Legal THC limit for CBD in France: what 0.3% actually means

The current French framework rests on the decree of 30 December 2021, issued under article R. 5132-86 of the public health code. It authorises the cultivation, import, export and industrial or commercial use of only those Cannabis sativa L. varieties whose Δ⁹-THC content does not exceed 0.30%, and extends the same limit to the products made from them, extracts included.

Two cumulative conditions, then: a variety listed in the EU Common Catalogue or the French catalogue, and a finished product below 0.30% Δ⁹-THC. One without the other is not enough.

The threshold is not a French invention. It comes from the Common Agricultural Policy: Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 raised the maximum THC content of hemp varieties eligible for agricultural aid from 0.20% to 0.30%, effective 2023. France aligned its 2021 decree with that European trajectory. Historically, the figure descends from a 1970s agronomic criterion meant to distinguish industrial hemp from drug-type cannabis, not from any psychoactivity threshold.

The French threshold targets Δ⁹-THC. Yet the fresh plant mostly contains its acidic precursor, THCA, which converts to THC under heat (decarboxylation). Some countries compute a "total THC" (THC + THCA × 0.877); the French text names Δ⁹-THC. A serious laboratory measures and reports both lines separately, precisely so that this distinction can be verified on the certificate rather than argued on the label.

Two rulings stabilised the market. The Court of Justice of the European Union, in the Kanavape ruling of 19 November 2020 (C-663/18), held that a member state cannot ban the sale of CBD lawfully produced in another member state. The Conseil d'État, on 29 December 2022, then struck down the ban on selling raw hemp flowers and leaves that meet the threshold, holding that CBD has no narcotic properties under the applicable law. Sale to minors remains prohibited (the full picture on legal age is here).

The threshold cannot be eyeballed: it is measured by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), the reference method for quantifying cannabinoids without degrading them with heat. At Phytogrammes, every batch is analysed by an independent laboratory before going on sale and the certificate is published on the product page: dominant cannabinoid, Δ⁹-THC, THCA, line by line. The method is detailed here, and our cannabinoid encyclopedia documents every molecule we measure.

A product that meets the 0.30% threshold can still trigger a positive saliva test for THC, because roadside tests detect the molecule, not the percentage it came from. Buying legal therefore does not excuse caution behind the wheel: the French Cour de cassation confirmed on 21 June 2023 that THC detected in a driver constitutes the offence, whatever the origin, legal or not, of the product consumed. The subject deserves its own guide: CBD and drug testing, the complete guide.

What is the legal THC limit in France?

0.30% Δ⁹-THC, for the plant and for the finished products made from it, under the decree of 30 December 2021. The cultivated variety must also be listed in the EU or French catalogue.

Does the 0.3% apply to my body after consumption?

No. The threshold qualifies the product sold, measured in a laboratory. Drug tests detect the presence of THC in saliva or blood, regardless of the original product's percentage: a compliant product can still produce a positive test.

Why do some sites mention 0.2%?

That was the previous European threshold. Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 raised it to 0.30% from 2023, and the French decree of 30 December 2021 had already adopted that figure. Mentions of 0.2% are simply outdated content.

How can I check that a product respects the threshold?

Read its certificate of analysis: the Δ⁹-THC line must be below 0.30%, the analysis date must match the batch on sale, and the laboratory must be identifiable. Without a viewable certificate, the percentage on the label commits no one but whoever wrote it.