It cannot be considered a narcotic, reports Konbini News agency.*
European justice rejected Thursday, November 19 the ban on cannabidiol (CBD) in France, stressing the harmlessness of this non-psychotropic cannabis molecule, a decision hailed as a “snub” by hemp followers and which whets appetites economic around this plant.*
Legal uncertainty persists around CBD in France, thanks to which the authorities have closed dozens of shops selling this “light cannabis”, without euphoric effect and prized for its relaxing properties.*
In a crucial judgment for players in the sector, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled that CBD has “no psychotropic effect or harmful effect on human health”, and that ‘it “cannot be considered a’ narcotic ‘”, nor as a medicine.*
A decision that should deprive many lawsuits in France of a legal basis and open up new perspectives for the European and French hemp industry.*
The Court considers products containing CBD – oils, herbal teas, chewing gum, cosmetics, etc. – as goods which must be able to move freely in the EU. “A Member State cannot prohibit the marketing of cannabidiol (CBD) legally produced in another Member State when it is extracted from the cannabis sativa plant [hemp, note] in its entirety”, according to the judgment.*
The CJEU thus agrees with two French pioneers of electronic cigarettes with CBD, Sébastien Béguerie and Antonin Cohen.*
The two Marseille entrepreneurs are being prosecuted for having launched Kanavape in 2014, based on an oil legally manufactured in the Czech Republic containing CBD extracted from all cannabis sativa, leaves and flowers included, while France only allows use seeds and fibers.*
After their first-instance sentences to 18 and 15 months’ suspended imprisonment, as well as a 10,000 euro fine, the case rose to European significance on appeal. In 2018, the Aix-en-Provence Court of Appeal sought the opinion of the CJEU on the compatibility of French regulations with those of the EU.*
In its response to the French judges, who have yet to rule on the merits, the European court considers that the ban on the marketing of CBD can only be adopted if the risk to public health invoked by France “appears to be sufficiently established”.*
“The biggest remains to be done”*
“It’s a huge relief, even if it’s not over yet,” Sébastien Béguerie told AFP from the Czech Republic, where he continues his activities related to CBD. This decision recognizes us as pioneers and before -guards, not like drug dealers. “*
“After such a persistence of the French state to kill this industry in the bud, it is a huge snub,” said his lawyer, Xavier Pizarro.*
By emphasizing that CBD does not have a harmful effect on health, as recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) since 2017, the CJEU is “forcing the hand” of French judges, he believes. He anticipates “releases by the shovel” in similar proceedings.*
“This is a very important stop for the CBD industry in Europe”, while “the European Commission seemed tempted by the idea of considering CBD as a narcotic,” said Eveline Van Keymeulen, Antonin’s lawyer Cohen.*
The scope of this decision “goes well beyond the Kanavape affair,” adds Yann Bisiou, president of the L630 association, which specializes in drug law.*
The judgment not only validates the importation into France of CBD from other European countries, but also “opens the doors of the market to Canadians, who are heavyweights in the cannabis industry” and will benefit from the treaty. free trade CETA to export.*
“For entrepreneurs who want to develop this market in France, this is an extremely positive signal,” said the president of the Professional Hemp Trade Union, Aurélien Delecroix, which lists some 300 shops selling CBD in France.*
“But the biggest remains to be done. The government must […] allow farmers to produce CBD”, he judges, stressing that France is “the first European producer of hemp”.*
On Twitter, the president of the parliamentary mission on cannabis, Jean-Baptiste Moreau, was quick to call for measures “to start the production of CBD in France”.*
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*** ndlr. : –.