France To Produce Its Own Medical Cannabis
The French government passed a decree that adds new provisions to the country’s health code allowing local businesses to cultivate cannabis and manufacture pharmaceuticals for 3,000 legal medical marijuana patients.
Up until now, cannabinoid products were only imported from Canada, Australia, Israel, and the UK since France lacked the necessary regulations to set up national production. Even now that the decree has been enacted, it only outlines conditions and provisions for the creation of the future industry.
A Committee to Hammer Out Details
The government has created a task force in the form of a scientific committee whose role is to adopt new regulations along the whole length of the supply chain. The committee consists of 11 members and had its first meeting on February 18.
The experts need to clarify various aspects of cultivation and manufacture. They will debate such issues as the identification of medical cannabis varieties, the permissible THC and CBD content, and the allowed methods of ingestion.
According to the language of the decree, the new industry will operate in accordance with EU Good Manufacture Practices — a strict set of rules that apply to the pharmaceutical industry. Most probably this means that the consumption of dried cannabis flowers will not be allowed.
The Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Continues to Operate
France has been allowing the use of cannabis-based medicine since 2013 but only for those patients for whom all traditional treatment methods have failed.
In 2020, the country announced a medical cannabis pilot program that was launched a year later and at the moment caters to about 3,000 patients. They all have severe conditions resistant to other pharmaceuticals and including epilepsy and intractable chronic pain. The program will be operational until March 2023.
The rates of cannabis consumption in France are among the highest in the European Union despite very strict laws. Simple possession can lead to a prison sentence and a heavy fine. This targets not only recreational smokers but also thousands of patients who don’t qualify to participate in the pilot program but could benefit from using medical cannabis.
