Lemon Haze CBD: a hazy origin, a lemon aroma to check

Almost nothing is on record about its origin. The seed database SeedFinder lists seven varieties sold as "Lemon Haze" by seven different companies. None names an original breeder or a year of creation. The stated parents change from one seller to the next: Lemon Skunk × Silver Haze at one, Lemon Skunk × Amnesia Haze at another.

The "Lemon Skunk × Silver Haze" pedigree, often presented as the only one, is therefore just one version among several. The name describes a style, lemony and from the Haze line, more than a specific plant.

The Haze family itself is better described. A review by Robert Clarke and Mark Merlin, published in 2016 in Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences, traces the first varieties of this type to 1970s hybrids, bred by crossing local varieties from Mexico or Jamaica with later-ripening ones from Colombia, India, Panama or Thailand. "Original Haze" is among those early varieties. Our article on the Haze family traces the line, and the one on Amnesia Haze covers another descendant.

Super Lemon Haze, often confused with Lemon Haze, is better traced. Its breeder, Green House Seeds, describes it as a Lemon Skunk × Super Silver Haze cross selected in the late 2000s. It won the overall ranking of the High Times Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam in 2008 and in 2009, not the sativa category, as is sometimes claimed.

The smell comes from terpenes, the aromatic compounds made in the trichomes, the tiny glands that cover the flower. Researcher Ethan Russo, in a 2011 review in the British Journal of Pharmacology, describes d-limonene as common to lemon and other citrus essential oils, and as the second most widely distributed terpenoid in nature. In cannabis, monoterpenes usually dominate: limonene, myrcene, pinene.

So limonene is not specific to Lemon Haze. The analysis of 89,923 US samples, published in 2022, sorts terpene profiles into three families, one of which pairs β-caryophyllene with limonene. Varieties with very different names end up in it. Our article on hemp terpenes describes each molecule.

On the research side, a trial published in 2024 in Drug and Alcohol Dependence tested vaporised limonene in 20 adults, double-blind. In an extra session run with 12 of them, 15 mg of d-limonene combined with 30 mg of THC lowered anxiety and paranoia ratings compared with THC alone. Limonene alone did not differ from placebo. The study was about THC, not CBD, and says nothing about a hemp flower.

Two plants sold under the same name can be genetically different. A study by Schwabe and McGlaughlin, published in 2019 in the Journal of Cannabis Research, analysed 122 samples of 30 varieties bought from 20 dispensaries in three US states. For 26 varieties out of 30, at least one sample differed genetically from the others with the same name. Only 4 were consistent.

For a Lemon Haze CBD flower, the only way to know the real profile is the terpene section of the certificate of analysis, when the lab measured it. If limonene is not at the top, the lemon aroma owes more to the name than to the chemistry of the batch. Our guide to reading a certificate of analysis shows where to find that line, next to the Δ⁹-THC.

A compliant Lemon Haze CBD does not get you high: it contains no more than 0.30% Δ⁹-THC, and CBD does not produce the psychoactive effect of THC. That does not mean it has no effect on the body. Three sources of risk are documented.

First, CBD itself. The World Health Organization considers it generally well tolerated, with a good safety profile, noting that side effects may come from interactions with other medicines. The most precise frequencies come from Epidyolex, the only authorised CBD-based medicine, prescribed for certain epilepsies. At doses of 10 to 25 mg per kilo per day, its leaflet mainly lists somnolence, decreased appetite and diarrhoea. Liver enzymes rising above three times the normal limit affected 12% of patients, against under 1% on placebo.

These doses are high: 700 to 1,750 mg a day for a 70 kg adult. One gram of flower at 10% CBD contains 100 mg before combustion, and only part of it is absorbed. Interactions remain the main point to watch: our article on CBD and medicines covers them.

Second, combustion. The US health authorities point out that cannabis smoke contains many of the same toxins, irritants and carcinogens as tobacco smoke. A smoked CBD flower is no exception. Our article on vaporising CBD describes another way to use it.

Third, the real contents. In 2025, the French agencies ANSES and ANSM reported several hundred poisonings linked to products sold as CBD, most often because of synthetic cannabinoids or THC above 0.3%. They advise drivers against these products, as even a small amount of THC can cause drowsiness.

Selling hemp flowers has been legal since the Conseil d'État annulled their ban on 29 December 2022, provided the variety is authorised and Δ⁹-THC does not exceed 0.30%. The original, THC-rich Lemon Haze remains a narcotic. A Lemon Haze CBD is a hemp flower selected to come close to it in aroma.

The page for our Lemon Haze CBD shows, as of 22 September 2026, prices from €4.95 per gram for 2 g to €1.92 per gram for 50 g. Other varieties are grouped in the CBD flowers category.