Patriotism or pragmatism of French consumers of medical cannabis
French growers are actively working to
ensure that government officials prepare an appropriate regulatory framework
that creates favorable conditions for national companies to operate in a high-
margin market that exploits the therapeutic properties of the hemp plant.
The editors of the specialized electronic
edition of national cannabis growers have more than once focused the attention
of our respected readers and listeners on the fact that in economically
developed countries of the world, issues related to amendments to legislation
aimed at regulating the possibility of the widespread use of medical cannabis
are considered based on the results of data obtained during the specialized
pilot programs. We have already focused on the fact that “ Denmark is extending a
pilot program aimed at studying the need for the use of therapeutic properties
of cannabis ”, described “ Peculiarities of the
“launch” of medical cannabis cultivation in France ”. Considering the success of the national cannabis industry in the field
of application of the therapeutic properties of the hemp plant, as well as in
search of the arguments put forward by our foreign colleagues to the officials
of their countries for the preparation of a legal framework regulating the
possibility of treatment / rehabilitation with the leaves and inflorescences of
hemp rattany, the most informative are the arguments put forward by
representatives of the profile association participating in a French pilot
program to explore the therapeutic possibilities of medical cannabis.
In an analytical note sent to the deputies
of the French Parliament by the association “ Santé France Cannabis ” (SFC)
recommends “scheduling a deferral” of regulation for the use of medical
cannabis in the country for one year. The document prepared by the SFC was
presented in the French Parliament on September 26 in order to initiate a
discussion on this issue, including in order to demonstrate the shortcomings
identified during the pilot project.
The paper prepared by the SFC proposes to
postpone the scaling up from the local to the national level of the ongoing
pilot project for one year in order to give the country's cannabis sector the
time it needs to prepare for changes to the current legislation. There are
concerns that "the widespread use of foreign hemp raw materials rich in
therapeutically active elements or the expansion of the halo of conducting
experiments in the current conditions will be favorable primarily for foreign
companies to the detriment of French hemp growing." SFC specialists
emphasize that the expansion of the halo and the number of participants in the
pilot program will lead to the fact that they will no longer receive
therapeutically active hemp raw materials for free.
According to the SFC, in the event that
the use of medical cannabis is regulated after the end of the pilot project,
from April 2023, the supply of consumers and patients will be mainly based on
imported raw materials. Despite the fact that several national companies are
already operating in this segment of modern cannabis production in France (for
example, “ Alkion BioInnovations ”), however, they will not yet be able to
create serious competition for products that will be imported into the country,
preventing the development of this segment of the French cannabis industry.
Commentary of the specialists of the
Association “Ukrainian Industrial Hemp”
“ Sante France Cannabis ” is an
association that brings together representatives of the emerging sector of
medical cannabis consumers in France. The SFC is supporting a pilot program to
explore the possibilities of using medical cannabis.
A pilot project to use the therapeutic
properties of the hemp plant in France is due to end in March 2023. As a result
of its implementation, one of the following decisions should be made:
- regulation of the legal use of medical
cannabis;
- initiation of the second pilot project;
- refusal to regulate the possibility of
widespread use of medical cannabis.
In France, the cultivation, import, export, as well as the industrial and commercial use of technical cannabis for therapeutic purposes is now possible . That is why French growers are actively working to ensure that government officials prepare an appropriate regulatory framework that creates favorable conditions for national companies to operate in a high- margin market that exploits the therapeutic properties of the hemp plant. One of the manifestations of this kind of patriotism or pragmatism is the SFC initiative.
