Cannabis law and legislation in China

The PRC Drugs Prohibition Law classifies "marijuana" - products from the plant Cannabis sativa that contain substantial amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) - as drugs and prohibits its use in any form. Additionally, the cultivation of drug-producing plants, including without limitation to cannabis, is generally illegal under PRC law. According to the PRC Criminal Law, such cultivated cannabis plants will be subject to compulsory eradication, and the offender shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment, detention or control, and shall be fined.

However, certain kinds of cannabis that do not contain substantial amounts of THC can be used as narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances. The following are listed in the new Catalogue of Non-Medical Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (2025 version): natural cannabis products, i.e., cannabis and cannabis resin, extracts and tinctures of cannabis, dronabinol, Δ9-THC (could be synthesized as well), and synthetic/semi-synthetic cannabinoids, i.e., parahexyl, tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ3-THC、Δ4-THC、Δ5-THC、Δ8-THC、Δ10-THC、exo-THC), hexahydrocannabinol.

Cannabis seed is included in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia to be used as traditional Chinese medicine to treat, e.g., blood problems and constipation.

The PRC Drugs Prohibition Law provides that the State shall exercise control over the cultivation of medicinal plants for narcotic drugs. It is prohibited to illicitly cultivate cannabis plants and other raw plants that can be used for the refining and processing of narcotic drugs and that are subject to State control. It is prohibited to smuggle or illegally trade in, transport, carry or possess seeds or seedlings of raw drug plants that have not been inactivated.

The PRC Drugs Prohibition Law further provides that enterprises that are designated by the State to cultivate the mother plants of narcotic drugs for medical use shall cultivate such plants according to relevant State regulations. The premises for extracting or processing narcotic drugs of the enterprises that are designated by the State to cultivate the mother plants of narcotic drugs for medical use and the warehouses established by the State for storing narcotic drugs shall be included in the list of the key places for security.

According to the PRC Criminal Law and PRC Drugs Prohibition Law, marijuana is a kind of drug (which can make people addictive) and it is forbidden to smuggle, traffic, transport, manufacture, or illegally possess drugs in the PRC. Any act of smuggling, trafficking, transporting, and manufacturing of drugs, regardless of the quantity, shall be held criminally liable and criminally punished. In the case of severe acts as defined in the PRC Criminal Law, the offender shall be sentenced to fifteen years' imprisonment, life imprisonment, or even the death penalty and confiscation of property.

It is prohibited to produce, import, or sell marijuana for recreational purpose in the PRC.

In terms of industrial use, the cultivation and processing of cannabis are under strict local  regulatory controls in the PRC.

Only hemp, among all kinds of cannabis, is allowed for industrial use in certain regions of the PRC, subject to applicable local regulations and licensing requirements. For regulatory purposes, industrial hemp is generally defined in relevant provincial regulations as a kind of cannabis with a THC content of less than 0.3 per cent, which means it does not have value for the extraction of the addictive ingredient or for direct consumption as a drug. In the PRC, hemp is mainly used as cloth material.

At present, the PRC limits the cultivation and processing of industrial hemp in two provinces, i.e. Yunnan and Heilongjiang Provinces, so that these two provinces have set relevant provisions in their respective Anti-Drug Regulations regarding hemp for industrial use. 

Entities and individuals that cultivate or process industrial hemp shall obtain relevant licenses. Although in practice, the cultivation and processing of industrial hemps can also be found in other provinces, such as Gansu Province, no relevant provincial regulation is available, which may probably trigger regulatory risks. 

Some national recommended standards related to hemp have also been enacted, such as national recommended standard Raw Hemp (GB/T 16984-2023) which came into effect on 1 March 2024 by the State Administration for Market Regulation and the Standardization Administration of the PRC. This standard applies to the quality grading of raw hemp, covering the requirements, inspection rules, packaging, marking, transportation and storage of raw hemp, and the corresponding test methods.

According to research, China is among the world’s major producer and exporter of hemp (for industrial use).

According to the Circular of the Ministry of Health on Further Regulating the Administration of Raw Materials for Health Foods (2002), hemp seed (i.e. industrial hemp seed) is listed as "materials used as both food and medicine." Traditionally, hemp seeds have been used and processed to produce hemp seed oil, hemp seed alcohol, hemp seed herbal tea and hemp seed porridge in China.

In the Catalogue of Used Cosmetic Raw Materials (2021 version, effective as of 1 May 2021), cannabis sativa leaf extract, cannabis sativa fruit, and cannabis sativa seed oil are included however it is proposed that these should be adjusted to be included as prohibited ingredients. In the Catalogue of Prohibited Plant (Animal) Raw Materials for Cosmetics (2021 version, effective as of 26 May 2021), apocynum cannabinum l, cannabis sativa fruit, cannabis sativa seed oil, and cannabis sativa leaf extract are already listed as prohibited plant raw materials. The Catalogue of Prohibited Cosmetic Ingredients (2021 version) further prohibits the use of cannabidiol.

Under the latest Catalogue of Used Cosmetic Raw Materials (2025 version, effective 23 June 2025), cannabis sativa leaf extract, cannabis sativa fruit, and cannabis sativa seed oil have been formally classified as prohibited ingredients.

Therefore, the use of cannabis-derived ingredients in cosmetics is now highly restricted in China, and most cannabis-related ingredients commonly used in overseas cosmetic products are prohibited. 

Hibiscus cannabinus stem powder is included in the Catalogue of Used Cosmetic Raw Materials (2025 version).

Since 1 January 2024, when applying for the registration of special cosmetics or filing of ordinary cosmetics, cosmetic registrants and filers shall, fill in the raw material safety information of all the raw materials used in the product formulations. This should be done by way of raw material safety information reporting code, which has been obtained by raw material manufacturers, or by way of submitting raw material safety related information materials. Therefore, for those cosmetics that cannot obtain such raw material safety information, they cannot be filed or registered in the PRC. Despite the above, such requirement is likely to be changed in near future. On 31 March 2026, the National Medical Products Administration of PRC solicited public comments on the Announcement on Matters Relating to Cosmetic Registration and Filing (Draft for Comments) provides that, when registering or filing cosmetic products, registrants and filers are no longer required to submit ingredient safety information for the raw materials used in the product. Instead, the relevant supporting documents must be retained by the enterprise for regulatory inspection.

PRC Patent Law provides that no patent right may be granted for any invention-creation that violates any law or public morality or harms public interest. Pursuant to this principle, if the invention is not contrary to the law, public morality, or does not harm public interest, then it is possible to obtain a patent. Therefore, cannabis-related inventions are not automatically excluded from patent protection. Patentability depends on the nature of the invention and its compliance with applicable laws and regulations. In practice, cannabis-related patents in China are primarily concentrated in the field of industrial hemp. 

According to Article 25 (4) of the PRC Patent Law, varieties of plants cannot be patented, but the process of production of a variety of plants can be patented.

The variety of plants is subject to the PRC Protection of New Variety of Plant Regulation. According to Article 14 of the PRC Protection of New Variety of Plant Regulation, if the plant is listed in the catalogues for the protection of new varieties of plants, it can be subject to registration. Currently, only hibiscus cannabinus L. is included in the catalogue of protection of new varieties of plants.

In 2018, the Jilin Provincial Government included the Jilin Provincial Anti-Drug Regulations in its legislative program of local laws and regulations, and made the "Management of Industrial Hemp" a separate chapter, stipulating the definition and nature of industrial hemp, as well as the breeding, cultivation, processing, and sales of industrial hemp. However, such content is not included in the final version of the Jilin Provincial Anti-Drug Regulations promulgated in 2022. In recent years, some other provinces in the PRC have been actively promoting the regulated development of the industrial hemp industry as well.

Additionally, on 25 August 2024, six departments, including the Ministry of Public Security and the National Medical Products Administration, issued an announcement concerning seven substances, including cannabidiol. The announcement stipulates that the production, operation, purchase, transportation, and import/export activities of these substances should comply with the regulations for non-pharmaceutical precursor chemicals, as outlined in the Regulations on the Administration of Precursor Chemicals. Furthermore, the announcement emphasizes that preclinical research on cannabidiol for medical purposes must also adhere to the provisions of the Regulations on the Administration of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.