CBD flowers: the banning decree and its legal outcome

The decree of 31 December 2021 specifically targeted raw hemp flowers and leaves, whether intended to be smoked, infused or consumed as they are. It did not prohibit processed extracts, such as oils or resins, which created an unprecedented legal distinction between the raw material and the processed product, even though both come from the same plant and comply with the same THC threshold.

That distinction immediately raised a problem of coherence: a product deemed compliant in extract form became prohibited in dried flower form, without any health justification clearly established in the text.

Approached urgently by professionals in the sector, the Conseil d'État suspended the application of the decree on 24 January 2022, barely three weeks after its publication. The court found that there was serious doubt as to the legality of the text, notably in the light of the principle of the free movement of goods within the European Union, already affirmed by the Kanavape case law of the Court of Justice.

That interim suspension did not settle the substance of the case: it merely froze the application of the decree until the Conseil d'État ruled definitively.

Nearly a year later, the Conseil d'État ruled on the merits, on 29 December 2022: the decree prohibiting the sale and possession of raw hemp flowers and leaves was annulled. The court held that the ban was not proportionate to the public health protection objective invoked by the administration, given that the product complies with the legal THC threshold.

That decision brought to an end nearly a year of uncertainty for specialist shops, which had had to adapt their range in the meantime.

Regardless of the fate of that decree, another text from the same period continues to structure the sector: the decree of 30 December 2021 sets the list of hemp varieties authorised for cultivation and the tolerated THC threshold, currently 0.30 % in the finished product. It is that threshold, and not the form of the product (flower, extract, cosmetic), that determines the legality of a CBD product in France.

Since the 2022 annulment, the sale of raw CBD flowers and leaves has been legal in France, under the same conditions as any other hemp-derived product:

• The THC level of the finished product must remain below the regulatory threshold.
• The variety grown must appear on the list of authorised varieties.
• The product must not be the subject of any therapeutic claim.

To understand how this sequence changed the practices of shops, our article on 2021, the year that redrew the CBD framework in France revisits the broader context of that period.

Can you still buy CBD flowers in France today?

Yes. Since the annulment of the decree by the Conseil d'État in December 2022, the sale of raw hemp flowers and leaves has been legal, provided the THC threshold applicable to the finished product is respected.

Why did the decree target only flowers and not extracts?

The text distinguished raw material from processed products, a distinction the Conseil d'État found insufficiently justified to support a proportionate ban.

What happened between the publication and the suspension of the decree?

Only three weeks separate the publication of the text at the end of December 2021 and its suspension by the Conseil d'État on 24 January 2022, following an application for interim relief by professionals in the sector.

Has the THC threshold changed since this episode?

No. The 0.30 % threshold set by the decree of 30 December 2021 for the finished product remains the reference in force, regardless of the fate of the decree on raw flowers.