Medical cannabis experiment may not lead to legalization

There was hope among the sick. They will have to be patient. According to our information, the experimentation of medical cannabis, who will finish in March 2023, could not lead to the legalization of medical cannabis in France.

Instead, a second experiment with a budget and duration currently undetermined. With a major difference compared to the first: cannabis-based medical products would be paid to suppliers this time, and also not provided free of charge.

The National Agency for Health and Medicine, which refers to the General Directorate of Health (DGS) for any requests regarding the follow-up of events, has already asked current suppliers for a price list to estimate the cost of the second trial, a source close to the matter confirms.

Since the sums calculated are particularly high, the Agency would also be forced to launch a call for tenders, mandatory as soon as the amount of a public contract exceeds €40,000 (or €100,000 for innovative products). The supply of medical cannabis could therefore be opened up to companies that are not currently part of the experiment. This obligation was avoided during the first experiment, as medical cannabis was supplied free of charge. The ANSM therefore benefited from greater freedom to choose suppliers at its discretion.

On the side of current experimentation, the inclusions have finally been extended until December 26th. Early July, 1,226 patients were included in the trial out of the 3,000 spots available. 540 patients have left the trial since its launch, including 186 due to adverse effects and 200 due to treatment ineffectiveness.

A report, conducted by an external entity, will be submitted to Parliament on September 26, six months before the end of the trial, and will assess the program based on the data collected.

Nicolas Authier, president of the temporary scientific committee for monitoring the experiment of cannabis for medical use, is not commenting on the potential continuation of the experiment. However, he confirms that «the decisions are now political and will take place in the coming weeks because the continuation (from April 2023) will need to be incorporated into the PLFSS2023,» the Social Security Financing Bill which sets the state's annual healthcare spending.

From there to concluding that allocating a budget to treat the sick, especially with cannabis, is the only reason preventing its widespread use, is a small step.

Nicolas Authier also explains to us that two major points remain to be settled:

• the status of these products (ad hoc, in this case to be incorporated into the public health code, or magistral preparation)
• whether or not reimbursed by health insurance

When questioned by us, the DGS has not yet responded to our requests for clarification.