Is cannabis legal in France? The law in 7 figures
No, cannabis is not legal in France. Using it is a criminal offence carrying one year in prison and a €3,750 fine, and since 20 August 2026 it is usually punished with a €500 fixed fine. Hemp is allowed on one measurable condition: at most 0.3% Δ⁹-THC, in the plant, in its extracts and in the products that contain them. That threshold divides two legal regimes and grants no tolerance margin.
Key takeaways
- The order of 30 December 2021 sets the limit for authorised hemp at 0.3% Δ⁹-THC.
- Since 20 August 2026, cannabis use costs a €500 fixed fine, against €200 before.
- Driving after cannabis use is punishable by 3 years in prison and a €9,000 fine, whatever the dose.
- Buying CBD legally gives you no protection at the wheel, as the Cour de cassation ruled in June 2023.
- Resin seized in 2023 averaged 29% THC, close to 100 times the hemp threshold.
French cannabis law in 7 figures
Most misunderstandings about cannabis in France start with a number read the wrong way. The table lists the seven that count, each with its legal text or source.
| Figure | What it refers to | Text or source |
|---|---|---|
| 0.3% | Maximum Δ⁹-THC content of hemp, its extracts and the products that contain them | Order of 30 December 2021 |
| €500 | Fixed fine for drug use (€400 if paid early, €1,000 if paid late) | Art. L3421-1, Public Health Code, since 20 August 2026 |
| 1 year and €3,750 | Maximum penalty for use if the case goes to court | Art. L3421-1, Public Health Code |
| 10 years and €7,500,000 | Penalty for transporting, possessing, offering or supplying | Art. 222-37, Criminal Code |
| 3 years and €9,000 | Driving after drug use, whatever the dose | Art. L235-1, Highway Code |
| 29% | Average THC content of resin seized in 2023 (12% in 2011) | OFDT, key figures 2025 |
| 10.8% | Share of 18-64 year olds who used cannabis in the past year (2023) | OFDT, key figures 2025 |
Cannabis and hemp: two regimes, one criterion
French law separates two concentrations of one plant. Cannabis sativa L. is a narcotic, except for authorised varieties whose content of Δ⁹-THC, the main psychoactive compound, does not exceed 0.3%. The order of 30 December 2021 sets that threshold for growing the varieties and for their industrial use. In the same words, it extends the threshold to "hemp extracts, as well as the products that incorporate them".
The threshold therefore reaches beyond the plant in the field. Each flower, resin, oil or e-liquid sold in a shop must stay at or below 0.3% Δ⁹-THC. Our article on the legal THC limit explains how it is measured and what analytical margins apply.
The distance between the two is very large. The OFDT, the French drug observatory, reports that average THC in seized herbal cannabis went from 10% in 2011 to 14% in 2023, and in resin from 12% to 29%. When a "CBD" product produces the effects of cannabis, it is either outside the legal framework or spiked with another molecule. A stronger CBD would not explain it.
What a cannabis user risks in 2026
Cannabis use is an offence. Article L3421-1 of the Public Health Code sets the penalty at one year in prison and a €3,750 fine. In practice, police usually issue a fixed criminal fine, and paying it ends the prosecution. Law No. 2026-798 of 18 August 2026 raised that fine to €500 for offences committed from 20 August 2026. Paid quickly, it falls to €400; paid late, it rises to €1,000. The law states that it applies "including for repeat offences".
In 2022, when the fine was €200, the OFDT counted 143,200 of them for drug use.
Another text covers transporting, possessing, offering or supplying cannabis. Article 222-37 of the Criminal Code provides for ten years in prison and a €7,500,000 fine. Those are maximum penalties; courts set the actual sentence according to the quantities and the circumstances.
At the wheel, the 0.3% threshold counts for nothing. Article L235-1 of the Highway Code punishes anyone who drives while a blood or saliva test shows narcotic use with three years in prison and a €9,000 fine. The Cour de cassation confirmed this on 21 June 2023 (No. 22-85.530). The offence is made out "regardless of the dose absorbed", and the authorisation to sell some hemp derivatives below 0.3% "has no bearing" on it. CBD products can contain detectable traces of THC. Tests and penalties are covered in our article on CBD and driving.
How the CBD framework was built, ruling by ruling
No single statute created today's hemp regime. It grew out of a sequence of court rulings and regulations.
| Date | Ruling or text | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 19 November 2020 | CJEU, Kanavape judgment (C-663/18) | France cannot ban CBD lawfully produced in another Member State from the whole plant |
| 30 December 2021 | Interministerial order | 0.3% Δ⁹-THC threshold, but sale of raw flowers and leaves banned |
| 24 January 2022 | Conseil d'État, interim ruling (No. 460055) | Flower ban suspended |
| 29 December 2022 | Conseil d'État (No. 444887) | Flower ban annulled for good |
| 13 June 2023 | ANSM | HHC, HHCO and HHCP classified as narcotics |
| 3 June 2024 | ANSM | H4CBD, THCP and other derivatives classified as narcotics |
It started with the Kanavape judgment. The EU Court of Justice held that free movement of goods precludes a ban on CBD extracted from the whole plant and lawfully produced in another Member State. The Court also noted that, on current knowledge, CBD does not appear to have a psychoactive effect. Our article on the Kanavape ruling revisits the case.
Next, France set the 0.3% threshold and, in the same order, banned the sale of raw flowers. The Conseil d'État, France's highest administrative court, found that ban disproportionate. It first suspended that ban in interim proceedings on 24 January 2022, then annulled it on 29 December 2022, noting that quick, inexpensive tests can tell hemp from cannabis.
Semi-synthetic molecules were never covered by this framework. The ANSM, the French medicines agency, classified HHC, HHCO and HHCP as narcotics from 13 June 2023, followed by H4CBD, THCP and other derivatives from 3 June 2024. Their THC content is irrelevant to that classification, and our feature on HHC explains why.
Three misconceptions the legal texts contradict
"0.3% is a tolerance." False. The figure is the definition of authorised hemp and grants cannabis users no margin. A product at 0.4% Δ⁹-THC gets no leniency and falls outside the hemp regime.
"With legal CBD, I am fine behind the wheel." Not necessarily. Selling the product is legal, yet a driver is judged on the saliva or blood test, whatever the label says.
"CBD is a narcotic that is tolerated." Also false. In December 2022 the Conseil d'État noted that CBD has no psychoactive effect, and it held the ban on flowers below 0.3% to be disproportionate. Products you swallow come under a separate framework, the novel food rules, which our article on CBD regulation in 2026 describes.
Frequently asked questions
No. Use is an offence carrying one year in prison and a €3,750 fine; since 20 August 2026 it is usually settled with a €500 fixed fine. Hemp is allowed only if it contains no more than 0.3% Δ⁹-THC.
The legal THC level is 0.3% Δ⁹-THC at most. It covers cultivated varieties, hemp extracts and the products that contain them, flowers and resins included.
Since 20 August 2026 the fine is €500, reduced to €400 if paid quickly and raised to €1,000 if paid late. It was €200 before that date. The prosecutor may also decide to take the case to court.
It carries a risk. According to the Cour de cassation, if a saliva or blood test detects THC, the offence is made out whatever the dose, and the legal sale of the product changes nothing.
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.