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France gives final go-ahead for medical cannabis testing programme

If the testing programme turns out to be a success, France could become the 23rd European country allowing medical use of cannabis.

Published: 16 October 2020 16:25 CEST
France gives final go-ahead for medical cannabis testing programme
A hemp plant growing in France. Photo: AFP

For two years, 3,000 patients in France will be able too legally use cannabis as treatment for their illnesses.

Set to last for a period of two years, the testing programme “authorises experimentation with the therapeutic use of cannabis in a controlled and limited setting with patients suffering from serious illnesses,” according to the government's website.

While it had been in the books for a long time, experiment first got the green light when the government published a decree in the Journal Officiel last week.

The two-year testing period will start as soon as the first medical prescription is made. The final deadline for to begin the programme is March 31st 2021.

What kind of illnesses does it concern?

Only patients suffering from serious illnesses will be included in the programme.

Illnesses concerned are those for which regular treatments either are inefficient or not efficient enough, such as epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and chronic pain.

The drug will also be experimented to fight secondary effects of chemotherapy and as palliative care.

France's ANSM medicines regulator outlined the groups of illnesses to reflect existing needs, and the goal is to see whether cannabis can be efficient where regular treatments are not.

Free of charge

The cannabis will be free of charge for the patients, covered by the businesses participating in the experiment.

The cannabis will be distributed in the form of pills, oils or dried flowers. Patients will not be allowed to smoke the cannabis.

Patient were informed about the possible side-effects of the drug.

Smoking still illegal

Smoking cannabis is still illegal in France, with a €200 fine if you get caught. 

The programme was voted through the French parliament in October 2019, and before that it had  already given the green light by France's ANSM medicines regulator.

Until now, only CBD cannabidiol, a cannabidoid found in cannabis, was allowed by the government. 

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HEALTH

Danish parties agree to raise abortion limit to 18 weeks

Denmark's government has struck a deal with four other parties to raise the point in a pregnancy from which a foetus can be aborted from 12 weeks to 18 weeks, in the first big change to Danish abortion law in 50 years.

Published: 3 May 2024 08:06 CEST
Danish parties agree to raise abortion limit to 18 weeks

The government struck the deal with the Socialist Left Party, the Red Green Alliance, the Social Liberal Party and the Alternative party, last week with the formal announcement made on Monday  

“In terms of health, there is no evidence for the current week limit, nor is there anything to suggest that there will be significantly more or later abortions by moving the week limit,” Sophie Løhde, Denmark’s Minister of the Interior and Health, said in a press release announcing the deal.

The move follows the recommendations of Denmark’s Ethics Council, which in September 2023 proposed raising the term limit, pointing out that Denmark had one of the most restrictive abortion laws in Western Europe. 

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Under the deal, the seven parties, together with the Liberal Alliance and the Conservatives, have also entered into an agreement to replace the five regional abortion bodies with a new national abortion board, which will be based in Aarhus. 

From July 1st, 2025, this new board will be able to grant permission for abortions after the 18th week of pregnancy if there are special considerations to take into account. 

The parties have also agreed to grant 15-17-year-olds the right to have an abortion without parental consent or permission from the abortion board.

Marie Bjerre, Denmark’s minister for Digitalization and Equality, said in the press release that this followed logically from the age of sexual consent, which is 15 years old in Denmark. 

“Choosing whether to have an abortion is a difficult situation, and I hope that young women would get the support of their parents. But if there is disagreement, it must ultimately be the young woman’s own decision whether she wants to be a mother,” she said. 

The bill will be tabled in parliament over the coming year with the changes then coming into force on June 1st, 2025.

The right to free abortion was introduced in Denmark in 1973. 

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