Reasons why the French CBD flower market is slipping

The ambiguous reaction to the decision of the Council of State of France by officials of various ministries and departments who are trying at the level of departmental regulations to impose restrictions on the sale of leaves and inflorescences of technical cannabis of a therapeutic orientation leads to the fact that in 2023 French hemp growers for the most part do not plan to cultivate plants rich in therapeutically active elements in order to sell them in CBD stores .

Historical aspect

By finally authorizing the sale of cannabidiol (CBD)-rich cannabidiol (CBD) therapeutic cannabis leaves and buds on December 29, 2022, the French Council of State has completed a long regulatory process in the country. France, which has banned the use and sale of technical hemp flowers since 1990, was called to order in November 2020 by the European Court of Justice in the name of the principle of free movement of goods. As early as 2021, French agricultural producers started growing therapeutic varieties of technical hemp in order to obtain leaves and inflorescences of plants rich in natural cannabidiol. However, at the end of 2021, immediately after the harvest, the government banned the sale of fresh flowers and leaves, while confirming the permission for the production and sale of vegetable cannabidiol. The State Council temporarily suspended the government measure in January 2022 until it was finally “buried” at the end of December 2022.

Realities of the French market

The absurdity was that, until recently, a paradoxical situation developed in the country, in which, on the one hand, sales of vegetable cannabidiol were legal in France, and on the other hand, it was illegal to sell raw materials rich in this drug-free cannabinoid. That is why the country's cannabis growers had to contrive in various ways in order to sell their products. For example, cannabidiol from the leaves and inflorescences of technical hemp for therapeutic purposes was sold in the form of extracts, mixed herbal teas, oils, as part of cosmetic products, etc. At the same time, hand-picked fresh leaves and buds, representing the biggest profit potential and the biggest market, were banned at the level of the current legislation.

That is why the "French Association of Cannabinoid Producers" (de l'Association française des producteurs de cannabinoïdes) estimates that more than 85% of plant-based cannabidiol sold in France is imported. The market is valued today at almost “€500 million, including €300 million for CBD-rich flowers and leaves and €200 million for extracts.” And despite the fact that "France is one of the European countries that consume the most natural cannabidiol and the demand for this drug-free cannabinoid is only increasing."

The fate of about 2,000 French CBD stores

According to the assessment of the head of the Cannabis Trade Union (Syndicat professionnel du chanvre) of France, Aurélien Delekroix, hemp infusions are a small commodity item in the sales assortment of cannabis specialty stores, but they account for more than 40% of their turnover. For approximately 2,000 French CBD stores, the “economic weight” of flowers and leaves rich in vegetable cannabidiol used as food or various supplements or for making tinctures is such that the survival of all the above companies working with CBD products in France depended on the decision of the Council of State .

Government officials are trying to impose restrictions on the sale of leaves and inflorescences of technical cannabis therapeutic focus

The decision of the Council of State, which provides an opportunity to sell the leaves and inflorescences of technical cannabis of a therapeutic orientation, caused a mixed reaction from a number of government agencies in France. Mr. Delecroix, for example, focuses on the reaction of the Interministerial Mission on Drugs and Addictive Behavior (Mission interministérielle de lutte contre les drogues et les conduites addictives) and claims that “Between the lines, we understand that the administration still intends to limit the commercialization CBD. However, in his opinion, the implementation of therapeutic technical cannabis improves the work of law enforcement agencies in the fight against drug trafficking, because it "takes consumers away from the drug market towards pure and legal medicinal products." Therefore, a significant part of the French cannabis growers are waiting for confirmation of the safety of work in the market exploiting the therapeutic properties of the leaves and buds of the therapeutic technical hemp in order to make sure that government officials will stop “working against [their] side to view natural CBD as a potential, not a risk.” ".

Commentary of the specialists of the Association “Ukrainian Industrial Hemp”

The ambiguity of the legal framework governing the legality of sales of therapeutic hemp leaves and inflorescences rich in natural cannabidiol, interpreted by various French government agencies in its own way, has already led to the fact that during 2020-2021. this segment of modern cannabis production in the country was “idle”. The ambiguous reaction to the decision of the Council of State of France by officials of various ministries and departments who are trying at the level of departmental regulations to impose restrictions on the sale of leaves and inflorescences of technical cannabis of a therapeutic orientation leads to the fact that in 2023 French hemp growers for the most part do not plan to cultivate plants rich in therapeutically active elements in order to sell them in CBD stores. They fear persecution “on formal grounds” by law enforcement agencies, which in the end will lead to nothing, but will take away resources and time from agricultural producers. That is why a small number of farmers who were engaged in this kind of activity in 2022 raised the sales price and today the cost of a gram of leaves and inflorescences of technical cannabis with a significant therapeutic potential in France reaches 6 euros.

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