UPCBD speaks out against arbitrary THC detection thresholds at the wheel

The syndicate of CBD professionals has taken the matter to the Conseil d'État to question the validity of saliva tests, the latest iteration of which dates back to 2016. That year, the government generalized roadside saliva testing and reduced to very low levels, A decree sets the detection thresholds for different drugs at a few nanograms (1ng/mL for cannabis).

«We believe that the detection thresholds have been set arbitrarily and are not based on any scientific reference,» explains Antonin Blaise, elected to the board of directors of the Union des professionnels du CBD (UPCBD), to The New Republic.

Since 2016, CBD products have been on the market, containing up to 0.3% of THC. A consumer of CBD products, in flowers for example, may therefore be positive for THC several hours after consumption without being under the effect of THC, present in minute quantities in CBD flowers but sufficient to make a test positive.

A Swiss study published in Forensic Sciences Research,  also revealed that CBD-dominant cannabis, legal in Switzerland up to 1% of THC, has no impact on driving ability.

«These products have no psychotropic effect and do not pose any particular risk to road safety,» says UPCBD.

The UPCBD has therefore decided to contest the conditions under which the decree was issued, since no scientific opinion, although mandatory, was given before the decree was published. The Union is also contesting the’effectiveness of these screening tests which, as we saw in the case of Senator Guerriau, gave different results depending on the tests used. The senator from Loire-Atlantique tested positive for all drugs in the urine test, negative for everything in the blood test and positive for ecstasy in the hair test.

The UPCBD is therefore calling for the decree to be rescinded, or at the very least amended, so that consumers of legal products that do not pose a risk to road safety are no longer penalized.

The Conseil d'Etat will examine this appeal on Wednesday November 29 at 2pm, with a decision expected in the following weeks.