Cannabis in bloom in a greenhouse of the Phytocann company near Ollon, in western Switzerland, on May 19, 2021 (AFP/Archives/Fabrice COFFRINI)
The Council of State on Monday suspended the government decree prohibiting the sale of hemp flower and leaf loaded with CBD, the non-psychotropic molecule of cannabis, a relief for players in the sector.
The highest administrative court had been seized by various actors in the sector wishing to obtain the emergency suspension of a decree issued by the government on December 30 and which prohibits the sale and consumption of hemp flowers containing cannabidiol (CBD).
In its order, the Council of State considered that it “does not follow from the instruction (…) that hemp flowers and leaves with a THC content not greater than 0.30% would a degree of harmfulness to health justifying a general and absolute ban on their sale to consumers and their consumption”.
The Council of State specified in a press release that the suspension applies “provisionally” while waiting for the body “to rule definitively on the merits of the legality of the contested decree”.
The State will have to pay the total sum of 13,000 euros to the thirteen applicant companies.
“For us it was a thorn in the side, we were desperate and it called into question the whole sector. The horizon is clearing up but everything remains to be done”, rejoiced Aurélien Delecroix, president of the hemp union, one of the requesting parties.
“The ministry tried to defend a public health argument which in any case did not hold water,” reacted Me Uzan-Sarano, counsel for the hemp union, asked by AFP.
Xavier Pizarro, lawyer for the Union of CBD Professionals, for his part welcomed a decision which testifies to a “mastery of European law, where the government wants to make a political coup”.
Contacted by AFP, the Interministerial Mission for the Fight against Drugs and Drug Addiction (Mildeca) indicated through its delegate, Valérie Saintoyant, “to take note of the decision” without wishing to “comment on the merits”.
In November 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union thus ruled illegal the banning of CBD in France, authorized in several other European countries, in the name of the principle of free movement of goods.
European justice considered that it had “no harmful effect on health” and could not be considered a narcotic, unlike its twin molecule, THC, which can be found on the black market and which has psychotropic effects.
The Cour de cassation, the highest court in the French judiciary, followed suit, considering in June that any CBD legally produced in the EU could be sold in France.
France had some 400 CBD shops at the beginning of 2021 according to the Professional Hemp Syndicate (SPC), there are now almost four times as many. The turnover of the sector is estimated by the unions at one billion euros, two-thirds from the marketing of flowers and raw leaves.
© 2022 AFP
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