2026 Finance Bill: what the text provides for the hemp wellness sector

• October 17 2025, by Terry Esteve
• 4 min reading time

🌿 Introduction

The 2026 Finance Bill (PLF 2026) is causing serious concern throughout the French hemp wellness and CBD sector. Behind the stated intentions of regulation and tax control, this legislation could profoundly transform—or even weaken—thousands of small-scale, artisanal, and agricultural businesses committed to a responsible plant-based economy.

At Herbeevor , we have analyzed the main points of the project to understand its real impacts on the ground, and the possible avenues for adaptation for conscious actors.

⚖️ 1. What does the 2026 Finance Bill contain?

The government is introducing a specific tax (excise duty) on CBD-containing products “likely to be smoked” : flowers, resins, e-liquids.
These products would be considered similar to tobacco products, leading to:

• a consumption tax (like on cigarettes),

• a limitation of sales to authorized establishments (mainly tobacconists),

• a strengthening of customs and health controls .

Meanwhile, the text remains vague on the status of non-smoking products: infusions, oils, cosmetics or foods enriched with hemp.
This grey area creates a climate of uncertainty for brands that, like Herbeevor, have been committed for several years to a legal and transparent positioning.

📉 2. Who is actually impacted?

The measure directly affects:

• Independent specialist shops (physical and online) that risk exclusion from the market.

• French hemp producers , who would see their markets plummet.

• Consumers , for whom access to quality and traceable products would become more difficult.

In other words, the 2026 Finance Bill primarily threatens virtuous actors , in favor of a near-monopoly of tobacco distribution channels.

💡 3. Expected adverse effects

The legislator's intention — to regulate and tax — may seem logical.
But in practice, this approach could:

• to push part of the market towards undeclared or foreign channels;

• penalize traceability ;

• and reduce the competitiveness of French companies in the face of European imports.

In other words: the risk of an effect opposite to that sought — more opacity, less security, and tax losses for the State.

🌱 4. Alternatives for intelligent regulation

An effective reform should:

• clearly distinguish between smokable products and products for food, cosmetic or botanical use .

• maintain an open and regulated distribution ,

• encourage local brands to adopt certified quality standards (analyses, traceability, made in France) ,

• create a national trust label rather than an arbitrary ban.

🧭 5. How responsible actors can adapt

Herbeevor is one of the companies that are reinventing themselves.
Our strategy:

• gradually eliminate combustible products

• accelerate the development of food and botanical product ranges (infusions, superfoods, natural care),

• strengthen our local roots through sponsorship and producer partnerships.

The objective: to anticipate the market's transformation, without abandoning our mission: to reconcile nature, quality and conscience .

💬 Conclusion

The 2026 Finance Bill is a pivotal step.
Rather than being a hindrance, it can become an opportunity to rethink the sector:
Greener, healthier, more sustainable.
But only if the regulation distinguishes between responsible actors and opportunistic traders.

At Herbeevor, we will continue to defend this vision: that of useful, clean and sustainable hemp, serving well-being and the local economy.

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