THC-free CBD oil: what “not detected” really means

All CBD oils begin as a hemp extract. They differ in what is kept in that extract, or taken out, at the next stage.

The French order of 30 December 2021 sets the 0.30% limit for hemp varieties, their extracts and the products containing them. In mass terms, 0.30% equals 3 mg of Δ⁹-THC per gram of oil.

Every oil in our catalogue is full spectrum. On the pages viewed on 23 September 2026, their batches show 0.1 to 0.2% Δ⁹-THC: under the legal limit, and above zero. They will not suit you if you want a THC-free oil. Our CBD oils show a reference profile for each batch, with no laboratory certificate published as of 18 October 2026. Our comparison of full spectrum and isolate explains how their compositions differ.

The first step is extraction, usually with supercritical CO2 or ethanol. At this point the crude extract holds all of the plant's cannabinoids, THC among them. The THC can then be removed in two ways.

To make an isolate, CBD is purified until it crystallises and is then diluted in a carrier oil. The result contains CBD alone and has no hemp aroma. Our article on 99% isolate shows how to read its purity on a certificate.

A broad spectrum is made by stripping THC from the extract through chromatography, a technique that separates molecules, while the other cannabinoids and part of the terpenes stay. Results vary between makers, and only the batch analysis shows whether the removal worked. The process is covered in our definition of broad-spectrum CBD.

Broad spectrum is often sold on the "entourage effect", the idea that hemp compounds work better together. That idea remains a research hypothesis and has not been shown in humans.

A label settles nothing. A US team analysed 84 CBD products bought online in 2017. THC was detected in 18 of them, or 21%, and only 31% carried an accurate CBD content. In France, the health agencies ANSES and ANSM passed on in June 2025 a study by addiction monitoring centres. It found that 8 CBD products out of 10 have a CBD content different from the label.

Four points on a certificate of analysis answer the question:

1. The Δ⁹-THC line. "ND" (not detected) means below the method's limit of detection; "< LOQ" means below its limit of quantification, the smallest amount it can measure reliably. The document should state both limits.
2. The THCA line, when it was measured: heat converts this acid form into THC.
3. The batch number, identical to the one on the bottle.
4. The absence of cannabinoids classed as narcotics. HHC joined that list in June 2023, and on 3 June 2024 the ANSM added H4CBD and THCP, among others; THCA is excluded when the product's THC meets the 0.3% limit.

Each line is explained in our guide to reading a certificate of analysis, and the laboratory page describes the measurement methods.

Under article L235-1 of the French Highway Code, driving after drug use carries three years in prison and a 9,000 € fine, with no minimum THC level. The Court of Cassation ruled on 21 June 2023 that permission to sell hemp derivatives under 0.30% THC "has no bearing on the offence of driving after drug use". Testing positive after a legal oil can therefore still lead to prosecution. Detection windows are set out in our guide to saliva, blood and urine testing.

Urine test studies separate pure CBD from CBD that carries THC. Six adults took 100 mg of pure CBD in 2020, and none of the 218 urine samples exceeded the confirmation cut-off. A larger study published in 2022 saw no conversion of CBD into THC. Vaporised CBD-rich cannabis containing 3.7 mg of THC, however, made three participants out of 18 test positive in urine. Both trials used a single dose, and daily use was not tested.

The World Anti-Doping Agency permits CBD for athletes, while THC stays banned in competition above 150 ng/mL in urine. The US Anti-Doping Agency warns that it is very difficult to obtain a truly pure CBD extract. The rules are set out in our update on CBD and the 2026 anti-doping list.

Three texts govern the sale of a CBD oil. The 2021 order fixes the 0.30% Δ⁹-THC ceiling. The Council of State struck down the ban on selling raw flowers and leaves on 29 December 2022 and left the limit untouched. Food law then decides whether the product may be swallowed.

On that point, the French agriculture ministry repeated on 20 May 2026 that foods containing CBD are not authorised, food supplements included, because no EU novel food authorisation exists. EFSA published a provisional safe intake of 2 mg of CBD a day for a 70 kg adult on 9 February 2026, for CBD of at least 98% purity. That benchmark authorises nothing. What remains on sale is covered in our article on CBD regulation in 2026.