Elected representatives from New Caledonia request that CBD no longer be classified as a narcotic drug

The New Caledonian parties Avenir en confiance (AEC) and UC-FLNKS want to remove cannabidiol (CBD) from the list of narcotics in New Caledonia. Three requests to this effect have been submitted to Congress and the local government, along with a project to study the creation of a local hemp industry.

Stunning CBD since 2018

New Caledonia has chosen to classify the cannabidiol molecule on its list of narcotic substances in April 2018. At the time, the reason given for this classification remained rather sketchy and was based on CBD's psychoactivity, which provides its effects on the human body without, however, generating psychotropic effects.

The previous year, the World Health Organization indicated that that its consumption posed no risk to public health. And that CBD might have some therapeutic value, although at the time, further evidence seemed necessary.

«These additional proofs, says the AEC in a press release, recent studies carried out by various research laboratories corroborate the beneficial role of CBD in the treatment of epilepsy, as an immunosuppressant, and in the fight against addiction, particularly to THC or even cocaine».»

CBD is also legal in mainland France, with no restrictions other than the THC content of CBD-containing products, which must not exceed 0.3%.

«In order to put an end to the inequality of treatment that currently exists between Metropolitans and Caledonians in terms of access to CBD, and following the results of the latest scientific studies showing that CBD has no addictive potential, the government is asked to issue an order to remove CBD from the list of narcotic substances,» requests the text from the elected representatives.

A triple demand

L'Avenir en confiance and UC-FLNKS are obviously not asking for cannabis to be legalized in New Caledonia, but simply to open up the possibility of marketing hemp products containing CBD, such as herbal teas, oils and cosmetics. According to local sources, these products are already freely available in New Caledonia, but are liable to prosecution.

«It's a public health need,» explains Virginie Ruffenach, president of the AEC group, «and also a need for well-being, and to enable New Caledonians, like people from Metropolitan France, like Europeans, like Americans, like people from Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland... to have access to this product in New Caledonia».»

Three wishes were therefore submitted to the New Caledonian Government and Congress:

• remove CBD from the list of narcotics
• authorize the import of EU-certified products (excluding dried flowers) within the legislative framework applicable in mainland France, pending the establishment of a local production chain
• conduct a study to set up a local hemp industry, «The company's products are »intended for the production of textile fibers, building materials, CBD, etc.".