The Council of State lifts the ban
The French Council of State on Thursday annulled an order prohibiting the sale of cannabis flowers and leaves loaded with cannabidiol (CBD), thus authorizing the sale of CBD in France in all its existing forms. The institution considered that there are no established links between the consumption of these substances and the risks to public health.
A final decision
The Council of State definitively lifted this Thursday, December 29, the ban on the sale of hemp flower and leaf loaded with cannabidiol (CBD), the non-psychotropic molecule of cannabis, thus breaking the bank of the French Government, which had prohibited it until late of 2021.
Simultaneous authorization and prohibition
On December 30, 2021, the Government had authorized, through an inter-ministerial decree, the sale of products containing CBD with a THC content (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychotropic molecule) less than or equal to 0.3%, but at At the same time, it prohibited the sale of flowers and leaves of this same cannabis with a very low THC content.
Contacted by the AFP press agency, the Interministerial Mission to Fight Drugs and Drug Addiction (Mildeca) did not want to react immediately.
The argument of the Council of State
The Council of State ruled that a general and absolute ban on the marketing of this substance in its raw state was “disproportionate”. CBD flowers and leaves come just like regular cannabis, usually in the form of a dried green plant ready to be crumbled and smoked.
But unlike traditional cannabis, which contains THC, CBD, which can now be sold in the form of oil or infusion, is no longer considered, even in its smokable form, as a psychotropic drug by French Justice.
No risk to public health
The highest French court ruled in its ruling that the sale of CBD in the form of leaves and flowers does not “create a risk to public health” that could justify its ban. “At the state of scientific data, the harmfulness of other molecules present in cannabis flowers and leaves, in particular CBD, has not been established.”
The State Council further argues that CBD has, according to scientific data, “relaxing and anticonvulsant properties, but it has no psychotropic effect and does not cause dependence.”
Control of THC level
On the argument that it would be impossible for law enforcement agencies to distinguish between plants with and without “narcotic properties” in the event of control, which would compromise the anti-drug fight, the Council of State considered that the level of THC “could be controlled by rapid tests “.
Boost to the hemp industry
By definitively ruling on the legal uncertainty surrounding this substance, which began to be introduced in France in 2014, the Council of State allows the launch of an economically sustainable hemp industry in France, according to representatives of the sector.
Recognition at European level
In November 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that France’s CBD ban, authorized in several other European countries, was illegal in the name of the principle of free movement of goods. The Court of Cassation, France’s highest judicial body, followed suit and ruled in June that any CBD legally produced in the EU could be sold in France.
“This new legal victory strengthens our position and, above all, will allow an entire sector to develop with the necessary visibility,” the hemp trade association, one of the plaintiffs, told AFP.
Sector growth
France had about 2,000 CBD stores at the end of 2022, according to the hemp professional association (SPC). The unions estimate that the sector’s turnover amounts to 500 million euros, more than half of which corresponds only to the flower.
Fuente original
This article was adapted from its original French version.
