Ban on the sale of CBD flowers and leaves: the Constitutional Council must decide

Will the Constitutional Council do a favor with the managers of the 1,700 stores of CBD products, the non-psychotropic molecule of cannabis, in France? The institution must pronounce on Friday on the ban on the sale and possession of hemp flowers, in force since January 1.

The decree had appeared the day before in the Official Journal, cutting the grass under the foot of a burgeoning sector since a favorable decision by the European justice in November 2020.

“The sale to consumers of raw flowers or leaves in all their forms, alone or in combination with other ingredients, their possession by consumers and their consumption” are prohibited, the text states.

In contrast, “the cultivation, import, export and industrial and commercial use of the only varieties of Cannabis sativa L. are authorized.“. With the condition that the hemp plant has a THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychotropic molecule) content of not more than 0.3%, against 0.2% in the draft decree published in July 2021. The flowers and leaves of these varieties “may only be harvested, imported or used for the industrial production of hemp extracts”, details the decree.

This decree has been notified to the European Commission. It revises a text of 1990 and follows a judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union of November 2020. European justice then rejected the ban on this “well-being hemp” in France, emphasizing the harmlessness of this molecule, which cannot therefore be considered as a narcotic or a drug. She also pointed out that the free movement of goods within the European Union applied to CBD.

Following this judgment, the Court of Cassation indicated, on June 23, that CBD (cannabidiol) could be sold in France if it was produced in another European country. However, it had not decided the substantive issue of a marketing ban in the name of the objective of protecting public health.

To justify the validity of this text, the government argues that CBD flowers are in every way similar to cannabis flowers. It would therefore be difficult for the police, in the event of a control, to verify whether it is CBD or not.

Aurélien Delecroix, president of the professional hemp union, sweeps aside the government’s arguments in terms of public order. “Tests for rapid THC levels already exist” and could allow law enforcement to differentiate CBD from cannabis in minutes “amazing”, he emphasizes.

According to the official, such a ban will “against the government’s objective of combating drug trafficking” since it would deprive former smokers of substitutes for cannabis. This is the case of Jules, 24, who found in the CBD a “escape route” to his addiction developed during the confinement of spring 2020. A product “healthier, more controlled” and suitable for a “transition”, judges this apprentice in mechanical engineering who ensures that “a lot of consumers go through it”.

“We are given this decree on December 30 and on January 2 we should have emptied our stocks, no longer sell?”, for his part, is indignant Brice Verdier, the owner of the CBD’eau store, in the 15th arrondissement of Paris. “If tomorrow I stop all infusions (made from leaves, editor’s note), not to mention raw flowers or resin, instead of hiring someone, I close the shop “, he assures.

“Former of the restoration”, Brice Verdier launched into the CBD less than a year ago, attracted like many other entrepreneurs by this buoyant market.

France had some 400 CBD shops at the start of 2021, there are now almost four times as many. The turnover of the sector is estimated by the unions at one billion euros, two thirds drawn from the marketing of raw flowers and leaves.

If the prohibition is confirmed by the Constitutional Council, appeals will potentially be brought by hemp and CBD products professionals before the Council of State.