Several times postponed, the court decision was eagerly awaited by the defenders of cannabidiol (CBD) in France. The Court of Cassation ruled in favor, Tuesday, June 15, in a Dijon store that sold CBD-based products and contested its closure, pronounced in 2018 by the authorities.
The economic players in this “light cannabis” were hoping for such a decision, when France is rewriting the regulations governing this non-psychotropic cannabis molecule after having been requested, in November 2020, by the European justice to review its copy. However, it will have only a very limited scope since the court will not deliver a judgment. “General on the commercialization of CBD” that June 23 in another file.
The Dijon case concerned the store The Pot Company, which marketed CBD products, but not hemp flowers, and had been closed by authorities in the summer of 2018.
The e-cigarette liquids, oils and other CBD capsules sold by this store had been seized. Their analysis by the scientific police had detected minute traces of THC, the psychotropic molecule of cannabis, with a rate of less than 0.2%.
The two managers had been indicted for several infringements of the legislation on narcotics, before obtaining the reopening by the courts of their shop in early 2019. A decision contested by the general prosecutor’s office, which was finally dismissed on Tuesday by the Court of Cassation.
“Premature” closure
In its decision, the Court of Cassation considers that the six-month closure was ordered so “Premature”, because decided “In the absence of an expert determination of the origin of cannabidiol and of the presence of THC in the products seized beyond the test carried out by the police services”. Without independent expertise, there was no proof “That the products in question fell into the category of narcotic products”, write the judges.
“What was defended by the prosecution was that the sale of CBD products, regardless of the level of THC they contain, constitutes a transfer of a narcotic product”, explained Patrice Spinosi, the lawyer of the shop. “The Court considers that there is no evidence demonstrating the presence of narcotic in this case, he rejoiced. This probably foreshadows the fact that we can sell CBD products without it being considered a narcotic, but we will know more with the next decision on June 23. “
According to Yann Bisiou, specialist in drug law and co-founder of the L630 association, which campaigns for a reform of public policies on drugs, the decision of the Court of Cassation signifies “The end of the economic strangulation of shops”, which often flowed because of the loss of earnings caused by the temporary closures pronounced against them.
From now on, “Justice must be able to prove that the CBD was produced illegally to justify a closure”, observed the lawyer. “And for that, a simple test on the level of THC cannot be enough, the expertise is very complicated and almost impossible”, he believes.
Towards a new French regulation
In the dozens of similar cases currently before the courts in France, the prosecution is always based on thecannabis decree 1990, according to which “The cultivation, import, export and industrial and commercial use (fibers and seeds) of varieties of Cannabis sativa L. ” if their “Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol content [ou THC] is not more than 0.2% ‘. However, the cannabidiol found mainly in the leaves and flowers of the plant – and not the fibers and seeds – the text as drafted theoretically prevents any marketing of CBD-based products in France.
But in November, the Court of Justice of the European Union has come to contradict the French authorities, considering that CBD is not a narcotic and that the free movement of goods does not allow a country of the European Union (EU) to oppose its marketing when it is legally produced in another Member State. And this, even “When it is extracted from the plant of Cannabis sativa in its entirety and not from its fibers and seeds alone ‘. It therefore authorizes the sale of imported products, even if France prohibits their production on its soil.
The French authorities have been working for several months on new regulations. The Interior Ministry revealed to Agence France-Presse at the end of May that it provided that “Authorization for the cultivation, import, export and industrial and commercial use of hemp” is “Extended to all parts of the plant”, provided that the THC content as well as that of the finished products is less than 0.2%. A decision that would allow French farmers to cultivate CBD for the manufacture of derivative products and would clarify the activity of specialized shops which hitherto operated in the dark and risked legal proceedings.
According to this next regulation, specialized shops would thus be authorized to sell various products – foods, oils, cosmetics, e-cigarettes, etc. based on CBD -, but could not, on the other hand, sell raw flowers, as these contain traces of THC, are often smoked and mixed with tobacco, which is harmful to health. Moreover, in the event of a police check, they would have to be analyzed to distinguish them from narcotic cannabis.
According to Matignon, the new decree should be finalized soon, then sent to the European Commission. EU member states will then have “Six months maximum” to examine it before a possible publication in the Official newspaper.