CBD oil vs hemp seed oil vs cannabis oil: what differs

All three come from the same species. What separates them is the organ used and the process. Cannabinoids, CBD and THC alike, are made in trichomes, the tiny resin glands that mostly cover female flowers and the bracts around them. The seed itself does not produce them.

It is made by cold-pressing the seeds, like walnut oil. Its value is nutritional. An analysis published in 2020 in Scientific Reports measured 60.52% linoleic acid (omega-6) and 18.44% alpha-linolenic acid (omega-3), with 84.11% polyunsaturated fatty acids in total and an omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of 3.3 to 1.

So where do the traces of cannabinoids come from? Italian researchers explain it in a 2019 study of ten commercial oils: the seed is void of cannabinoids inside, but its surface can be contaminated by the sticky resin of the trichomes on the bracts. Properly cleaned seeds give an oil with only traces. The same authors note that an earlier study had found commercial oils above 10 mg of total THC and 1,000 mg of total CBD per kilo.

Even in that extreme case, the gap is huge. 1,000 mg per kilo is 0.1% CBD. A 10% CBD oil contains roughly 100,000 mg per kilo, 100 times more.

Food law has set limits. Regulation (EU) 2022/1393, applicable since 1 January 2023, caps hemp seed oil at 7.5 mg of THC per kilo, and seeds and their other derived products at 3.0 mg/kg. The calculation adds THC and its acid form, THCA, because food processing can convert one into the other. An oil above 10 mg/kg would therefore be out of bounds today.

This product remains on sale as a food. In its statement of 20 May 2026, the French Ministry of Agriculture specifies that hemp seeds and their derivatives, including seed oils, are authorised, provided they respect the maximum THC levels and are not enriched with cannabinoid extracts. Our article on hemp seeds covers their status in detail.

CBD oil starts from flowers and leaves. The cannabinoids are extracted, most often with supercritical CO₂ or ethanol, then the extract is diluted in a carrier oil: fractionated coconut oil (MCT), olive oil, or hemp seed oil itself. A CBD oil can therefore list "hemp seed oil" among its ingredients without being a plain seed oil. Our article on how CBD oil is made walks through each step.

Its content is shown as a percentage or in milligrams per bottle. Depending on the extract, it contains CBD alone (isolate) or other cannabinoids and terpenes too. What the words "full spectrum" cover is explained in our page on full spectrum.

The THC limit is the one set by the French order of 30 December 2021: 0.30% Δ⁹-THC in hemp extracts and products containing them, i.e. 3,000 mg per kilo. That is 400 times the limit for hemp seed oil.

Use changes the status. The same ministry states that foods containing CBD are not authorised under Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 on novel foods, and that they must be withdrawn from the market. A CBD oil sold as a food supplement is therefore targeted. Our overview of CBD regulation in 2026 describes the other regimes, including cosmetics. The catalogue references are grouped in the CBD oils category, for example the full-spectrum oil.

The term has no legal definition. In everyday use, it means an extract of THC-rich varieties, such as "Rick Simpson Oil". Above 0.30% Δ⁹-THC, an extract leaves the framework of authorised hemp: it falls under the narcotics rules, and both selling and possessing it are prohibited.

Medical cannabis follows a separate path, supervised by the French medicines agency, the ANSM. The French experiment ended on 31 December 2024. According to the ANSM's dossier, updated on 20 April 2026, patients already enrolled continue their treatment in a transition phase, which will end three months after the opinion of the French health authority (HAS). Our article on medical cannabis in 2026 gives the latest. The only authorised CBD-based medicine, Epidyolex, is another case again: it is dispensed on prescription.

Four lines on the label are usually enough to know what the bottle contains.

In English, "hemp oil" can mean either: only the ingredient list settles it. For a CBD oil, the batch certificate of analysis gives the real CBD and THC content. Our guide to reading a certificate of analysis goes through each line, and the laboratory page describes the measurement methods.