France has bowed to the inevitable. After several years of promises about normalizing the discussion and failing to do so, and further in direct contrast to its German, Dutch, Danish, and even Swiss and Spanish neighbours, the country has finally caved in recognizing that medical cannabis has at least theoretical efficacy.
The first trial, delayed for much of 2020, was publicized last fall right as the European Commission decided that CBD was not a narcotic and as the WHO voted to remove cannabis from global Schedule IV status. The timing was not accidental. The country’s ever-savvy political Machiavellian on the topic, President Emmanuel Macron, was there belatedly to cheer it on, just at the finishing line of done and dusted. In late January, the country chose its finalists.
Regardless of the cynicism in the room, it is an important step—and not just for France—but a range of discussions now literally haunting the industry if not the full reform discussion across the EU if not elsewhere.
Why This Trial Is Different
Anyone who expects this all to go smoothly and without major mistakes has clearly not been paying attention to the disasters that have so far ensued, everywhere, when a country or region takes up actual implementation of cannabis reform, and in any form. See the U.S. state market, the Canadian national one, if not the embarrassing faults inherent in both the German medical and more recent Dutch recreational bids.
However, there are indications that the French have in fact been watching.
The first fascinating difference, apart from the inclusion of non-Canadian firms, is that the tender bid mandated that corporate participants also cover all the costs of medicine and devices required.
The second is that the entire trial will be provisioned from product made elsewhere and imported into the country. This potentially could be an economic boon for nascent cannaproduction in every country across the region from Portugal to Greece. Just as in other places, such forward steps are now not happening in a vacuum. And now, thanks to the Pandemic, the idea of including cannabis reform in a regional Green New Deal has absolutely taken hold, and in multiple countries.
The French experiment, in other words, is well-timed, no matter the intricacies and headaches it is also likely to still cause doctors, patients and even the participating companies themselves, to seed further reform if not cultivation across Europe. That starts with France itself, where the draconian and lingering laws about even medical cannabis have thwarted widespread trials so far. Unless specifically addressed, these regulations are also likely to be a barrier even this time.
But everyone is watching. Starting with the fact that so many countries as well as companies are actually involved in the supply chain.
What Comes Next?
The next part is likely to go relatively smoothly, as France recruits (remember also in the middle of a global Pandemic and shutdown) for participants. This is also not Europe’s first national cannabis trial (see Denmark, if not Luxembourg of late, if not since 2017).
The “trial” itself is also completely uncontroversial—see Germany next door where the vast majority of medical prescriptions approved by health insurance are for conditions like chronic pain and muscle spasticity.
Vive La…
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