France: Creation of a fact-finding mission on the different uses of cannabis

The request had been made last March on the initiative of Jean-Baptiste Moreau: the fact-finding mission on cannabis will go ahead.

MP Moreau announced this morning at a symposium he was organizing with the support of the Syndicat Professionnel du Chanvre the creation of a parliamentary information mission on the uses of cannabis. The request originally concerned hemp for well-being only, but has since been extended to all uses of hemp: therapeutic, well-being and recreational. Industrial uses are already authorized, and France is the European leader in this field.

These include putting an end to the vagueness surrounding CBD products derived from hemp, imagining a structured and secure industry for both CBD and the possible future production of medical cannabis in France, and laying the foundations for a longer-term reflection on the legalization of cannabis in France, with the campaign issues of the next presidential campaign in mind.

The mission will be launched in September with four National Assembly committees: the Law Committee, the Sustainable Development Committee, the Social Affairs Committee and the Economic Affairs Committee.

«This is unprecedented», stressed Yaël Braun-Pivet (LREM), chairwoman of the Law Commission, at the close of the symposium. The four committee chairmen emphasized the various health, security, economic and agricultural issues surrounding cannabis use and hemp production.

✅Announcement of the creation of a mission on the uses of cannabis led by the Law, Social Affairs, Sustainable Development and Economic Affairs commissions

➡️Objectif: working together over a long period of time to ensure a calm, in-depth and objective debate pic.twitter.com/TFvHJaon2h

- Yaël Braun-Pivet (@YaelBRAUNPIVET) July 11, 2019

Lasting about a year, «the mission will not be carried out in a dogmatic way, but with experts from all walks of life», said Ludovic Mendes MP (LREM), who advocates relaxing the legal framework around CBD. «Once we've finished this fact-finding mission, we'll have some ideas for reworking the legislation,» said Barbara Pompili (LREM), chairwoman of the Sustainable Development Committee, lamenting that the cannabis debate had been «governed by taboo». «We don't have an agenda. There are no written conclusions,» added Roland Lescure, chairman of the Economic Affairs Commission (LREM).

For his part, Aurélien Delecroix, President of the Syndicat Professionnel du Chanvre, welcomes the decision: «We see the creation of this parliamentary information mission as genuine political support in favor of patient access to therapeutic cannabis and the development of a French hemp wellness industry. I welcome the initiative of the deputies, which will enable us to assess and debate the issues involved, while at the same time giving a real political boost.

On the therapeutic side, the’ANSM has just validated the CSS recommendationsT for an experiment to be launched by the end of the year. This mission will provide an opportunity to support this experiment, to continue the work already underway to facilitate patient access to therapeutic cannabis, and to lay the foundations for the future of the therapeutic cannabis industry in France.

As far as wellness hemp is concerned, we hope that the hearings will highlight and confirm the urgent need to clarify the regulatory framework in order to open up new outlets for our farmers and entrepreneurs - and so avoid falling further behind many other countries.»