France Expected To Take Key Step Towards Authorizing Medical Cannabis
Policymakers in France are reportedly expected to make a meaningful step towards authorizing cannabis production and dispersal for medical use, beyond the current limited medical cannabis pilot trial.
“According to our information, the two decrees governing the specifications of cannabis-based medicinal products for medical use and the safety of their production are in the process of being notified to the European Commission (EC). This notification, via the TRIS procedure, constitutes an essential regulatory step before the integration of medical cannabis into common law.” reported Newsweed in its local coverage.
“Following this notification, a three-month standstill period begins, allowing the Commission and other Member States to examine the texts and issue observations.” excerpts from Newsweed’s report stated. “In the absence of any major objections, medical cannabis regulations in France could therefore be validated by Europe after this period. The decrees will then have to be signed by the executive to come into force.”
As of 2022, the European Union Drugs Agency estimated that France had the greatest cannabis consumption rate of any of its member nations, with a reported 10.6% of France’s population having consumed cannabis at least once within the last year.
Health authorities in France announced late last year that the nation’s medical cannabis trial experiment will be extended until July 31st, 2025. The announcement was welcomed news to the reported 1,800 suffering patients estimated to be currently participating in the trial.
The French medical cannabis experiment received initial approval from the federal Senate back in 2019, however, the launch of the trial was delayed until the spring of 2021 due to various reasons. Initially slated for two years, France’s medical cannabis experiment was eventually granted a one-year extension and was set to end in 2024 before receiving the latest extension pushing the estimated end of the trial to the summer of 2025.
According to a recent newsletter sent out by international cannabis economist Beau Whitney of Whitney Economics, France is home to the largest total addressable cannabis market in the European Union with a value of $11.3 billion (midpoint).
A previous 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 taxes annually.