IARC registers the «Cannabistrot®» trademark in Europe

After several unsuccessful attempts in France during the 1990s, the Collectif d’Information et de Recherche Cannabique (CIRC), a group of pro-legalization activists, successfully registered the trademark «Cannabistrot®.» The trademark was registered with the European Union Intellectual Property Office. This trademark registration ensures that the name «cannabistrot» will not be used by private commercial ventures that do not align with the CIRC’s ethical and community-based vision of a retail cannabis outlet.

France is opposed to the idea

This is not the first time the CIRC has attempted to register this trademark. It has been rejected several times by the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) on the grounds of «offending public decency.» According to KShoo, the federal spokesperson, this rejection is linked to Section L 3421-4 of the Public Health Code which criminalizes the portrayal of drug use or trafficking in a favorable light and which the IARC has long sought to have repealed. This article, popularly referred to as the “incitement” provision, is, according to activists, a pretext for quashing anything that would undermine the very idea of prohibition and stifling debate.

After the CIRC’s repeated failures to register the trademark with the INPI, the collective decided to change its strategy and take the initiative to the European level. This is a legal strategy increasingly used by cannabis activists and entrepreneurs to circumvent French regulations, given that European law does not include the concept of incitement and is much more permissive. The strategy has borne fruit, as the trademark has been successfully registered and France is now required to recognize its validity.

However, because the trademark concept fundamentally involves the cannabis trade, it cannot be used within France’s current prohibitionist framework. That framework is, however, likely to change within 10 years (the trademark’s term of validity). Once these 10 years have elapsed, the trademark may be renewed, but renewal is subject to a requirement that it be actively used. In the meantime, it may be used in Europe, but this requires a French-speaking country where the recreational sale of cannabis is legal or tolerated. like Luxembourg and, above all, an operator who shares the CIRC’s vision for a cannabis bar.

The "cannabistrot" as envisioned by the CIRC

For the CIRC, which upholds a tradition of libertarian and anti-capitalist thought, the goal is to limit commercialism and the pursuit of profit. Cannabistros must be organized as associations or cooperatives and adhere to ecological and fair-trade principles. Ideally, these venues will be nonprofit: «There would be no private profits; instead, all proceeds would be reinvested in the facility, its activities, and prevention efforts. There would be no alcohol, no other «drugs» available, just information about the products on hand and advice on safer use, with vaporizers provided.».

The idea is that cannabistros would be welcoming places where people could share a joint with friends while having a bite to eat, playing board games, or simply chatting. The term is already used in everyday language, sometimes to refer to a slightly different—or even commercial—concept. But if cannabistros were to emerge in France, this trademark registration would ensure that they align with this specific social reality and not merely function as retail stores. Otherwise, such stores would have to be called by a different name.