CDB

Is it legal to plant and grow CBD yourself?

By Sammy Byron , on November 4, 2022 - 6 minutes to read
cultiver du CBD en France

The French are big consumers of hemp, a plant better known as cannabis. Apart from its use as a drug and medicine (especially in the treatment of chronic pain), this plant can be used in several fields such as textiles, cosmetics, paper-making, construction, and even food supplements, making it an important economic asset.

According to the UIVEC (Union des Industriels pour la Valorisation des Extraits de Chanvre), products containing hemp could generate up to 700 million euros of turnover, enough to make you want to be a producer. However, hemp remains a drug, or at least the THC it contains. With the measures against drugs taken in France, can you still plant hemp in your garden to benefit from its virtues or produce it in large quantities to enter this very profitable market without risking being punished by the law?

The new measure applicable to CBD in France

Before the reforms, the sale of CBD was tacitly authorized by the legislation. The legal texts that regulate it were ambiguous on the conditions of cultivation and marketing of CBD. But the new decree that has just come out, systematically prohibits the sale of CBD in France.

This works regardless of the form of the product. However, it is important to get the necessary and accurate information on this new legislation if you plan to open a CBD store in 2022. This will help you avoid unpleasant surprises.


The new law on CBD that came into effect in early 2022 tightens the noose around manufacturers and sellers of the product in France.

The sale of plants and cuttings is prohibited: only active farmers can cultivate these flowers. However, they must fully comply with national and European regulations in force.

Comply with the new HTC tax rate: this rate is now 0.2% to 0.3%, unlike the previous legislation.

Criteria to be respected before the cultivation of CBD

To grow it legally, you will have to respect several criteria:

  • Declare your crop and its geographical location to the National Federation of Hemp Growers (FNPC) and to the police. And yes, even your neighbor is watching you. This is also how you will get your seed grains;
  • The seed grains must come from an approved distributor such as the Cooperative Centrale des Producteurs de Semence de Chanvre (CCPCS). You should never use other seeds, even if you are reseeding from your own seeds. Also, keep the bags from seeds that you have used, because the gendarmes can make a control raid at any time, usually every 15 days. They will check to make sure that your plants are within the norm, in other words, that the THC level does not exceed 0.3%;
  • You must have a seed certificate to prove that the activity you are doing is legal;
  • Only the leaves and stems can be used, as for the flower, you will have to destroy it.

To omit these criteria exposes you to a fine of 7,5 million euros and 30 years of prison. If you are an entrepreneur and wish to commercialize the hemp plant or its derivatives, you must have a specific authorization. If you are a private individual and wish to use the seeds and fibers, you must have a certificate of conformity.

The presence of THC in a product will cause it to be considered a narcotic and therefore illegal. It is true that cannabis products with a THC content of more than 0.2% exist in the medical field, but they are highly controlled. The marketing of CBD flower remains prohibited in France because it can be used to be smoked in the form of cigarettes. If we take into account the fact that the plantations are already controlled on their level of THC, the flowers resulting from these should logically have rates which follow the standards. However, it is not possible to distinguish between a plant that meets the standard and a plant with high THC levels (and therefore illegal), intended to be smoked. The fact of prohibiting the flower thus contributes to the fight against the drug.

Which CBD varieties are legal to grow in France?

Hemp plants do not have the same THC content nor the same growth rate, and production differs from one plant to another. As a result, you can’t grow just any type of hemp. Here are the different varieties of cannabis that are legal to grow in France: Carmagnola, C.S, Delta-Llosa, Delta-405, Dioïca 88, Earlina 8 FC, Epsilon 68, Fedora 17, Fedora 19, Fedrina 74, Felina 32, Felina 34, Ferimon, Fibranova, Fibrimon 56, Fibror 79, Finola, Futura, Futura 75, Futura 83, Orion 33, Santhica 23, Santhica 27, Santhica 70, Uso 31

Of all these varieties, Santhica has the lowest THC content, at 0%. The others on the list have THC contents lower than 0,2%. This list was developed by INRA in the 1970s.

Usefulness or area of use of CBD?

Currently, almost half of the cultivated land in Europe is occupied by the CBD plant because this plant can be used in many areas.

Hemp-based products
hemp-based by-products

The CBD plant is very versatile and France has a great know-how to produce and process it. It can be found in many areas such as:

  • the field of nutrition (food supplements, food products with very low doses of CBD) ;
  • cosmetic products;
  • the health field: in the form of herbal teas, oils, tablets,
  • textile products (fabrics, clothing, bags);
  • composite fibers;
  • manufacture of building materials as well as paper and cardboard, insulation, particle board or mortar;
  • combustion and pyrolysis materials;
  • livestock feed via pressure residues to make flour, so cows get the good stuff too;
  • the fishing and pest repellents in gardening;
  • plastic products and biofuels.

The various changes in society’s needs and the development of the industrial sector are opening up new avenues for the use of CBD. This gives a new image to the favorite drug of the French, making it an important economic asset as it becomes a fuel for society. Many entrepreneurs are already in the market, which hopefully will not saturate as quickly as it started.

George Washington, 1st President of the USA said:

Make the most of the Indian hemp seeds and sow them everywhere

Enough to make people think and to start again animated debates…

Which site on the web to go to in order to get CBD products?

Through this article, we have just wondered if it was possible to plant and grow CBD yourself. However, it is important for you to know that you can buy CBD instead of growing it in order to respect the laws in France. In case you would like to get cbd herb, you have for that the opportunity to go through the services of online platforms experts in this field. Does this concept attract you? Then you know what you have to do in this case; go to these websites.

These sites specializing in the online sale of CBD herb offer you a very wide selection of various products. If you want to know about the best CBD flowers online, you can get information from this source. This way, you are going to be able to check out the top CBD herbs recommended by experts in the field. Moreover, you are going to learn that these also have therapeutic properties.

Sammy Byron

After studying as a specialist in investigative journalism across Europe, I decided to start writing for my own community of Internet users. You can also find my most accurate studies and analyses on the latest trends in the United States. If you are interested in an analysis or a study in collaboration with our Experts, do not hesitate to use the dedicated contact form.

Comments

Leave a comment

Your comment will be revised by the site if needed.