Since February 1, CBD consumption in Hong Kong has been subject to the same prosecution as heroin or cocaine. The government of the Chinese special administrative region considers the molecule, which has no psychoactive effects, to be a “hard drug”.
As a result of a law passed last June by the parliament of the former British colony, which came into force on Wednesday February 1, possession and consumption of CBD are now punishable by 7 years’ imprisonment and a fine of HK$1 million (around 117,000 euros). Offenders who produce or trade in the hemp molecule are liable to life imprisonment.
The decision also applies to foreign travellers carrying CBD products in their luggage. As the number of air passengers has risen sharply since the end of Beijing’s anti-Covid measures in January, Hong Kong’s customs service has announced that it will be stepping up checks with X-rays and ion scanners to detect any trace of CBD in the luggage of passengers disembarking in the independent territory of 7.5 million inhabitants.
This is a blow to the flourishing CBD industry, which has been booming in Hong Kong for the past two years. Stores selling cannabidiol have had no choice but to close down. Since the announcement of the measure in early summer 2022, more than 77,000 CBD-containing products have been handed over to the authorities.
