CBD flowers in France: why the 2021 ban was struck down
The Conseil d'État, France's highest administrative court, struck down the ban on CBD flowers because it found it disproportionate for varieties with no more than 0.30% THC. The order of 30 December 2021 had banned selling raw hemp flowers and leaves to consumers, as well as possessing or consuming them. The court suspended the ban on 24 January 2022 and annulled it on 29 December 2022. The rest of the order, that 0.30% limit included, still applies.
Key takeaways
- The annulment concerned paragraph II of article 1 alone, which reserved flowers for extracts and banned their raw sale, possession and consumption.
- Three grounds were given: CBD is neither psychotropic nor addictive, no risk was shown below 0.30% THC, and rapid tests make checks possible.
- Catalogued varieties, certified seed and the 0.30% Δ⁹-THC limit are still compulsory.
- If a test detects THC after you have used a CBD flower, driving remains an offence whatever the dose.
What the order of 30 December 2021 banned
The order of 30 December 2021, published in the Journal officiel on 31 December, replaced the 1990 order that had restricted hemp to its fibre and seeds. It opened cultivation and industrial use to Cannabis sativa L. varieties listed in the official catalogues with a Δ⁹-THC content of no more than 0.30%.
Flowers and leaves got separate treatment: they could only be harvested, imported or used to make extracts. Paragraph II of article 1 added a ban, quoted here in the words the Conseil d'État reproduced:
"the sale to consumers of raw flowers or leaves in any form, alone or mixed with other ingredients, their possession by consumers and their consumption"
The ban thus covered raw plant matter whatever its declared use, whether flower for smoking, herbal tea or blend. An extract made from the same flowers stayed legal as long as it met the 0.30% limit. Shops and growers challenged precisely this difference in treatment between the plant and its extract.
24 January 2022: suspension in interim relief
On an urgent application, the Conseil d'État's interim relief judge suspended the ban on 24 January 2022, a little over three weeks after publication. In this fast procedure the judge leaves the merits for later and freezes a text when the matter is urgent and its legality is seriously in doubt.
The doubt concerned public health; EU law was not the ground. Nothing in the file showed that flowers with no more than 0.30% THC carried a risk justifying "a general and absolute ban", although the same order relied on that very limit to define authorised varieties. The judge also noted that checks can tell compliant products apart.
The suspension applied to the first paragraph of section II, which reserved flowers for extracts and banned their sale, possession and consumption. The other contested provisions were left in force.
29 December 2022: annulment on the merits
Nearly a year later the Conseil d'État ruled on the merits, joining fifteen applications. In decision No 444887 it annulled paragraph II of article 1 in its entirety, and its press release summarises three grounds.
| Argument examined | What the Conseil d'État held |
|---|---|
| CBD is a narcotic | No: it has no psychotropic effect and causes no dependence, unlike THC. |
| Flowers pose a health risk | The risk depends on the amount of THC taken in. Below 0.30%, no risk justifies a general and absolute ban. |
| Hemp flowers hamper drug enforcement | THC content can be checked with fast, cheap tests; the argument does not justify the ban. |
The reasoning follows the EU Court of Justice in its Kanavape ruling of 2020: a sales ban has to rest on an established risk, and a hypothetical one is not enough. The Conseil d'État did reject other challenges, though. The 0.30% limit and the certified-seed requirement, also contested, were upheld.
What the annulment does not change
The annulment lifted a ban and left the conditions intact. A CBD flower sold in France must still come from a variety listed in the EU or French catalogue, grown from certified seed, and its Δ⁹-THC content must not exceed 0.30%. That limit is explained in our article on the legal THC level.
The way the product is presented also counts. A flower sold as a food or a supplement leaves the scope of the order and comes under the EU novel food regulation. On 20 May 2026 the French Ministry of Agriculture reminded operators that such CBD foods are not authorised. That distinction is explained in our overview of CBD regulation in 2026.
Before buying a flower, look at its batch certificate of analysis, which gives the measured Δ⁹-THC as well as the CBD content. Our laboratory page lists the catalogue products; no laboratory certificate is published there as of 18 October 2026.
The limit that remains: driving
Legal to buy, a flower can still cause trouble at the wheel. On 21 June 2023 the Court of Cassation held that the offence of driving after drug use is made out once a test shows a controlled substance, "regardless of the dose absorbed". That the product was sold legally below 0.30% THC changes nothing.
Since the law of 9 July 2025 the offence has carried up to 3 years in prison and a €9,000 fine. Tests and penalties are covered in our article on CBD and driving.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, provided they come from an authorised variety and contain no more than 0.30% Δ⁹-THC. The Conseil d'État annulled the 2021 ban on 29 December 2022, and no text has brought it back since.
The government wanted flowers and leaves kept for extract production, arguing that a legal flower looks like a cannabis flower and makes checks harder. The Conseil d'État judged the argument insufficient, since rapid tests measure THC.
The suspension of 24 January 2022 was temporary: the interim relief judge froze the ban until the full judgment. The annulment of 29 December 2022 is final, and the ban is deemed never to have existed.
No. The Conseil d'État upheld the 0.30% Δ⁹-THC limit set by the order of 30 December 2021, which applies equally to the plant and to finished products.
That carries a risk. A flower at 0.30% THC may be enough for a positive test, and according to the Court of Cassation the offence is made out whatever the dose consumed.
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.