Kanavape ruling (C-663/18): what the CJEU decided on CBD
On 19 November 2020, the EU Court of Justice (CJEU) held that CBD extracted from the whole hemp plant is not a narcotic drug under the 1961 UN Single Convention. A member state may therefore ban the sale of CBD lawfully produced in another member state only if the ban genuinely protects public health and is proportionate. The judgment, given in the Kanavape case, forced France to rewrite its hemp rules.
Key takeaways
- The product at issue was an e-cigarette filled with CBD made in the Czech Republic from whole hemp plants.
- The question reached the CJEU in 2018 from the Aix-en-Provence court of appeal; the Marseille court did not refer it.
- The Court ruled that CBD was not a narcotic "in the light of current scientific knowledge"; it did not rule that CBD carries no health risk.
- One of the managers was acquitted on all charges by the Aix-en-Provence court of appeal on 17 November 2021.
- THC above the legal limit and CBD foods fall under other laws, outside the ruling.
The case: a CBD e-cigarette from the Czech Republic
Kanavape, an e-cigarette running on CBD oil, was sold by two former managers of a French company. The CBD was produced in the Czech Republic from legally grown hemp plants used whole, flowers and leaves included. It was then imported into France and filled into cartridges.
At the time, French law allowed only hemp fibre and seeds to be used. The rule came from the order of 22 August 1990, as interpreted in a Ministry of Justice circular of 23 July 2018. CBD taken from the flowers was therefore outside the rules even when it had no narcotic effect.
The facts are set out in the Court's judgment. The laboratory of the ANSM, France's medicines agency, had tested cartridges sold in France. Their CBD content varied widely, while THC was always below the permitted limit. In July 2016 the ANSM stated that it did not regard the product as a medicine.
The Marseille criminal court nonetheless sentenced the two managers on 8 January 2018 to 18 and 15 months' suspended imprisonment and a fine of €10,000 each. They appealed. On 23 October 2018 the Aix-en-Provence court of appeal asked the CJEU whether EU law allows France to ban this CBD.
What the Court decided, point by point
The Court's answer came in three steps, summarised in its press release No 141/20.
| Question | The Court's answer |
|---|---|
| Do the Common Agricultural Policy regulations apply? | No. CBD extracted from the whole plant is not an "agricultural product", unlike raw hemp. |
| Is CBD a narcotic drug? | No. A literal reading of the 1961 Convention would allow it, but that would run against its purpose, protecting health. |
| Can France ban its sale? | It is a restriction on trade (Article 34 of the Treaty). It is only allowed if it protects public health and is proportionate (Article 36). |
On the second point, the Court went by the state of science in 2020. In its words, the CBD at issue, unlike THC, "does not appear to have any psychotropic effect or any harmful effect on human health". The product came from plants with no more than 0.2% THC, the EU limit for cultivated hemp at the time.
On the third point, the final word went to the French judge, with two pointers from the Court. The French ban did not cover synthetic CBD, which has the same properties, and a rule that lets the substitute through protects health poorly. France also does not have to prove that CBD is as dangerous as a narcotic. The alleged risk must still be "sufficiently established" and cannot rest on "purely hypothetical considerations".
What the ruling does not say
The judgment is often cited for more than it decides. It has three limits.
Not every CBD product becomes legal. THC remains a controlled drug, and the product before the Court respected the limit then in force. The ruling does not cover CBD above the legal THC limit, nor products containing semi-synthetic molecules such as HHC or H4CBD, which France has since classified as narcotics.
Nor does the ruling call CBD harmless. The Court refers to what was known in 2020 and accepts that a state may restrict sales on the basis of a health risk that is sufficiently established. Since then, EFSA set on 9 February 2026 a provisional safe level of about 2 mg of CBD per day for a 70 kg adult. A classification of CBD as toxic for reproduction is also under review at EU level.
Food is left unresolved too. The product was an e-cigarette, whereas CBD meant to be swallowed comes under the EU novel food regulation, which requires prior authorisation. None has been granted. On 20 May 2026 the French Ministry of Agriculture reminded operators that foods containing CBD must be withdrawn from the market.
What followed in France, 2021 to 2022
French courts applied the ruling within a year. On 23 June 2021 the Court of Cassation quashed a conviction for drug offences. Before convicting, it held, the judge must check whether the seized CBD was lawfully produced in another member state.
One of the two former managers was acquitted on all charges by the Aix-en-Provence court of appeal on 17 November 2021. The source is the press release of the law firm that defended him.
The government replaced the 1990 order with the order of 30 December 2021. The new text allows flowers and leaves to be used for extracts and sets the limit at 0.30% Δ⁹-THC. Yet it banned the sale of raw flowers and leaves to consumers. The Conseil d'État, France's highest administrative court, suspended that ban on 24 January 2022 and annulled it on 29 December 2022, following the Court's reasoning on proportionality. That sequence is covered in our article on the order banning CBD flowers.
What remains in 2026
The foundation laid in 2020 still holds: CBD from authorised hemp is not a narcotic, and a general ban has to rest on a proven risk. The question "is CBD a drug?" therefore has a clear legal answer today.
On other fronts the framework has tightened. The THC limit is 0.30% in the plant and in finished products, as explained on our page about the legal THC level. Semi-synthetic cannabinoids are banned, and CBD foods left the shelves in 2026. What is still on sale is listed in our overview of CBD regulation in 2026.
Frequently asked questions
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.