French Polynesia wants to know all about its local cannabis

French Polynesia wants to know everything about its «pakalolo», cannabis on Tahitian soil. This will soon be possible. The President of the local authority has just signed a by-law to authorize « l’import, export possession, extraction and processing of Indian hemp and preparations containing it or made from it. Cannabis sativa L. » by a scientist.

Edouard Suhas is a doctor in bio-organic chemistry at Institut Louis-Malardé. He is the lucky one. His experiment - the Pakalolo Phytochemical screening of seedlings cannabis from French Polynesia - will last three years. The researcher's goal will be to find the perfect Polynesian cannabis.

« What we're interested in is finding a plant that's as rich as possible in CBD and as low as possible in THC».», announces Edouard Suhas on Radio 1. For his boss, the director of the Institut Louis-Malardé, «It's these plants that we want to use to develop an industry in Polynesia».

Because if he finds this perfect cannabis, Polynesia will then be able to develop medical cannabis production. As we all know, high-dose CBD could be useful against epilepsy or even treating opioid dependence. Such a find « pou could be the vector of development a profitable economic sector for the region. French Polynesia», wrote the local authority president in his order.

Polynesia misses out on therapeutic cannabis trials

To study the different varieties of cannabis in the archipelago, the biochemist will use... plants seized by police officers. He will be able to possess up to « 500 grams per month». In his laboratory, he sifts through cannabis plants.

A little in the image of Strain Hunters, He will try to determine the qualities of the plants according to their origin. «Will Huahine's pakalolo have the same profile as that grown in the valleys of Tahiti or on the coral soil of the Tuamotus? »wonders Edouard Suhas. He will also analyze THC and CBD composition. Polynesians often boast of having a high paka with a high THC content.

The start of this scientific study is good news for French Polynesia. Indeed, this community was not included in the therapeutic cannabis experiment. present in mainland France since spring 2021, Unlike Reunion Island, which saw the arrival of the zamal therapeutic. Polynesia is an autonomous territory, where laws often differ from those in France. To reject this ban, the Economic, Social and Cultural Council of Polynesia had said at the time «not convinced» the merits of the experiment.