The promoters of cannabidiol (CBD) knew that they had little chance of obtaining complete success, Friday, January 7, before the Constitutional Council. And, unsurprisingly, the institution rejected a priority question of constitutionality that they had filed, concerning the criteria for defining narcotics, to defend the use of non-psychotropic cannabis.
But what does it matter: the players in the CBD sector are determined to continue to use all the levers at their disposal and see in this decision a hope, because they believe that the CBD flower does not fall within the chosen field. the definition of narcotics, which must combine the phenomenon of dependence and health risk. In their sights, the ministerial decree of December 31, 2021, which prohibits “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”.
The legal guerrilla warfare should experience new episodes. The sale of flowers forms, in fact, the main part of the turnover of the 1,800 CBD shops located in France. The decree of December 31, justified mainly by public health reasons, therefore constitutes an earthquake for the sector.
Fear of search
The share of flowers thus makes up 90% of the income of Alexandre Boussini, manager of the CBD Zen Emeraude store, located in the XIIe district of Paris. As a result, the 31-year-old owner preferred not to open Monday, January 3, also fearing “To be searched”. M. Boussini did not know, he said, what to do with the stock of flowers which remained on his arms.
Cosmetics and vaping products remain authorized provided their THC content is not greater than 0.3%. The same goes for foodstuffs, which must be composed only of fibers or hemp seeds. But these products are, according to Mr. Boussini, insufficient: if the government’s decision is implacable, it “Will not have a choice” than going out of business, he says.
Within the CBD Aoma store (Paris, XIe) boxes are filled with CBD flowers. Jean-François Baï, president of the said company, decided to liquidate all its stocks of flowers after the publication of the decree. “It was the commotion for two days”, describes the manager of the store, which opened in October 2021. “We made promotions on the site and spread the word to our customers”, he continues.
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