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DRUGS

Cannabis: French high court ruling puts CBD products back on sale

France’s highest administrative court has temporarily overturned a ban on the sale of cannabidiol (CBD) flowers and leaves in France, less than a month after it was introduced by the government. This is just the latest stage in France’s convoluted history with cannabis.

A worker prepares CBD dried flower buds at a CBD cannabis production company.
A worker prepares CBD dried flower buds at a CBD cannabis production company. Photo: Fabrice Coffrini / AFP

A ministerial order had banned the sale of hemp flower and leaf loaded with CBD, from December 31st 2021 – but the Conseil d’Etat has provisionally overruled that decision, pending further examination of the order. 

CBD is derived from cannabis but contains none of the psychoactive compounds, such as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), found in cannabis that would make users “high”.

In its ruling, the court noted that the flowers and leaves of certain varieties of cannabis were “devoid of narcotic properties” and could therefore be marketed in France.

In a statement, the court said: “The interim judge … considers there is a serious doubt as to the legality of this general and absolute ban because of its disproportionate nature”.

But what does its decision actually mean?

READ ALSO The long and winding road towards changing France’s cannabis laws

Hemp flowers and leaves back on the market

A handful of sub-varieties of cannabis Sativa L, including so-called “industrial” hemp, are authorised for “cultivation, import, export and industrial and commercial use” in France, as specified in the ministerial decree of 30 December 2021, which nonetheless prohibited the sale of hemp in the form of raw leaves and flowers. 

These varieties contain a very low level of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), another active ingredient in cannabis, which has psychotropic effects. As long as the plant has a THC content of less than 0.3 percent, its leaves and flowers can be sold commercially. 

However, the rules for cultivation, sale and consumption remain unchanged. Only registered hemp growers are allowed to grow these strictly controlled plants and may only cultivate the varieties listed in the official French catalogue. 

The sale of hemp flowers and leaves is forbidden to under 18s, as a precaution as health authorities still admit to knowing little about CBD.

CBD-based products are also authorised, under certain conditions

Numerous CBD-based products such as resins, creams, oils, sweets or cereal bars were unaffected by the ministerial ban, which primarily targeted CBD for smoking – but tisaines and herbal teas were temporarily banned, as they could contain raw flowers or leaves.

Following the Conseil’s decision, the only requirement is that the finished CBD product must have a THC content of 0. As with leaves and flowers, the sale of these products is prohibited to minors. Most shops also advise against selling CBD to pregnant or breastfeeding women.

Importantly, producers and sellers cannot claim any therapeutic benefits of CBD, as the medical use of cannabis is only just being examined by France’s medicines authority, the Agence nationale de la sécurité du médicament (ANSM). 

READ ALSO Why CBD cannabis ‘health shops’ are blossoming all over France

High levels of THC remains illegal

The rest of the leaves, flowers, resins and products derived from cannabis with a THC content of more than 0.3 percent are considered as narcotics and their use, possession, sale or trafficking. 

Consumption is a criminal offence punishable by one year’s imprisonment and fines of up to €3,750. Growers and sellers risk up to 10 years in prison. 

By way of comparison with products sold legally, cannabis sold on the black market has an average THC content of 11 percent for weed and 26.5 percent for resin, according to the latest figures from the Observatoire français des drogues et des tendances addictives (OFDT).

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HEALTH

France extends medical cannabis trial for a year

The trial of medical cannabis in France has been extended until March 2024, the government has announced.

France extends medical cannabis trial for a year

The limited trial of cannabis for therapeutic use for patients with serious diseases had been due to end this month, having been authorised in France in October 2020. But the scheme has been extended until March 24th, 2024 as part of the government’s flagship Social Security law.

Orders published in the Journal Officiel specify the terms of participation for doctors and pharmacists in the experiment, as well as conditions of prior training and remuneration, specifications of cannabis-based medicines that can be used, and the conditions of their availability as well as the therapeutic indications or clinical situations in which they will be used.

READ ALSO The long and winding road towards changing France’s cannabis laws

Under the trial rules, medical cannabis’s use is limited prescription treatment for neuropathic pain, some drug-resistant forms of epilepsy, certain stubborn oncology symptoms related to cancer or cancer treatment, palliative situations and pathologies of the central nervous system including multiple sclerosis.

Recreational use of cannabis remains illegal in France, although the country has one of the highest rates of recreational cannabis use in Europe.

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