A tax reform that could revolutionize legal welfare in France
In recent years, CBD has established itself as a natural and legal alternative to recreational cannabis. In France, this market now represents more than 500 million euros, thousands of jobs, and hundreds of local companies defending a responsible and transparent vision of hemp wellness.
But a new threat looms: the 2026 Finance Bill (PLF 2026), carried by Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, could call into question the entire balance of the sector.
Behind the technocratic words of the budget lies a worrying reality: the government is consideringsubjecting CBD flowers and resins to tobacco taxation.
An unjustified measure, disconnected from scientific facts, and potentially devastating for players like Pure Extract CBD - Europe's pioneer of high-end CBD.
A worrying budget plan
The PLF 2026 is set against a backdrop of austerity measures. The State is seeking to reduce its deficit by finding new sources of revenue.
Among them are "inhalable products", a vague category that would include CBD flowers, resins and pre-rolls, though nicotine-free and perfectly legal.
According to several sources (Newsweed, Soft Secrets, La Tribune), the reform would introduce :
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a 25.7% excise tax on smokable CBD products,
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a fixed tax of €18 per kilo,
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and restricting sales to certain authorized outlets (notably tobacconists).
In short: the government treats CBD like tobacco, even though it shares neither its composition, risks nor uses.
Why this measure is absurd
Equating CBD with tobacco is a mistake on several levels.
1. CBD is not addictive
Unlike nicotine, CBD is neither addictive nor tolerant. It has no psychotropic effect, does not induce euphoria, and does not alter perception.
It is used for its relaxing, anti-stress and anti-inflammatory properties, recognized by the WHO.
To equate it with tobacco is to deny the very scientific basis of its nature.
2. CBD does not harm public health
CBD consumers are looking for well-being, not addiction.
It's a product of relaxation, not vice.
CBD even enables many French people to reduce their tobacco consumption or wean off anxiety without medication.
The PLF 2026 confuses prevention with punishment.
3. CBD is a virtuous sector
French companies like Pure Extract CBD scrupulously respect the European legal framework:
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THC levels ≤ 0.3%
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Laboratory-tested products
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Transparent traceability
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Customs and sanitary compliance
It's not a wild market, it's a regulated and professional sector.
And yet, the State seems to want to sanction it as if it were acting in the shadows.
A measure that would affect everyone
If the PLF 2026 is adopted, its effects will be felt at every level of the chain.
Consumers: the first victims
A tax of 25% + €18/kg would automatically drive up the price of flowers and resins.
Shops would have to raise their prices, e-commerce sites would lose their competitiveness, and some products would simply become inaccessible.
The most loyal customers - those who use CBD for sleep, relaxation or pain - would be the first to be penalized.
Retailers: strangled by taxation
Independent boutiques and specialized sites, which make up the majority of the French market, will not be able to absorb such an increase.
Their net margins are often around 20 to 25%, so a 25.7% tax would be fatal.
What's more, online sales could be restricted, or even banned, if distribution is reserved for tobacconists.
A measure that would deprive the French market of its main driver: e-commerce, the mainstay of Pure Extract CBD and many French brands.
French producers: sacrificed on the budgetary altar
The booming hemp farming industry would be severely affected.
Small French producers, who grow hemp under legal license, would no longer be able to compete with imports from less-taxed countries.
At a time when the French government is advocating relocalization and agricultural sovereignty, this is the last straw.
What this reform really hides
Behind the budgetary objective lies a political will: to centralize the sale and taxation of hemp under state control.
In other words: to regain control of a free market that has developed without the state, but within the law.
By reserving the sale of smokable CBD products to tobacconists, the government :
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excludes specialty stores,
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marginalizes e-tailers,
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and reduces consumer choice to a closed network.
It's a return to control, not regulation.
The risk of a reinforced black market
Ironically, the more repressive the law becomes, the more it feeds the market it claims to combat.
By making legal CBD products too expensive or too rare, the PLF 2026 would encourage :
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undeclared purchases,
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uncontrolled imports,
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and sales via parallel networks.
Clearly, the government risks rewarding illegal players and penalizing virtuous brands like Pure Extract CBD, which scrupulously respect the law.
A European position that goes against the grain
While most European countries (Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Czech Republic) support or are gradually legalizing wellness hemp, France persists in its confusion.
It is the only EU country to want to tax CBD like tobacco.
In 2024, Germany even took the step of partially decriminalizing cannabis.
Meanwhile, France is preparing to stifle non-psychotropic hemp.
A historical and economic contradiction.
Pure Extract CBD's position
At Pure Extract CBD, we've always taken a transparent, scientific and responsible approach to hemp.
Our products - whether premium flowers, oils, resins, or advanced formulas such as THV-N10, CRD, THXE or CBNO - comply with French and European regulations.
We believe in legal, safe and accessible CBD, not a product equated with tobacco.
Wellness is not a tax fault.
Taxing CBD like a cigarette denies the work of thousands of professionals and punishes responsible consumers.
What to do about PLF 2026?
The text has not yet been adopted. It may yet be amended.
That's why it's vital for consumers, producers and industry players to get involved.
What you can do:
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Share information: explain to those around you what the PLF 2026 really entails.
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Support committed players: buy French, favor transparent brands like Pure Extract CBD.
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Lobby your representatives: MPs, senators, mayors - the CBD industry needs political support.
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Refuse to confuse well-being with tobacco.
Every voice counts.
The more visible the mobilization, the greater the public pressure on future decisions.
A call to reason
The French CBD industry is not asking for privileges, but for consistency.
It wants to be treated for what it is: a legal, ethical and economically beneficial industry.
CBD players create value, pay their taxes, innovate, and offer the French a natural alternative to tobacco or alcohol consumption.
They deserve to be supported, not equated with a public danger.
CBD is not the problem, it's the solution
CBD doesn't destroy: it soothes.
It's not addictive: it balances.
It doesn't interfere with public health: it improves it.
The government's real challenge is not to tax hemp, but to understand its potential.
France has the means to become a European leader in CBD - if it stops fighting it.
In conclusion
The CBD market in France is threatened by a measure that confuses haste with pragmatism.
Sébastien Lecornu's PLF 2026 risks :
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break the sector's economic dynamic,
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strangle small retailers,
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and deprive consumers of their freedoms.
But nothing is over yet.
The CBD industry has already proved its resilience in the face of successive bans.
It will continue to fight - with committed brands like Pure Extract CBD, which stand up for transparency, quality and the freedom to consume differently.
