In December of 2021 the French government swam against the tide by placing a ban on the sale of CBD flowers and leaves. The ban was relatively short-lived, being put on hold only a month later, coming under fire from cannabis producers and farmers. But December 29, 2022, France’s Council of State handed down the decision growers had hoped for: Officially ending the ban and allowing the sale of CBD hemp flowers.
Citing the sale of CBD in leaf and flower form does not does not “create a risk to public health,” the Court also noted in it decision: “The harmfulness of other molecules present in cannabis flowers and leaves, in particular CBD, has not been established,” adding that CBD has “relaxing properties and anticonvulsant effects, but does not have a psychotropic effect and does not cause dependence.”
The lifting of the ban is the first step in making CBD fully legal in France. While cannabis consumption is popular throughout Europe, legalization in France lags behind other EU nations. The decision should now set off a market normalization process for the cannabis industry, which is likely to still be a few years away. The industry’s growth has been stymied by strict legislation in France.
The Council of State “retains that it has not been established that the consumption of the flowers and leaves of these varieties of cannabis with a low level of THC would involve risks for public health. It therefore considers illegal the general and absolute prohibition of their marketing”. THC levels will have a cap of below 0.3% of French-grown fleur-de-cannabis.