Thanks to legislative changes and a weird legal loophole, low-THC cannabis flower has been quietly available for sale in Belgium since April – and it’s totally legal.
In Belgian law, cannabis plants with more than 0.2% THC are outlawed – however, dried hemp flower with a limit of 0.2% THC can legally be sold, prompting hundreds of ‘legal cannabis’ stores to pop up over the last year. The laws vary from country to country on CBD, hemp and medical cannabis and guide to CBD laws worldwide is a great help for business and consumers.
Thanks to CBD’s rapidly growing popularity among consumers, the Belgian Finance Department saw an opportunity for significant income if taxed. Since April 2019, dried hemp flower has been legalised and taxed the same as tobacco products, with a rate of 31.5% with 21% value-added tax (VAT).
Despite the fact that industrial hemp is legal across the EU, Belgium is now the only EU country with clear legislative guidelines for selling dried hemp flower legally. Luxembourg is expected to follow suit with their own regulations on December 1st.
While dried hemp flower is now readily available from Belgian tobacconists, edible CBD products remain prohibited in Belgium. This is in stark contrast to neighbouring laws in the UK, where hemp flower is treated like cannabis while CBD edibles are available in high street health food shops.
