Towards the legalization of medical cannabis in France by mid-2024?

During a progress briefing held last Friday by the General Directorate of Health (DGS) for interested stakeholders, health authorities committed to moving toward the widespread adoption of medical cannabis in France.

A summary of the experiment's procedure and its extension, the DGS presented several scenarios for winding down the «experiment,» as well as the various work items that will need to be addressed and finalized to achieve this.

The DGS hopes to begin the process of incorporating the results of the pilot program into the 2024 Social Security Financing Bill (PLFSS) as early as June.

At the same time, the various regulations related to the cultivation of medical cannabis will need to be finalized and then notified at the European level. They will complement the existing decree.

Finally, the regulatory status of cannabis-based medical products will need to be determined, with various options on the table (with or without marketing authorization, the creation of an intermediate status, etc.), but with a commitment not to strictly restrict access to these types of products.

Additional meetings are planned, in particular to address specific issues related to the establishment of a medical cannabis production sector in France.

No questioning of failures

The DGS quickly dismissed the issue of out-of-stock items for most products currently being issued as part of the medical cannabis pilot program, attributing this to unsuccessful calls for bids.

It’s worth noting, however, that the DGS has not begun the necessary work the widespread adoption of medical cannabis during the two-year duration of the first phase. Faced with an involuntary extension of the program—since widespread adoption had not been anticipated—an initial call for bids was issued to continue supplying medications to patients.

While Numerous alerts had been sent to the DGS, the main laboratory that supplied 60% products did not respond to this request for proposals, considering the financial burden too great after two years of supplying their products free of charge. A The second call for bids is currently underway to provide the first missing product and potentially the second.

Caution but kindness

Several people present at the meeting expressed their surprise at the commitment to ending the pilot program. This point had never really been formally decided, but it is now on the minds of health authorities.

And even though many details are still missing to envision a future French cannabis production sector for therapeutic purposes, the communication strategy put in place by the DGS is «encouraging for industry stakeholders,» we’re told.