Lemon Haze CBD: a hazy origin, a lemon aroma to check
Lemon Haze is a cannabis variety name with no documented breeder or year of creation: at least seven seed companies sell a version of it, from different parents. Its lemon smell is attributed to limonene, a common hemp terpene, though the name does not guarantee that profile. In France, a hemp flower sold under this name is legal only with 0.30% Δ⁹-THC or less, and its possible side effects are those of CBD and of combustion.
Key takeaways
- SeedFinder lists seven "Lemon Haze" varieties from seven seed companies and identifies no original breeder.
- A related line, Super Lemon Haze, won the High Times Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam in 2008 and 2009.
- Limonene, the terpene found in lemon zest, ranks among the most common monoterpenes in cannabis.
- In a 2019 study, 26 of 30 varieties had at least one sample that differed genetically from others sold under the same name.
- At the doses used for the medicine Epidyolex, somnolence is the most frequent side effect of CBD (23% of patients).
Where Lemon Haze comes from: what is documented
The record on its origin is close to empty. The seed database SeedFinder lists seven varieties sold as "Lemon Haze" by seven different companies, and none of them names an original breeder or a year of creation. The declared parents vary by seller: Lemon Skunk × Silver Haze for one, Lemon Skunk × Amnesia Haze for another.
The "Lemon Skunk × Silver Haze" pedigree, often given as the only one, is just one version among several. The name describes a style, lemony and from the Haze line, which several different plants can match.
The Haze family as a whole is better documented. Robert Clarke and Mark Merlin, in a review published in 2016 in Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences, date the first varieties of this type to hybrids of the 1970s. These crossed local varieties from Mexico or Jamaica with later-ripening ones from Colombia, India, Panama or Thailand, and "Original Haze" is one of those early varieties. The line is traced in our article on the Haze family, and another descendant in the one on Amnesia Haze.
Super Lemon Haze, which people often confuse with Lemon Haze, has a clearer history. Its breeder, Green House Seeds, presents it as a Lemon Skunk × Super Silver Haze cross selected in the late 2000s. It took first place in the overall ranking of the High Times Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam in 2008 and in 2009. The claim that it won the sativa category is wrong.
Why it smells of lemon: limonene
The smell comes from terpenes, the aromatic compounds made in the trichomes, which are the tiny glands covering the flower. In a 2011 review in the British Journal of Pharmacology, researcher Ethan Russo describes d-limonene as common to lemon and other citrus essential oils and as the second most widely distributed terpenoid in nature. Monoterpenes such as limonene, myrcene and pinene usually dominate in cannabis.
Limonene is therefore found well beyond Lemon Haze. A 2022 analysis of 89,923 US samples groups terpene profiles into three families, one of them combining β-caryophyllene and limonene, and varieties with very different names fall into it. Our article on hemp terpenes describes each molecule.
In research, a trial published in 2024 in Drug and Alcohol Dependence gave vaporised limonene to 20 adults under double-blind conditions. In an additional session with 12 of them, 15 mg of d-limonene taken with 30 mg of THC lowered anxiety and paranoia ratings compared with THC alone. On its own, limonene did not differ from placebo. The study concerned THC and tells us nothing about CBD or a hemp flower.
The name does not guarantee the profile
Plants sold under one name can differ genetically. Schwabe and McGlaughlin analysed 122 samples of 30 varieties bought from 20 dispensaries in three US states, in a study published in 2019 in the Journal of Cannabis Research. In 26 of the 30 varieties, at least one sample was genetically different from the others bearing the same name. Only 4 were consistent.
With a Lemon Haze CBD flower, you can only know the real profile from the terpene section of the certificate of analysis, if the lab measured terpenes. When limonene is not near 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 that line sits, next to the Δ⁹-THC.
Side effects of Lemon Haze CBD
A compliant Lemon Haze CBD does not get you high, since it contains no more than 0.30% Δ⁹-THC and CBD lacks the psychoactive effect of THC. It can still affect the body, and three sources of risk are documented.
The first is CBD itself. The World Health Organization regards it as generally well tolerated, with a good safety profile, and notes that side effects may arise from interactions with other medicines. The most precise frequencies come from Epidyolex, the only authorised CBD-based medicine, prescribed for certain epilepsies. At 10 to 25 mg per kilo per day, its leaflet mainly lists somnolence, decreased appetite and diarrhoea. Liver enzymes rose above three times the normal limit in 12% of patients, compared with under 1% on placebo.
Those doses are high, 700 to 1,750 mg a day for an adult weighing 70 kg. A gram of flower at 10% CBD holds 100 mg before combustion, and the body absorbs only part of it. Interactions are still the main thing to watch, and our article on CBD and medicines covers them.
The second is combustion. US health authorities note that cannabis smoke contains many of the same toxins, irritants and carcinogens as tobacco smoke, and a smoked CBD flower is no exception. Another way to use it is described in our article on vaporising CBD.
The third is what the product really contains. In 2025 the French agencies ANSES and ANSM reported several hundred poisonings linked to products sold as CBD, mostly caused by synthetic cannabinoids or THC above 0.3%. They advise drivers not to use these products, because even a small amount of THC can cause drowsiness.
Lemon Haze CBD in France
Hemp flowers may be sold since the Conseil d'État annulled their ban on 29 December 2022, as long as the variety is authorised and Δ⁹-THC stays at or below 0.30%. The original Lemon Haze, rich in THC, is still a narcotic. A Lemon Haze CBD is a hemp flower selected for an aroma close to it.
On 22 September 2026, the page for our Lemon Haze CBD showed prices from €4.95 per gram for 2 g down to €1.92 per gram for 50 g. You will find other varieties in the CBD flowers category.
Frequently asked questions
It is a cannabis variety name from the Haze family, known for smelling of lemon. Several seed companies sell their own version from different parents, usually a Lemon Skunk crossed with a Haze. Its CBD version is a hemp flower containing no more than 0.30% Δ⁹-THC.
Not if it is compliant: CBD lacks the psychoactive effect of THC, and Δ⁹-THC stays at 0.30% or below. ANSES and ANSM point out that THC can cause drowsiness even at low doses.
They are those of CBD, mostly described at high doses: somnolence, decreased appetite, digestive upset, raised liver enzymes and interactions with some medicines. Smoke adds its own risks. Ask a doctor first if you take medication or are pregnant or breastfeeding.
The smell comes from limonene, the terpene in lemon zest, which is common in cannabis. The name is no guarantee, and only the terpene profile on the certificate of analysis shows what the batch contains.
Super Lemon Haze comes from Green House Seeds: it is a Lemon Skunk × Super Silver Haze cross that won awards in 2008 and 2009. Lemon Haze is a broader name that several seed companies use for different crosses.
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.