CBD in French pharmacies in 2026: what they may sell

A pharmacist cannot sell whatever they like. Under Article L5125-24 of the French Public Health Code, a pharmacy may sell only the goods on a list set by the Minister of Health. That list is the order of 15 February 2002, amended several times and most recently in 2023. Its 26 headings include medicines, medical devices, medicinal plants, essential oils, hygiene products, food supplements and cosmetics.

Vaping products are absent from it, and no heading covers flowers or resins for smoking. The table sets this list against the status of each CBD format in September 2026.

Pharmacies sold their CBD oils and capsules as food supplements; none was a medicine. A food supplement counts as a food and so comes under Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 on novel foods. A food rarely eaten in the Union before 15 May 1997 may be sold only once authorised, and no CBD-based ingredient has been.

In a notice of 20 May 2026, the Ministry of Agriculture stated plainly that foods containing CBD are illegal products that must be withdrawn from the market. Checks under way since 2023 now extend to every channel, specialist shops, supermarkets and online sales included. The regulation applies to any placing on the market, and pharmacies are no exception. The notice gives no deadline. The Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur chamber of agriculture reports that the Directorate-General for Food had told the trade checks would begin on 15 May 2026.

In the short term, the opinion of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) changes nothing. On 9 February 2026 EFSA published a provisional safe level of 0.0275 mg of CBD per kilo of body weight per day, about 2 mg a day for an adult of 70 kg. The figure applies to CBD at least 98% pure. Safety is not established under 25, during pregnancy or breastfeeding, or for people on medication, and the level authorises nothing. Our overview of CBD regulation in 2026 sets out these steps, and the article on EFSA's reference dose does the sums for different strengths.

Epidyolex is an oral solution with 100 mg of cannabidiol per millilitre, which received its marketing authorisation on 19 September 2019. This list I medicine is reserved for rare epilepsies in children and adults: Lennox-Gastaut and Dravet syndromes, in combination with clobazam, and tuberous sclerosis complex.

French community pharmacies have stocked it only since 5 January 2023, according to Vidal. Since March 2025, a neurologist or paediatric neurologist in private practice or in hospital can write the initial prescription. Eligible patients are reimbursed at 65%. No pharmacist may dispense it without a prescription, and nothing sold in a shop is equivalent. The trials behind the authorisation are summarised in our article on CBD and epilepsy.

Medical cannabis is another matter. The THC-containing medicines tested in the French pilot programme went only to enrolled patients, and their permanent framework is not in place yet. Our article on medical cannabis in 2026 has the details.

Not for the product itself. Whether it is sold in a pharmacy, a parapharmacy or online, a CBD cosmetic comes under the same EU Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009. A place on a pharmacy shelf tells you nothing about its real CBD content or whether it is free of THC, and it may claim no therapeutic effect. What a label may say is listed in our guide to authorised cosmetic claims.

A pharmacy does give you access to someone trained in drug interactions. CBD inhibits several liver enzymes that break down many medicines. If you are on a treatment, the pharmacist can check your prescription before you use any CBD, even a product bought elsewhere. The mechanism is explained in our article on CBD's grapefruit effect.

On quality, the benchmark is the same whatever the shop. Ask for a batch certificate of analysis from an independent laboratory showing the CBD content, Δ⁹-THC under 0.30% and no HHC or H4CBD. Our guide to reading a certificate of analysis takes each line in turn.