In a “wellness” boutique in 5e arrondissement of Paris, the sign announcing the price still stands. “ Do you have any HHC left? asks Leo (most of those quoted requested anonymity), a 22-year-old student. “Yes, it’s the last day”, responds the manager. “Then I’ll take you for ten euros. No, twenty, the student corrects himself, explaining that he has been consuming it for two months for his “cannabis-like effects”.
Leo will have to find a way to do without it: since Tuesday, June 13, the use – like the sale and production – of hexahydrocannabinol (HHC), a molecule derived from cannabis, is prohibited in France. The National Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM) registered the day before, HHC and two of its derivatives on the list of narcotics. The decision follows work that showed that HHC “presents a risk of abuse and dependence equivalent to that of cannabis”specifies the ANSM in its press release.
In Europe, other countries have recently banned the sale of HHC, such as Austria, Belgium, Denmark and the United Kingdom. Around France, therefore, where it had made a name for itself in recent months in certain shops hitherto specialized in the sale of CBD (cannabidiol, legal), in the form of cannabis flowers on which it was vaporized , e-liquids for electronic cigarettes, or even resin, oil, flavored confectionery… And this, despite its effects similar to THC, the substance responsible for the psychotropic effects of cannabis.
“We knew it”
The ban did not surprise the manager of one of these shops in the center of Paris. “We knew it, we just didn’t know when the ban would be pronounced”, he acknowledges. He had anticipated stocks and decided to stop orders two weeks ago. For the moment, he does not observe any ” rush “ towards the HHC, but said to consider “promotions” over the next few days if he fails to sell off the stocks. To a customer who enters the store, he reminds of the effects of HHC and its pronounced ban. This does not deter the buyer.
The rise of HHC, a phenomenon “emerge”represents “potential health and social risks”, had alerted, in mid-April in a report, the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA). This synthetic cannabis derivative, which first appeared in the United States before being spotted in Europe in May 2022, had been worrying health authorities for several weeks. In mid-May, the Minister of Health, François Braun, assured that the ban would take place ” in the coming weeks “. Monday evening, in a tweet, he welcomed the mobilization of his ministry “to protect the health of the French and fight against addictions”.
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