Swiss CBD in France: 1% THC against 0.30%

The reference document is an enforcement guide written by Swissmedic, the Federal Office of Public Health, the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office, and the associations of cantonal pharmacists and chemists. Version 8.0 is dated 1 May 2025. It states the rule plainly: cannabis and cannabis preparations with a total THC content below 1.0% are not considered narcotics under the ordinance on narcotics schedules.

Three details from the same document correct common assumptions. The reform of 1 August 2022, which opened up medical cannabis, did not change the 1.0% limit. Non-medical use of a product at 1.0% or more remains prohibited. And since 1 October 2024, hemp below 1.0% has been sold as a herbal smoking product under the tobacco products act. Switzerland is not a country where anything goes: it simply draws the line higher.

In France, the order of 30 December 2021 only authorises Cannabis sativa L. varieties listed in the official catalogues whose Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol content does not exceed 0.30%. The same cap applies to hemp extracts and the products that contain them. The order also banned the sale of raw flowers, but the Conseil d'État annulled that ban on 29 December 2022. It held that CBD has no psychoactive effect, does not cause dependence, and that tests can tell varieties apart.

Above the threshold, a product leaves the authorised hemp framework and falls under narcotics law. On THCA, the ANSM settled the matter in 2024: its decision in force from 3 June 2024 classifies THCA as a narcotic, unless it is present in hemp whose THC content meets the 0.3% threshold. Our article on the legal THC level explains where the figure comes from.

The Swiss text refers to total THC: Δ⁹-THC plus THCA, converted with the standard formula Δ⁹-THC + 0.877 × THCA. The 0.877 factor corrects for the mass THCA loses when it becomes THC. The French text refers to Δ⁹-THC alone, which looks more lenient.

The official French method changes the picture. The annex to the order measures the THC of varieties by gas chromatography, with an injector heated to 300 °C. A 2022 study in Frontiers in Chemistry showed that under these conditions almost all the THCA turns into THC. The official figure is therefore close to total THC. The gap between the two countries remains roughly 1 to 3.

Take a hypothetical flower with 0.20% Δ⁹-THC and 0.70% THCA. Its total THC is 0.20 + 0.877 × 0.70, or 0.81%. In Switzerland it is below 1.0%: it can be sold as a smoking product. In France, its Δ⁹-THC line looks compliant, but the official method, which heats the sample, would put it well above 0.30%, even with the 0.03-point tolerance. On a certificate produced by liquid chromatography (HPLC), read both lines: our guide to reading a certificate of analysis explains how.

On food, the two countries agree. The Swiss guide states that no product with added cannabinoids has been authorised as a novel food. In France, the Ministry of Agriculture restated on 20 May 2026 that foods containing CBD or any other cannabinoid must be withdrawn from the market.

A product bought in Switzerland must comply with French law as soon as it is in France. Three checks apply:

1. The certificate of analysis for the batch: Δ⁹-THC and THCA, to estimate total THC.
2. Total THC, which must stay below 0.30%. A Swiss flower sold as "under 1%" tells you nothing more.
3. The type of product: a food, an oil sold as a supplement or a CBD gummy is not authorised in France, whatever its content.

Switzerland does not make export easy either. Its enforcement guide states that Swissmedic issues no certificate of no objection for importing or exporting cannabis below 1.0% total THC, because internationally these products fall under the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. To import into Switzerland, you need a batch certificate of analysis from a laboratory accredited to ISO/IEC 17025.

Our articles on flying with CBD and on CBD parcels from abroad cover the rest. Our comparison with the German market shows that the same product can be treated three different ways in three neighbouring countries.