France's Council of State has definitively lifted the ban on the sale of hemp flower and leaf loaded with cannabidiol (CBD), the non-psychotropic molecule of cannabis, overruling a government decision to ban it at the end of 2021.
On 30 December 2021, the French government authorised the sale of products containing CBD with a psychotropic THC content less than or equal to 0.3 percent, but at the same time banned the sale of hemp flowers and leaves.
However on Thursday, the Council of State – the body that advises the government on legislation and acts as a supreme court for administrative justice – ruled that a general and absolute ban on the marketing of the substance in its raw state was "disproportionate".
CBD flowers and leaves are presented like regular cannabis, generally in the form of a dried green plant ready to be crumbled and smoked.
But unlike traditional cannabis, which contains THC, CBD, which can already be sold in oil or herbal tea form, is no longer considered, even in its smokable form, as a psychotropic drug by the French justice system.
L'UPCBD a le plaisir de vous informer que le Conseil d’Etat a, par arrêt de ce jour, prononcé l’annulation de l’article 1er, II de l’arrêté du 30 décembre 2021, qui prévoyait l’interdiction de la vente des fleurs et feuilles brutes de chanvre sous toutes leurs formes. pic.twitter.com/r43roZrVET
— Union des professionnels du CBD (@UPCBDfr) December 29, 2022
Rapid testing
France's highest court ruled that the sale of CBD in leaf and flower form does not "create a risk to public health" that could justify its ban.
"The harmfulness of other molecules present in cannabis flowers and leaves, in particular CBD, has not been established," it maintained.
The council also argued that CBD has, according to scientific data, "relaxing properties and anticonvulsant effects, but does not have a psychotropic effect and does not cause dependence".
On the argument that it would be impossible for law enforcement officers to distinguish between plants with and without "narcotic properties," which would compromise the fight against drugs, the Council of State considered that the THC level "could be controlled by means of rapid tests."
Multimillion euro industry
According to CBD industry representatives the ruling now makes it possible to launch an economically sustainable hemp industry in France.
In November 2020, the European Court of Justice ruled that the ban on CBD in France, which was authorised in several other European countries, was illegal in the name of the principle of free movement of goods.
The Court of Cassation – the highest court in the French judiciary – followed suit, ruling last June that any CBD legally produced in the EU could be sold in France.
France has some 2,000 CBD shops, according to the professional hemp association (SPC), with the sector's annual turnover estimated at around €500 million, more than half of which is from flower alone.
