According to the results of an analysis that were published this week by Inserm and the University of Bordeaux, France’s medical cannabis experiment has yielded “positive” effects for program participants, including a reduction in the use of painkillers.

“Based on the limited sample studied in the experimentation of medical cannabis in France, the initiation of medical cannabis shows a positive, albeit low-intensity, impact on the use of care,” the researchers stated, according to local reporting by La Voix Du Nord.

“The publication of this document, which follows legal action by Uivec against the State, enriches the debate at a time when there is still considerable uncertainty about the potential generalization of cannabis-based treatments in France, the subject being currently under study by the High Authority for Health (HAS).” the outlet also reported.

The High Authority for Health is tasked with assessing whether France’s national health service should cover medical cannabis, but a full assessment by HAS is being held up by the delayed release of the text of regulatory decrees. France’s Ministry of Health confirmed to Agence France-Presse that publication of the text is expected next month.

According to a recent survey conducted by Norstat Institute on behalf of the patient association APAISER S&C and newspaper L’Hemicycle, 92% of survey respondents expressed support for the legalization of medical cannabis in France.

• 92% of respondents support the authorization of medical cannabis
• 72% want medical cannabis access for all conditions for which cannabis is scientifically proven to be effective at treating
• 82% consider it to be ‘problematic’ that medical cannabis access remains limited in France
• 79% consider that the ongoing public debate remains hampered by misconceptions
• 73% believe French authorities are not sufficiently taking patients’ suffering into account
• Only 11% believe medical cannabis’ effectiveness ‘remains too uncertain to justify its medical use’

“These results confirm what we have observed for several years: the general public has moved beyond taboos to focus on the well-being of patients. They now expect decision-makers to take responsibility and allow patients access to treatments that exist, that work, and that are currently denied to them.” says Mado Gilanton, President of APAISER S&C.

France is one of the largest cannabis markets in Europe, albeit almost entirely unregulated. An estimated 99.7% of France’s cannabis industry remains unregulated, resulting in a lot of profit potential going untapped by entrepreneurs and investors. With a national population of over 68 million people, a legalized cannabis industry in France has the potential to become one of the largest on the planet.

A previous market analysis conducted by Beau Whitney of Whitney Economics found that France ranks among the top three European markets for cannabis, with an overall potential market value of $8.3 billion, and that expanding medical cannabis access in France could reduce health care system expenditures by nearly $1 billion.

A separate study by an economic advisory board within the nation’s prime minister’s office determined that the French government spends roughly €570m annually on cannabis prohibition enforcement. The study recommended that France adopt adult-use cannabis legalization and launch a regulated recreational industry. Emmanuelle Auriol, a professor at the Toulouse School of Economics who authored the study’s report and findings, estimated that such a policy change could create as many as 80,000 new jobs and generate €2.8bn in annual tax revenue.