Colmar Court of Appeal acquits CBD'Eau manager

The brand manager CBD'Water, a leading franchise in France with over a hundred stores, was prosecuted for drug possession and trafficking. These charges were dropped. Their confiscated merchandise, including CBD flowers, should be returned to them.

The 0.2% limit for THC in finished products is protected

It took over 2 years of legal proceedings to reach this decision. At the root of the proceedings were a series of raids on Europe's leading chain of CBD stores, and on products allegedly containing high levels of THC, without checking whether the 0.2% rate had been exceeded, despite contradictory analyses by suppliers and retailers.

On this point, Maître Esther OUAKNINE, a Strasbourg lawyer representing the company, questioned the relevance of the Customs analyses. The defense provided several analyses showing that for a single sample, several were below 0.2% THC.

And the subject is an important one, since the Colmar Court of Appeal ruled that the legal limit was 0.2% of THC in the finished product. «Must be considered as constituting the legal element of the offences prosecuted for all goods whose THC content is higher than 0.2%» notes the decree, which enshrines an authorized limit of 0.2% of THC in products.

Making no distinction on the type of product, the Court also recalled that CBD does not constitute a narcotic product in accordance with the’Kanavape ruling by the European Court of Justice.

In the absence of intent, the Manager was released for the products exceeding this rate.

The manager says he is relieved by this decision, after so many years of uncertainty. He hopes to be able to «finally work in peace» and «stop being seen as a drug dealer».