The 0.3 % THC threshold: where does it come from and will it change?

Before 2021, France banned the sale of hemp flowers and leaves while tolerating CBD extracts under vaguely defined conditions. The order of 30 December 2021 clarified the rule by setting a single threshold: a maximum of 0.3 % THC in finished products containing CBD, whatever their form.

That figure matches the threshold adopted by several other member states to distinguish industrial hemp from narcotic cannabis. It is not a health-safety threshold in the strict sense, but a regulatory convention intended to give the hemp-CBD sector legal certainty.

The Kanavape ruling handed down by the CJEU on 19 November 2020 (case C-663/18) held that a state may not prohibit the marketing of CBD lawfully produced in another member state of the European Union. That decision directly undermined the French ban on CBD extracts then in force.

France therefore had to review its regulatory framework to comply with European law, while retaining a margin of appreciation over the tolerated THC content. The order of 30 December 2021 is the direct answer to that court decision, six weeks after it was published.

The order of 30 December 2021 initially banned the sale of CBD flowers and leaves, authorising extracts only. That ban was suspended as early as January 2022 by the Conseil d'État, which found the measure disproportionate in the light of the public health objective pursued.

Since that suspension, CBD flowers and resins have remained saleable in France as long as they meet the 0.3 % THC threshold. Our article on the order regulating the sale of CBD flowers goes over this episode and its judicial aftermath in detail.

The 0.3 % threshold continues to prompt discussion, not least because other European countries apply different thresholds, sometimes higher ones. This patchwork feeds a recurring debate about European harmonisation, which would simplify cross-border trade in CBD without commanding a consensus among member states.

Other recent court decisions concerning CBD flowers imported from other Union countries have revived the question of which threshold applies. Our article on Italian CBD flowers and the shift among European judges explores this cross-border dimension.

For a consumer, the 0.3 % threshold remains the reference point for checking the legality of a CBD product bought in France, whatever its form. A compliant certificate of analysis remains the best way of verifying that compliance before buying.

For professionals, this threshold shapes the whole production chain, from varietal selection to laboratory analysis. It now sits alongside the Novel Food regulation, which separately governs CBD products intended for ingestion.

Why is the THC threshold set at 0.3 % in France?

The threshold stems from the order of 30 December 2021, adopted after the CJEU's Kanavape ruling of 19 November 2020, which struck down the French ban on CBD extracts lawfully produced in the EU.

Are CBD flowers legal in France?

Yes, since the Conseil d'État suspended, in January 2022, the ban on the sale of CBD flowers and leaves provided for by the 2021 order. They remain subject to the 0.3 % THC threshold.

Could the 0.3 % threshold change in 2026?

The current threshold has not been officially revised, but the patchwork of rules between member states feeds a debate about European harmonisation, with no official timetable for change to date.

Does the THC threshold also apply to CBD intended for ingestion?

The 0.3 % THC threshold applies to the composition of products, independently of the Novel Food regulation, which separately governs the authorisation of CBD products intended for ingestion in France.