth Rogen described this to TechCrunch in 2021. Houseplant had to learn how to get its message across in a heavily regulated industry, and it left Canada in April 2021.
The two markets stay separate. There, THC cannabis is sold in shops licensed by each state, while hemp-derived CBD comes under different federal and state rules. Athletes also have anti-doping rules to consider, and our note on CBD and the World Anti-Doping Agency list sets out what is allowed.
Three rules that keep these brands out of France
The first rule is about THC. Six of the ten brands sell cannabis with active THC, which is a controlled drug in France, so importing or possessing it would be an offence however legal it is at home. In France, hemp products are capped at 0.30% Δ⁹-THC. What separates the two molecules is covered in our article on the differences between THC and CBD.
The second concerns CBD in food. Two of the four CBD brands sell products you swallow: Willie's Remedy coffee, and Martha Stewart's gummies and softgels. The French agriculture ministry, in a notice of 20 May 2026, points out that foods containing CBD are not authorised under the EU novel food regulation, and it announces checks. In February 2026, EFSA proposed a provisional safe level of about 2 mg of CBD a day for a 70 kg adult and authorised no product. The situation is summed up in our article on the withdrawal of CBD gummies.
The third covers health claims. MILDECA points out that, unless authorised as a medicine, a CBD product may not make a therapeutic claim, on pain of criminal penalties. Epidyolex is the only CBD-based medicine in France. A brand built around period pain, as Whoopi & Maya was, could not be marketed that way here. Skin products can still be sold as cosmetics, provided they promise no therapeutic effect; see our article on claims allowed for cosmetics.
Influencers and CBD: what French law forbids
The question reaches any content creator who talks about CBD in France, American star or not. Two texts apply.
The law of 9 June 2023 on commercial influence never mentions CBD. Its article 4 does ban any promotion of products presented as comparable, preferable or substitutable to therapeutic procedures, protocols or prescriptions. An influencer who presented a CBD oil as an alternative to treatment would come under that ban, which carries two years in prison and a €300,000 fine.
For THC cannabis, article L3421-4 of the French Public Health Code punishes presenting drug offences "in a favourable light" with five years in prison and a €75,000 fine. It also covers incitement to use substances presented as having the effects of controlled drugs. Relaying a THC brand's promotion in France can therefore lead to prosecution, even if the brand is legal in California. What the law allows is set out in our guide to advertising CBD products.
What fame does not replace
Putting a celebrity's name on a product leaves its composition and the applicable rules unchanged. Apart from Epidyolex, an authorised medicine, no CBD product in France may claim a health effect, whatever the brand. To judge a product, read three lines of its analysis before the name on the label: the dominant cannabinoid and its measured percentage, Δ⁹-THC at 0.30% at most, and a batch number matching the product sold.
How to read those lines is shown in our guide to the certificate of analysis. To sort testimonials, from celebrities or anyone else, see our article on CBD reviews.
Frequently asked questions
The documented cases include Martha Stewart with Canopy Growth in 2020 and Willie Nelson with Willie's Remedy coffee in 2019. Rob Gronkowski became a partner in CBDMEDIC and Megan Rapinoe an ambassador for Mendi, both in 2019. Snoop Dogg, Seth Rogen and Mike Tyson have mostly launched THC cannabis brands.
No. Leafs by Snoop sells cannabis with active THC, which is a controlled drug in France. Importing or possessing it would be a criminal offence, even if the product is legal in the state where it is sold.
Yes, within the usual limits of advertising law. The product must be compliant, carry no therapeutic claim and never be presented as a substitute for treatment, which the law of 9 June 2023 forbids. Promoting a THC product is a different matter: it falls under article L3421-4 of the Public Health Code.
Not necessarily. Reliability shows in a product's batch analysis and its compliance with French rules; the fame of whoever promotes it says nothing on that score.
Written by the Phytogrammes team
Each journal article draws on cited primary sources: ANSM, EFSA, EUR-Lex and peer-reviewed publications. Product profiles are distinguished from documented laboratory results. Our approach.
Article published on . CBD is not a medicine.