CBD coffee shop vs Amsterdam: 0.3% against 15.6% THC
A French "CBD coffee shop" has nothing but its name in common with a Dutch coffee shop. In France it is a shop that sells hemp flowers, resins and cosmetics containing no more than 0.30% Δ⁹-THC, and nobody may smoke on the premises. Dutch coffee shops sell cannabis under a toleration policy, and the best-selling weed there averaged 15.6% THC in the latest official survey.
Key takeaways
- French shops have been allowed to sell CBD flowers with no more than 0.30% Δ⁹-THC since the Conseil d'État ruling of 29 December 2022.
- Smoking is banned in every enclosed, covered place open to the public, so a CBD shop cannot double as a smoking room.
- Dutch coffee shop sales are still illegal and tolerated, up to 5 g per transaction.
- Bringing Dutch cannabis into France counts as importing narcotics, which carries 10 years in prison.
What a "CBD coffee shop" is in France
The phrase is a marketing term with no legal meaning. A CBD shop is a retailer of products from authorised hemp varieties, and the order of 30 December 2021 caps the finished product at 0.30% Δ⁹-THC. The order also banned the sale of raw flowers; the Conseil d'État struck down that ban on 29 December 2022.
In 2026 the shelves of a CBD shop carry a handful of product families: CBD flowers, resins and hash, cosmetics, e-liquids. Some shops had added a counter for CBD drinks and pastries, which explains the word "coffee". That model is over. On 20 May 2026 the Ministry of Agriculture recalled that foods containing CBD are illegal and must be withdrawn, since they lack authorisation under the EU novel food regulation.
At 0.30% THC, a flower does not have the effect of a cannabis flower. The reasons are in our article does CBD get you high, and what separates the two plants is set out in the one on hemp and recreational cannabis.
The Dutch coffee shop: toleration, not legalisation
Selling cannabis is an offence in the Netherlands as well. As the Dutch government explains, the Public Prosecution Service does not prosecute coffee shops that meet the toleration criteria: at most 5 g of cannabis per transaction, no hard drugs, no sales to minors, no advertising and no nuisance.
Since 1 January 2013, a national rule has in principle limited access to residents of the Netherlands. Enforcement is up to each municipality: Maastricht, Breda and Heerlen apply the rule, and Amsterdam does not. Municipalities also decide whether to allow coffee shops at all.
The system is in transition. Ten municipalities have been part of a controlled supply chain experiment since 7 April 2025, under which their coffee shops may sell only cannabis grown by licensed producers. It is scheduled to run for four years in principle.
| CBD shop in France | Coffee shop in the Netherlands | |
|---|---|---|
| Status of sales | Legal, ordinary retail | Illegal but tolerated |
| THC in the product | 0.30% at most | No cap; 15.6% on average for the best-selling weed |
| Quantity per purchase | No legal limit | 5 g per transaction |
| Minors | No general rule, sale of vaping products banned | Sales banned |
THC measured in coffee shops
Each year the Trimbos Institute measures the strength of coffee shop products for the Dutch Ministry of Health. For the THC monitor 2024-2025, its researchers made anonymous purchases of 195 samples in 49 coffee shops between December 2024 and January 2025. On average, the best-selling Dutch weed contained 15.6% THC and the weed sold as strongest 17.4%. Imported hash reached 23.0%, and hash made from Dutch weed 23.7%.
The report also finds almost no CBD in these products: the best-selling Dutch weed had a median CBD content of 0.0%. Coffee shop products are therefore the opposite of a CBD flower, with plenty of THC and very little cannabidiol. Between 15.6% and 0.30% there is a factor of 52, which gives the scale of the gap.
Smoking on the premises: what French law says
No, whatever the product. Article L3512-8 of the French Public Health Code bans smoking in places for collective use. Article R3512-2 defines its scope as all enclosed, covered places that receive the public or are workplaces. A CBD shop is both. Smoking a hemp flower inside, compliant or not, is banned in the same way as smoking a cigarette.
A shop cannot serve flower infusions or CBD drinks either, because they are unauthorised foods. You buy there and consume elsewhere, following the rules of each place.
Travel: what you risk by bringing cannabis home
A purchase in an Amsterdam coffee shop leaves the product's status in France unchanged. Above 0.30% Δ⁹-THC, cannabis is outside the exemption granted to hemp and remains a narcotic. Carrying it across the border counts as importation, punished under article 222-36 of the French Penal Code by 10 years in prison and a €7,500,000 fine. There is no exception for small quantities.
In France, use is punishable by one year in prison and a €3,750 fine, and since 20 August 2026 the fixed fine that can replace prosecution has been €500. Our article on the words beuh, weed and CBD sets each term against the law, and the guide to travelling with CBD covers the journey in the other direction.
Spotting a serious CBD shop
A shop's name proves nothing. Before buying, you can check four points:
Where to find these lines is shown in our guide to reading a certificate of analysis. The other criteria are in the checklist for choosing a CBD product.
Frequently asked questions
No. The French shop legally sells hemp products with no more than 0.30% THC, and nothing is consumed on site. The Dutch one sells cannabis under a toleration regime specific to the Netherlands, where the best-selling weed contained 15.6% THC on average.
No. Every enclosed, covered place open to the public falls under the smoking ban, whatever is smoked.
Yes. Amsterdam does not enforce the residents-only rule, although other municipalities such as Maastricht do. Cannabis bought there must stay in the Netherlands.
No. That is importing narcotics, which article 222-36 of the Penal Code punishes with 10 years in prison and a €7,500,000 fine.
No longer. Since May 2026 the Ministry of Agriculture has treated CBD foods and drinks as illegal and required their withdrawal.
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.