Medical cannabis in France: CSST work programme

Last month, the French National Agency for Medicines and Health Products Safety (ANSM) established a Temporary Specialized Scientific Committee (CSST) to study the issue of medical cannabis in France. The ANSM, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Health, is tasked with assessing the health risks of health products and medications intended for human use.

The medical use of cannabis was legalized in France in 2013, but it is still not available. The Sativex had received its Marketing Authorization (MA) but never made it to the shelves of pharmacies.

The committee’s conclusions will be decisive for the future of medical cannabis in France.

Committee Membership

The committee is composed of medical specialists from various medical fields such as pharmacology, oncology, neurology, cancer care, psychiatry, and pain management. It also includes experts in the humanities and medical ethics, as well as representatives from patient advocacy groups such as the National League Against Cancer, the Francophone Association for Pain Relief (AFVD), TRT-5 (AIDS Information Service), and the Union for the Fight Against Multiple Sclerosis (UNISEP).

Program

The Committee met for the first time yesterday. The agenda included an overview of the cannabis use in France, a review of the literature based on therapeutic indications, and an overview of French and international legislation on medical cannabis.

This program will continue in a future session on December 12.

These two sessions will focus on theoretical, scientific, and legal aspects. The Committee will not discuss socioeconomic issues. In total, it will meet three times, with a public hearing scheduled for November 12. The hearing will focus on testimony from patients and healthcare professionals. A recent poll had shown that the majority of healthcare professionals supported the therapeutic use of cannabis. The hearing will be transcribed live.

Upon completion of this program, the CSST, which is tasked with «assessing the relevance and feasibility of making medical cannabis available in France,» will present its preliminary findings by the end of the year. If it concludes that there is merit in implementing a medical cannabis program, it will then need to define its scope and propose the terms for its implementation on a national scale.