The Constitutional Council clarified, Friday, January 7, the criteria for defining a narcotic product. He considers in particular that products based on cannabidiol (CBD) – the non-psychotropic molecule of cannabis -, including the flower, do not fall within the scope of this definition. This decision delighted professionals in the sector.
The term “narcotic” means a psychotropic substance which is characterized by a “Risk of dependence” and “Adverse health effects”, according to the decision of the judges, who answered a priority question of constitutionality posed by the French Association of the producers of cannabinoids.
The Constitutional Council rejected the latter’s request, but took the opportunity to retain two cumulative criteria making it possible to define a narcotic: ” addiction “ and the “Adverse health effects”, explains Frédéric Scanvic, the applicant’s lawyer. The judges added that he “Belongs to the administrative authority, under the control of the judge”, to classify certain substances in the category of narcotics “According to the evolution of the state of scientific and medical knowledge”.
From now on, “We will argue that these criteria are not met regarding CBD”, assures the Agence France-Presse Yann Bisiou, lecturer at the University of Montpellier-III and founder of the L630 association, which defends a reform of public drug policies in France. Mr. Bisiou specifies that the opinions of the Court of Justice of the European Union and the World Health Organization converge towards “An absence of risks” of the CBD molecule.
Ban on the sale of hemp flowers
“We are rather satisfied with this decision”, assures for his part Aurélien Delecroix, the president of the Professional hemp trade union.
The decision comes after the government banned by order on Friday, December 31, the trade and consumption of hemp flowers and leaves – which contain CBD – which has left producers, distributors and consumers in disarray.
Xavier Pizarro, lawyer at the Marseille bar, has asked the Council of State for the suspension of this text and fully intends to rely on the decision of the Constitutional Council. “By pointing to criteria that do not exist in positive law, the Constitutional Council has adopted the criticism that we have formulated”, he emphasizes.
The European judges recalled in 2020 that unlike tetrahydrocannabinol, a cannabis molecule with psychoactive effects, CBD cannot be considered a narcotic, since it has no “No psychotropic effect or (…) harmful effect on human health ‘.
“Scientific studies have shown that CBD acts in the brain on dopamine and serotonin receptors, making it a psychoactive product in its own right”, ruled on the contrary the Interministerial Mission for the Fight against Drugs and Addictive Behaviors on December 31, citing in particular possible effects “Sedation and drowsiness”.