What does "beuh" mean? French slang for weed, and CBD

The Le Robert dictionary gives a short definition: "beuh", feminine noun, informal, means "marijuana". Marijuana is cannabis herb, a mix of dried leaves, stems and flowers. The word is built in verlan, the French slang that swaps syllables around: "herbe" becomes "beuher", shortened to "beuh". It is also spelt "beu".

In everyday use, "de la beuh" never refers to a legal product. The word is used for cannabis consumed for its psychoactive effect, the effect of THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol). If you ask whether "beuh" is a drug, the legal answer is yes: cannabis is on France's list of narcotics.

Cannabis has a rich vocabulary. The French helpline Drogues Info Service lists more than thirty street names, from "beuh" to "bubatz" by way of "zamal". They fall into two families, depending on the form of the product.

"Weed" is the English word for an unwanted plant, and it has entered informal French as a synonym for "beuh". Resin is called "shit" or "hasch". It is made by separating the plant's resin glands, the trichomes. Our article on the difference between flower and resin compares both forms on the CBD side.

The CBD market also borrows variety names from cannabis, such as Kush or Amnesia. The name tells you about genetic origin and aroma, never about the THC content of the batch on sale. Our comparison of five Kush CBD varieties shows this figure by figure.

Botanically, beuh and a CBD flower belong to the same species, Cannabis sativa L. The difference lies in the variety and the measured chemistry. Cannabis sold as "beuh" is bred to produce a lot of THC. The hemp that CBD comes from belongs to varieties listed in the official catalogue, bred to produce very little.

The gap is wide. According to OFDT, the French drug monitoring centre, herb seized in France averaged 14.0% THC in 2023, against 10.4% in 2011, and resin 29%, against 12.3% in 2011. The order of 30 December 2021 caps authorised hemp at 0.30% delta-9-THC and applies the same cap to extracts and products containing them. Seized herb therefore holds, on average, about 47 times more THC than this cap.

CBD itself is not a narcotic under the 1961 Single Convention. The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled so in the Kanavape judgment of 19 November 2020, and on 29 December 2022 the Conseil d'État, France's highest administrative court, annulled the ban on selling hemp flowers and leaves. The threshold and how it is measured are covered in our article on the legal THC level, and the botanical differences in our piece on hemp and recreational cannabis.

Using beuh remains an offence. According to Service-public.fr, the government's official information site, drug use is punishable by one year in prison and a €3,750 fine. Since 20 August 2026, the fixed fine that can replace prosecution is €500, reduced to €400 if paid within 15 days and raised to €1,000 after 45 days.

Driving is a separate case, and it also concerns CBD. The Cour de cassation ruled on 21 June 2023 that the authorisation to sell certain hemp derivatives changes nothing to the offence of driving after drug use: it is enough for THC to be detected, whatever the dose. The penalties, raised to 3 years in prison and a €9,000 fine in 2025, are detailed in our article on CBD and driving.

A CBD flower and a bud of beuh cannot be told apart by eye or by smell: they share the same structure and similar terpenes, the plant's aromatic molecules. Only a lab analysis can tell. Three lines matter on the certificate of analysis:

• delta-9-THC, at 0.30% at most, and THCA, its acidic form, which turns into THC when heated;
• the batch number, which must match the product sold;
• the absence of banned cannabinoids: HHC since 2023, then H4CBD and THCP, which ANSM added to the list of narcotics in June 2024.

Our guide to reading a certificate of analysis goes through each line, and our laboratory page describes the measurement methods. A seller who plays on "beuh" or "weed" vocabulary to hint at a high should make you wary: either the product does not do what is implied, or it is not compliant. The risks of buying outside the legal framework are described in our article on buying cannabis online. The CBD flowers in the catalogue show their measured THC content.