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

The Le Robert dictionary gives a short definition: "beuh", feminine noun, informal, means "marijuana". In the glossary of the OFDT, France's public drug observatory, it is a "slang synonym for cannabis herb": dried leaves, stems and flowers.

The word is built in verlan, the French slang that swaps syllables around: according to Wiktionnaire, "herbe" became "beuhère", shortened to "beuh". It is also spelt "beu". None of these sources dates its first appearance, and the online Larousse had no entry for "beuh" on 20 October 2026. Le Robert also lists "hasch" and "shit" among its synonyms, whereas the OFDT keeps herb and resin apart.

In everyday speech, "de la beuh" always means an illegal product: cannabis taken for its psychoactive effect, which comes from THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol). Ask whether "beuh" is a drug and the legal answer is yes, because cannabis appears on France's list of narcotics.

Cannabis goes by many names. The French helpline Drogues Info Service lists more than thirty street terms, among them "beuh", "zamal" and "bubatz". They divide into two families according to the form of the product.

The origins given for "ganja", "kif", "zamal" and "chichon" follow Wiktionnaire. "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 cannabis variety names such as Kush or Amnesia. Such a name indicates genetic origin and aroma. It says nothing about the THC content of the batch on sale, as our comparison of five Kush CBD varieties shows with figures.

In botanical terms, beuh and a CBD flower are the same species, Cannabis sativa L. What differs is the variety and its chemical profile. Cannabis sold as "beuh" has been bred for high THC, while the hemp behind CBD comes from varieties listed in the official catalogue and bred to make very little of it.

This chart shows the 2024 averages published by the OFDT, the French drug monitoring centre, in February 2026; the next section details 2022 to 2024. 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. At 14.3% on average, herb seized in 2024 therefore holds about 48 times more THC than this cap.

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

Herb seized in France in 2024 averaged 14.3% THC, and resin 29.6%, according to the OFDT note on the supply of drugs in 2024, published in February 2026. The gap from one batch to the next is wide.

Source: OFDT, table 2 (seizures OCRTIS/OFAST, THC content INPS/SNPS).

In 2011, according to the OFDT synthesis, herb averaged 10.4% and resin 12.3%. Resin has more than doubled since, while herb has barely moved since 2022. Herb's share of seizures is growing: 30% of the cannabis seized in 2023, against 6% in 2012.

How to read these figures

These levels come from the report of the police forensic service (SNPS), based on seizures. According to Point SINTES no. 11 of June 2026, that report also includes samples collected from users by the SINTES system: it is therefore not a measurement independent of that system. In 2024, the median reached 14.8% for herb over 878 assays, and 30.0% for resin over 1,829. The herb SINTES examined in 2025 ranged from very weak to very strong. For 2023, the OFDT note of January 2025 gave 14% for herb and 29% for resin, figures the observatory's online synthesis still repeats; the February 2026 note revises them to 14.1% and 28.3%. We use the more recent one. The 2025 SINTES data are provisional: they rest on the database as it stood on 25 February 2026.

How many people use cannabis?

According to the OFDT, in 2023, 50.4% of 18-64-year-olds said they had used cannabis at least once in their life, and 10.8% in the past year; the observatory counts nearly 5 million past-year users. At 17, the share who had ever tried it fell to 29.9% in 2022, its lowest level since 2000.

Beuh and resin remain the most common forms of cannabis in France, usually smoked in a joint with tobacco; oil and concentrated extracts are far rarer. More recently, THC products that are not smoked have appeared.

The OFDT reports THC sweets, known as "edibles", and disposable e-cigarettes containing THC, or "puffs", possibly aimed at people who do not smoke. In 2025, the THC samples analysed by SINTES included 44 resins, 39 herbs, 14 sweets, one cake and 5 e-liquids, against 9 edibles in 2024.

In a joint, burning adds tar and tobacco, as our article on the health differences between tobacco and cannabis explains. Swallowed, cannabis acts later, between half an hour and two hours according to Drogues Info Service, and the dose is hard to judge. Nearly half of the 15 edibles recorded by SINTES in 2025 were linked to a serious adverse effect. The legal status of these products is set out in our article on THC gummies.

The THC in beuh impairs attention, short-term memory and reflexes, which makes driving dangerous. Regular use carries a risk of dependence, all the more so when use starts young.

According to the OFDT, in an occasional user, the neuropsychological effects of smoked cannabis are felt about 15 to 20 minutes after inhalation. Reaction time lengthens, and cannabis strengthens the effects of alcohol. Regular use can hinder memory and worsen some psychiatric conditions. Specialist addiction centres (CSAPA) followed about 54,000 people for their cannabis use in 2022.

A "bad trip", with intense anxiety, palpitations or hallucinations, can happen from the very first use, according to Drogues Info Service; a highly concentrated product, or one mixed with alcohol, increases the risk. In 2025, SINTES recorded 21 serious adverse effects among its cannabis samples, consistent with acute poisoning by high-strength THC. The link between THC and mental health is covered in our article cannabis and mental health.

No: to the eye, herb sprayed with a synthetic cannabinoid looks like ordinary herb, and only a lab analysis reveals it. French analyses are finding more and more of it, mostly in products sold as CBD.

A SINTES note of 19 October 2020 describes the first herb of this kind analysed in France, laced with MDMB-4en-PINACA. Point SINTES no. 11 then counts 47 smokable products containing synthetic or semi-synthetic cannabinoids in 2024, then 106 in 2025, including 60 herbs, most often sold as CBD. The other way round, products that users believed to be mostly CBD contained a significant amount of delta-9-THC. Glass microbeads, which are dangerous for the lungs and probably added to make the product heavier, were also found in two herb samples in 2024 and in one cannabis sample in 2025.

According to ANSM, the French medicines agency, synthetic cannabinoids can cause vomiting, loss of consciousness or seizures; if such signs appear, the agency asks people to call emergency services without delay. Our articles on synthetic cannabis, the "PTC" and cut hashish cover these cases in detail.

A CBD flower looks and smells like a bud of beuh, because both have the same structure and similar terpenes, the plant's aromatic molecules. Neither your eyes nor your nose can separate them; only a laboratory analysis can. On the certificate of analysis, three lines count:

• 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 from 3 June 2024.

Our guide to reading a certificate of analysis goes through each line. 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. Our article on cannabis sold online sets out what you risk by ordering outside the legal framework.

Yes. Article R5132-86 of the French Public Health Code bans the production, possession, transfer and use of cannabis, its plant and its resin, as well as of "tetrahydrocannabinols, natural or synthetic". The list of narcotics itself is set by an order of 22 February 1990. 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. Paying it ends the prosecution, but leaves an entry on the criminal record. The same question asked about CBD gets a different answer, set out in our article is CBD a drug.

What a user risks in 2026

Amounts checked on 20 October 2026 on Service-public.fr pages F33341 and F2886.

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. These penalties are detailed in our article on CBD and driving.

In an occasional user, THC can be detected for a few hours in blood and saliva, and for three to five days in urine. In a regular user, detection can last 30 to 70 days in urine; with heavy daily use, it can extend to more than a month in blood.

These windows, taken from the Drogues Info Service table of June 2025, are only rough guides. No drink or kit has been shown to speed up the elimination of THC. See also hair testing and our detection tool for CBD products.

Drogues Info Service answers on 0 800 23 13 13, from 8:00 to 23:00, seven days a week; the call is anonymous and free. The youth consumer consultations (CJC) see young people and those close to them free of charge and in confidence, in almost every French département; parents can be seen without the young person.

The OFDT has also designed a screening tool, the CAST: six questions, a score from 0 to 24, and a high risk of dependence from 7 upwards. In 2022, 4.8% of 17-year-olds were likely, on this test, to have a high risk of problem use.