Kanavape: proceedings suspended and referral to the European Court of Justice

We left the Kanavape affair the decision to appeal the court's decision of Marseille, namely the 18- and 15-month suspended sentences handed down to the two founders of France's first CBD e-cigarette.

A landmark decision: yesterday, the Aix Court of Appeal ruled in favor of the preliminary question put by Ingrid Metton, lawyer for Sébastien Béguerie, one of the two founders.

In short, the French legal proceedings have been suspended, and the case referred to the European Court of Justice (CJEU), which will be responsible for ruling on the conformity of French drug law with the principle of the free movement of goods.

What are the consequences of this decision? The main protagonists in this case tell us.

Ingrid Metton, Sébastien Béguerie's lawyer

Newsweed: Is the Aix Court of Appeal's decision a cause for celebration?

Ingrid Metton: Of course! This is the first time that a French court has referred a point of law relating to hemp to the CJEU. For months, I've been telling French authorities, prosecutors, police and customs officers that French law violates European law. They rejected this argument out of hand. Today, they can no longer turn a deaf ear.

EU law places no restrictions on the part of the plant that can be exploited and marketed, and the free movement of goods already protects trade in products containing hemp extract as long as the THC content is below 0.2%.

N: What repercussions might the European ruling have for France?

IM: France will now have to justify the restrictions imposed under French law to the European Union. The cultivation, import, export, industrial and commercial use of industrial hemp is limited to fiber and seed. French law constitutes a derogation from European law, and EU member states cannot restrict free movement and the common market as they see fit. There are rules that apply to everyone!

If the CJEU recognizes that French law is in contradiction with European law, the judge will have to set aside French law in favor of European rules.

Eventually, France will have to amend its legislation.

N: Does France have a sword of Damocles hanging over its head?

IM: Yes. I hope that our leaders will have the courage to change French legislation before they are condemned by the Court of Justice.

An umpteenth condemnation of France would be truly disastrous for our country's image.

N: What does this have to do with the numerous cases involving CBD cannabis in France?

IM: All the lawsuits brought by CBD entrepreneurs are based on the decree of August 22, 1990. However, it is this decree that the judges at the Cour d'Aix-en-Provence consider to be contrary to European law.

All other procedures will see their legal foundations shaken.

N: How will the Kanavape judgment progress following the CJEU ruling?

IM: For the time being, the Court of Appeal has stayed its ruling on the whole case, i.e. its decision is suspended until the European Court of Justice has made its ruling.
Once the decision has been handed down, the judges will decide on the case as a whole.

We already know that Mr. Béguerie will not be re-convicted on therapeutic grounds. Despite a sentence waiver in 2015 for the therapeutic use of cannabis, the Marseille court had convicted Sébastien in the Kanavape case for his therapeutic use. The Prosecutor asked the Court not to retain this prosecution, which is a first victory.

Sébastien Béguerie, co-founder of Kanavape

For his part, Sébastien Béguerie, who has since become CEO of Alphacat, a company specializing in CBD-derived products, hails the courageous decision of the court's judges, who stand as a bulwark against the unjustified harassment of him and a product that pioneered the CBD market in France and Europe back in 2014. It also hopes that this unprecedented decision will put an end to the proliferation of legal proceedings targeting CBD players in France.

Sébastien Béguerie is delighted: «  The green wave of CBD in France has become an inescapable economic and scientific reality. What has happened to me following the decision of the Aix-en-Provence Court of Appeal is historic for the future of the cannabis industry in France. It's a first victory for me, as a CBD entrepreneur, and for the industry! I now expect the government to rise to the occasion and put in place positive regulatory measures, so that this market can finally become healthy and prosperous. ».