CBD for beginners: 16 questions to settle before buying
In France, CBD is sold legally as flowers, resins and cosmetics, provided the finished product contains no more than 0.30% Δ⁹-THC. It does not get you high, but it is not a medicine, oils and gummies to swallow are not authorised as food, and its traces of THC can make a saliva test positive. Before a first purchase, three checks are enough: the format, the batch analysis and your personal situation.
Contents
> Key takeaways > > - Flowers, resins, extracts and cosmetics are authorised below 0.30% Δ⁹-THC in the finished product. > - CBD foods, including oils to swallow and gummies, are illegal: the Ministry of Agriculture restated this on 20 May 2026. > - EFSA sets a provisional safety level of about 2 mg of CBD a day for a 70 kg adult. > - A legal product can make a saliva test positive for THC, and driving is then still an offence. > - Under 25, pregnancy, breastfeeding, ongoing treatment: EFSA considers safety not established.
What French law says in 2026
1. Is CBD legal in France?
Yes, under conditions. The decree of 30 December 2021 authorises hemp varieties listed in the official catalogues whose Δ⁹-THC content does not exceed 0.30%. The same text banned the sale of raw flowers and leaves: the Council of State struck down that ban on 29 December 2022 (decision no. 444887). Since then, flowers and resins are sold like other hemp products.
2. How much THC is allowed?
No more than 0.30% Δ⁹-THC, and the limit also applies to extracts and to products that contain them. The 0.2% figure still going around is the old limit, dropped in 2021. Our article on the legal THC level explains the calculation and the testing margin.
3. Which cannabinoids are banned?
Several semi-synthetic molecules once sold as alternatives to CBD are narcotics. ANSM, the French medicines agency, classified HHC, HHCO and HHCP from 13 June 2023, then H4CBD, H2CBD, THCP and other derivatives from 3 June 2024. A product containing them is illegal, whatever its label says.
4. Can you buy a CBD oil to swallow?
Not as food. On 20 May 2026 the Ministry of Agriculture restated that foods containing CBD are not authorised under the EU novel food regulation, because their safety has not been shown, and it is extending controls. Only hemp seeds, their derivatives such as seed oil, and leaves intended for infusion escape this rule. Our update on novel food rules follows the file.
| Format | Status in 2026 | Condition or limit |
|---|---|---|
| Flowers and resins | Authorised | Δ⁹-THC ≤ 0.30% in the finished product |
| Cosmetics | Authorised | For use on skin, cosmetics rules |
| E-liquids | Authorised | Vaping rules, sale to minors banned |
| Oils to swallow, gummies, supplements, drinks | Not authorised | Novel food without EU authorisation |
| HHC, H4CBD, THCP and derivatives | Banned | Classified as narcotics |
E-liquids follow the rules for vaping products, as our article on the legal age for CBD explains.
What CBD does, and what it does not
5. Does CBD get you high?
No, it does not produce the THC high. It is not inert, though. MILDECA, the French interministerial mission against drugs, writes on its CBD page that CBD has psychoactive effects "in that it acts on the brain", while causing no dependence, unlike THC. Our article does CBD get you high? explains the difference at receptor level.
6. Is CBD a medicine?
No, with one exception. The only CBD-based medicine, Epidyolex, received its EU authorisation on 19 September 2019. It is prescribed from the age of 2 for three rare epilepsies: Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, Dravet syndrome and tuberous sclerosis complex. Products sold in shops may not claim any therapeutic effect; MILDECA points out that such claims expose sellers to penalties. Our article on Epidyolex summarises the trials behind it.
7. What effects can you expect?
No French or European authority has validated any effect of shop-bought CBD on sleep, stress or pain. Clinical trials exist, but they often use medicinal doses, far above common use. What consumers describe, a feeling of relaxation for example, remains an individual experience. Our review of what clinical studies say separates what is measured from what is assumed, and our article on feeling nothing explains why some people notice no effect.
Safety: who should avoid it
8. Who should not use CBD?
EFSA considers that CBD's safety cannot be established in three groups: people under 25, pregnant or breastfeeding women, and people on medical treatment. On 21 March 2025, ANSES, the French food and health safety agency, also proposed classifying CBD as presumed toxic for reproduction, category 1B. Its proposal rests on animal studies: effects on sperm production and fertility, higher mortality around birth, and changes in nervous system development. Planning a pregnancy calls for the same caution.
9. Does CBD interact with medicines?
Yes, this is documented. CBD is processed by liver enzymes that also break down many medicines. Epidyolex itself is prescribed with clobazam, an anti-epileptic drug, and EMA names liver problems as the main safety concern, with monitoring of liver enzymes. If you take any treatment, talk to your doctor or pharmacist before trying CBD. Our article on drug interactions gives the known examples.
10. What side effects are known?
The best described come from Epidyolex, and therefore from medicinal doses. EMA lists the most common as sleepiness, decreased appetite, diarrhoea, fever, tiredness and vomiting. At the amounts of everyday use, data are lacking, which explains EFSA's caution. Our review of CBD side effects sorts them by dose.
Dose: what the EFSA benchmark means
11. How much CBD per day?
The only official benchmark comes from EFSA. On 9 February 2026, the agency published a provisional safety level of 0.0275 mg per kilo of body weight per day, about 2 mg for a 70 kg adult. The figure includes an extra margin because data on the liver and on the endocrine, nervous and reproductive systems are incomplete.
The calculation is simple: body weight in kilos multiplied by 0.0275.
| Body weight | EFSA provisional level |
|---|---|
| 50 kg | 1.4 mg a day |
| 60 kg | 1.65 mg a day |
| 70 kg | 1.9 mg a day |
| 80 kg | 2.2 mg a day |
| 90 kg | 2.5 mg a day |
Two points change how to read it. First, the level covers food supplements of CBD at least 98% pure, a format not authorised in France today. Second, no authority has set a benchmark for inhaled flower or resin: the amount of CBD actually absorbed depends on the product and on how it is used. Starting with a small amount, and not increasing it to chase an effect, remains the careful approach. Our article on the EFSA reference dose details the opinion.
Driving and travel
12. Can you drive after taking CBD?
The risk comes from THC, not CBD. MILDECA warns that a driver may test positive for THC in a saliva or blood sample after using only authorised products. The Court of Cassation ruled on 21 June 2023 (no. 22-85.530) that the authorisation to sell these products makes no difference: the offence is established whatever the dose. Article L235-1 of the Highway Code punishes it with three years in prison and a 9,000 € fine. Our guide to saliva testing explains the tests.
13. Can you travel with CBD?
Within France, a compliant product can travel with you. Abroad, the law of the transit and destination countries applies, and it is often stricter. Our article on flying with CBD reviews the destinations.
First purchase: what to choose and what to check
14. Which format should you start with?
The legal choice comes down to three families: flower, resin and cosmetics. Flower is the easiest to read, with a variety and a level stated. Resin is more concentrated. Cosmetics are applied to the skin. With flower and resin, combustion produces smoke, whatever the plant: our article on smoking hemp sets out what the law and the data say, and the one on vaporisation presents the alternative. For a first time, a small amount is enough: in the catalogue, the CBD flower product pages offer formats from 2 g.
15. How do you check that a product is compliant?
Ask for the batch certificate of analysis and read four lines. The batch number must match the product. Δ⁹-THC must stay at 0.30% or less. The CBD level should be close to the label. And no banned cannabinoid should appear where the laboratory tested for them. Our guide to reading a certificate of analysis covers each section, and the laboratory page describes the measurement methods.
16. How much does a first purchase cost?
The price per gram varies widely with the format and the quantity: it drops clearly as the purchase tier rises. Be wary above all of a price with no batch analysis. Our article on CBD prices in France in 2026 gives the ranges per gram.
Frequently asked questions
Is CBD a drug?
Not under French law: it is not classified as a narcotic, unlike THC. MILDECA adds, however, that it acts on the brain. Our article is CBD a drug? gives the full answer.
Can athletes use CBD?
On the World Anti-Doping Agency list, cannabidiol is the only exception to the ban on cannabinoids: THC remains banned in competition. Traces of THC in a product can therefore be a problem. Our article on CBD and doping gives the thresholds.
Are CBD and medical cannabis the same thing?
No. Medical cannabis is a prescribed treatment, within a separate framework that has not yet been rolled out nationally in France. Shop CBD is an everyday consumer product with no medical indication. Our article on medical cannabis in 2026 gives the latest.
Written by the Phytogrammes team
Every article in this journal draws on primary sources (ANSM, EFSA, EUR-Lex, peer-reviewed publications) and on the lab's own practice: batch-by-batch HPLC analyses, measured cannabinoid profiles. Our approach.
Article published on . CBD is not a medicine.