On Tuesday, February 16, the Court of Cassation was asked to rule on the marketing of CBD in France.
For several years now, more and more hemp shops have been springing up across the country. Specializing in well-being, these new types of stores offer CBD-based products for sale. This substance derived from hemp has no psychotropic effects and is not addictive. The molecule provides relaxing effects distinct from those of THC, the psychotropic molecule with euphoric and addictive effects found in illegal cannabis.
The problem is that, to date, French legislation does not authorize the marketing of CBD. Farmers are allowed to grow hemp on their land, but are not allowed to sell either the flowers or the leaves of the plant that contain the famous molecule. Under a 1990 decree on narcotics, French legislation only authorizes the cultivation and marketing of the plant's fibers and seeds if their THC content is less than 0.2%.
Brussels says it is forbidden to forbid
To continue their activities, these shops align themselves with European law. European justice was indeed seized in 2018 by the Aix-en-Provence Court of Appeal, after two Marseille promoters of "Kanavape", a hemp e-cigarette, were sentenced to 18 and 15 months in prison, suspended. Its designers, who claim that their CBD e-cigarette launched in 2014 is "100% legal", because it respects the maximum authorized THC level of 0.2%, thus appealed to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).
On November 19, 2020, the CJEU, which is less restrictive on the matter, ruled that the ban on CBD decreed in France was illegal, contrary to other countries on the continent, in the name of the free movement of goods. It also considered that it had no psychotropic or harmful effect on health, and that it could not be considered a narcotic or a medicine.
Since then, CBD product stores, encouraged by European legislation, have been springing up like mushrooms on French soil. According to the SPC, the country has nearly 400 of them, almost four times more than before the summer of 2018 and the wave of closures ordered by the authorities. On their shelves, CBD-based products can be found in sublingual oils, teas, coffee, herbal teas, sweets, cosmetics, food supplements, e-cigarettes, and even flowers, for smoking or infusing.
A buoyant market
Its adherents find in these new shops products that help them relieve all kinds of ailments: soothe menstrual pain, calm insomnia or simply relax. Far from the coffee shops that can be found in Amsterdam, these bright and welcoming stores aim to be more reassuring to attract new customers.
The market is currently worth 150 to 200 million euros and could reach one billion euros by 2023 if the legal uncertainty surrounding it is lifted, according to the union. "The decision of the Court of Cassation will be decisive for the development of activity because current legislation hinders the market," explains Aurélien Delecroix.
While waiting for its ruling, which is expected in March, the association's leader is confident. "The last 3 cases that were judged on appeal concerning CBD product businesses did not result in convictions," continues the association's leader. The 3 defendants were acquitted, and their seized equipment was returned to them.
"Lately, French justice can hardly go against European law. So I am not worried about the decision of the Court of Cassation."
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