Cannabis in France

Cannabis is illegal in France, and using it is a criminal offense rather than an administrative one. Article L3421-1 of the Public Health Code punishes use with up to one year in prison and a €3,750 fine, rising to five years and €75,000 for people in public-authority or safety-critical transport jobs. In practice, adults caught with a small amount and no other offense usually receive an amende forfaitaire délictuelle, a fixed criminal fine that closes the case.

That fine rose sharply on 20 August 2026. Law 2026-798 of 18 August 2026, known as the RIPOST law, took it from €200 to €500, with €400 if paid quickly and €1,000 if paid late. The same law lets courts suspend a convicted drug user's driving or boating license for up to three years, even when no vehicle was involved, and lets prefects order provisional suspensions for repeat offenders. Supply is punished far more heavily: according to the anti-drug agency MILDECA, transporting, holding or selling drugs carries up to 10 years and €7.5 million, and producing them up to 20 years.

There are no coffeeshops, no cannabis clubs and no legal home grow. What visitors see in shop windows in Paris, Lyon or Marseille is CBD. Hemp products with 0.3% THC or less from EU-registered varieties are legal, including raw flower, since the Council of State annulled the flower ban on 29 December 2022. CBD food and health claims are not allowed, and the medicines agency ANSM has classed HHC (June 2023) and H4CBD, THCP and several related molecules (June 2024) as narcotics.

Medical cannabis is in limbo. A state experiment enrolled its first patient on 26 March 2021 and closed to new patients on 27 March 2024; it formally ended on 31 December 2024. People already treated keep access under a transition that the health ministry has extended until three months after the Haute Autorité de Santé (HAS) gives its opinion. The permanent framework, notified to the European Commission on 20 March 2025, would give cannabis medicines five-year ANSM authorizations for last-line use, with a first prescription in hospital. As of September 2026 it was not yet in force, and new patients cannot start treatment.

Driving is where many cannabis and CBD users get caught. France has no THC threshold: any detectable amount is an offense punishable by two years in prison, a €4,500 fine and a six-point deduction, and three years and €9,000 when combined with alcohol. MILDECA warns that even legal CBD with up to 0.3% THC can make a saliva test positive for a few hours after use.

For tourists, the rule is the same as for residents: buying from a dealer, smoking in the street or bringing cannabis from the Netherlands or Germany exposes you to the €500 fine or prosecution. Keep CBD in its labeled packaging with the receipt. This page is general information, not legal advice.