Marketed in the form of dried flowers, oils, cosmetic creams, e-liquids, or even drinks or chewing gums, CBD-based products, otherwise called “well-being cannabis”, only contain a tiny percentage of THC (less than 0.3%). They are, therefore, authorized and promise relaxing effects but are not allowed to claim therapeutic virtues.
The French CBD market, which did not exist before 2017, is today estimated at several hundred million euros. In addition to specific “corners” in pharmacies, department stores and supermarkets, these products can be found in several thousand specialized stores in France. But the path of the rays has been punctuated with pitfalls. France fearing confusion with recreational cannabis, the legal status of this “well-being” cannabis has been complicated to define, it has even constituted, in recent years, an issue of jurisprudence, generating regulatory reversals quite confusing for the sector. .
Thus, if the first “CBD shops” opened their doors at the end of 2017, a large number of them were raided and closed in 2018, and their managers placed in police custody for “possession, acquisition, offer and transfer of narcotics “.
In view of its legislation, France refused at the time to allow hemp flowers and leaves as well as derived products containing the slightest trace of THC, even in trace quantities, to be marketed. In November 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled this ban illegal and reaffirmed that CBD was not narcotic.
Legal hazards
A new twist of events surprises the industry, barely recovered from this episode, at the end of 2021: this time arguing that CBD flowers can be confused with psychotropic cannabis flowers without law enforcement being able to tell the difference, the The executive decides to prohibit its sale. Seized by professionals in the sector, the Council of State suspended, then definitively buried this measure in December 2022. Since then, all parts of the plant have been marketable, as long as their THC content does not exceed 0.3%.
Despite this recent clarification, the CBD market remains suspended from legal uncertainties: in June 2023, the Court of Cassation thus established that a driver is guilty of driving under the influence of drugs if tracesEven minimal amounts of THC are found in your body, even if they result from a simple intake of CBD. The ruling amounts to prohibiting driving after using CBD.
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