Medical cannabis: Towards a legislative postponement?
Another year of patience before the legalization of therapeutic cannabis?
Many patients had begun to hope for something that, only a few years ago, seemed like a fantasy. However, they will have to be even more patient. The experiment, which is scheduled to conclude in March 2023, is unlikely to lead to the legalization of medical cannabis in France.
As a reminder, at the beginning of July, 1226 patients were included in the experiment, although 3000 places were available. Since then, 540 patients have decided to abandon the experiment. Among these, 200 cited the ineffectiveness of the treatment as the reason. And 186 due to adverse effects.
A report was presented to Parliament on September 26. Produced by an independent actor, its purpose is to interpret the collected data and draw conclusions about the scheme.
The therapeutic cannabis experiment ends in March 2023, which leaves three options to choose from: the first would be to legalize medical cannabis immediately, the second to order a new experiment, and the third to definitively stop the process.
For now, extending the medical cannabis experiment seems to be favored by the various stakeholders in the sector. A version confirmed by Santé France Cannabis.
"National stakeholders gathered within "Santé France Cannabis" propose – as some public decision-makers are considering – to postpone for one year to give the sector the necessary time to organize itself," reads the note produced by the group.
The conditions for the legalization of medical cannabis do not seem to be met for now
To support its argument, Santé France Cannabis states that it fears "that the generalization of the use of these medicines or the extension of the experiment will not, under current conditions, be favorable to foreign actors to the detriment of the French sector." A pitfall that Santé France Cannabis and public authorities want to avoid at all costs, as sovereignty seems to be a priority in case of a green light.
Assuming medical cannabis is authorized from the second half of 2023: the supply of raw materials and products would partly come from foreign suppliers.
To date, in France, cultivating cannabis for therapeutic use has been legal since March 1, 2022 after the publication of a decree regulating it.
Producing cannabis flowers can only be done in an R&D context as of this writing.
However, some French medical cannabis companies have started extraction work. This is the case for LaFleur and Alkion BioInnovations, among others.
In an interview from November 2021, Franck Milone, president of LaFleur, did not beat around the bush when revealing his ambition: "To become the leader in cannabis-based medicines." Today, he believes that "we need to accelerate and give French companies the opportunity to develop and market their products."
Information is scarce, and it is difficult to predict with certainty the outcome of this experiment. A few more months of patience, and all stakeholders in the sector will know for sure. Officially.
