Cannabis and cannabinoids in France

Global business and regulatory news covering the cannabis industry

20th May 2024

The long road to EFSA authorisation for CBD as novel food in the European Union

12th April 2024

The uncertain fate of IHDCs in Europe: could a general ban be on the horizon?

10th January 2024

What’s in store for cannabis regulation? Looking at 2024 with cautious optimism

More News analysis

Daily regulatory updates of legal changes in the cannabis sector, including monthly compilations

12th December 2024: France: The country’s caretaker administration presented an emergency finance bill to the parliament to avoid a shutdown after the country’s government and the 2025 budget bill fell in a no-confidence vote last week. The provisional budget bill contains only a few articles that permit the state to roll over the same taxes levied in 2024 and continue to issue debt. However, it does not permit the introduction of any expenses, so the extension of the experiment on medical cannabis, expected to resume in 2025, would be delayed to 2026. The definitive budget will be voted on later in 2025.
5th December 2024: France: The extension of the French experiment on medical cannabis, which had been expected to resume in 2025, will likely be delayed to 2026 following the no-confidence vote in the government. This development will lead to the resignation of prime minister Michel Barnier and could result in president Emmanuel Macron appointing a new head of government. The failure to approve next year’s budget has created an unprecedented situation, forcing the government to potentially operate under a provisional budget.
22nd October 2024: France: A group of deputies from the far-right party Rassemblement National (National Front) has proposed an amendment to the Finance Bill 2025 to introduce an excise duty on CBD-containing products. The proposed rate of this tax is 5.5% of the retail sale price excluding tax, and it would target all forms of CBD-containing products for recreational or medical use. The amendment is likely to find support from other political groups, especially the moderate-right party Les Républicains and the centrist Ensemble pour la République.
14th October 2024: France: The government has presented the Social Security Financing Bill for 2025, and there are currently no amendments proposed to extend the medical cannabis experiment for another year. However, such amendments are likely to be introduced, considering that the implementation of the new framework for cannabis-based medicines, originally planned for 2025, has been delayed until 2026 due to political and administrative setbacks.
23rd September 2024: France: The new prime minister, Michel Barnier, has released the composition of his government, mostly from Les Républicains (the conservative-leaning party of the prime minister) and the coalition Ensemble pour la République, led by president Macron. The new government's stance on tobacco products and cannabis is expected to remain consistent with the previous administration, emphasising a harm-reduction approach. The new health minister is Geneviève Darrieussecq, a physician and deputy of the Democratic Movement (MoDem) who served as minister for people with disabilities in the government of prime minister Élisabeth Borne from 2022 to 2023.
18th September 2024: France: The rollout of medical cannabis in France, initially expected for 2025, has been delayed until 2026 due to political and administrative setbacks. Although the French National Agency for the Safety of Medicines (ANSM) completed its preparations, the necessary notification to the European Commission has not been submitted, stalling progress. Patients and manufacturers face uncertainty, with the risk that patients will turn to illegal sources. The new timeline depends on the priority the future government will give to this matter.
5th September 2024: France: President Emmanuel Macron has appointed Michel Barnier as prime minister. Barnier, 73, is a former European Commissioner and was the chief negotiator on Brexit. He is a member of the Republicans, France’s main conservative party. He is expected to have conservative positions on cannabis and to promote a harm-reduction approach to tobacco and e-cigarettes.
10th June 2024: France: President Emmanuel Macron has dissolved the National Assembly and called for snap parliamentary elections on 30th June and 7th July after Marine Le Pen’s National Rally achieved a significant victory in the European Parliament vote. Macron, who currently lacks a majority in the parliament, aims to achieve a clear legislative mandate but risks another victory for the far-right party, potentially leading to Marie Le Pen or Jordan Bardella (the party’s leader) as prime minister. It’s too soon to tell how this will affect the sectors because the EU election results do not precisely represent the population’s preferences, given that the French voter turnout was only 51%.
5th June 2024: France: The National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM) published a decision to classify new cannabinoids on the list of narcotics. As of 3rd June, the following cannabinoids are listed as narcotics: H2-CBD, H4-CBD, any cannabinoids derived from benzo[c]chromene (excluding cannabinol (CBN) and CBD), and eight other synthetic cannabinoids.
8th May 2024: France: The government has notified the EU Commission's TRIS database of a decision by the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM) to classify several cannabinoids as narcotics, including H2-CBD and H4-CBD.
18th April 2024: France: Senator Thomas Dossus from the Ecologist group introduced a bill that aims to allow two-year territorial experiments to legalise the recreational use of cannabis based on the German model. The proposal would permit adults to possess up to 25 g of cannabis in public spaces and 50 g in private spaces. Additionally, the bill would allow for home cultivation of up to three plants per person and establish cannabis cultivation associations.
28th March 2024: France: The Ministry of Health has published a decree establishing the specifications for cannabis-based medicines used during the experiment until the first batches of medical cannabis authorised by the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM) arrive on the market.

Full-length in-depth reports with detailed data and analysis for individual markets around the world

16th May 2023

Intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids: the European online market

29th November 2022

France: CBD and cannabis snapshot

3rd June 2021

Online retailer report: the French market

More Market reports

Regulatory reports

Comprehensive legal reports outlining how the sector is regulated, interpretation of the laws and relevant bodies

17th May 2023

A European country analysis of intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids

2nd December 2022

Global cannabinoid vape compliance guide

29th November 2022

France: CBD and cannabis snapshot

More Regulatory reports

Up-to-date information and insights on brands, pricing and retail across selected markets

8th September 2023

France CBD insights dashboard, 2023

31st March 2023

France: online retailer status, Q1 2023

17th March 2023

CBD and IHDC online retailer database

More Market data

Regulatory databases

Regularly updated global regulations currently in place, compiled into easy-to-read maps and tables

3rd December 2024

Regulatory tracker: current global regulation of recreational cannabis

3rd December 2024

Regulatory tracker: current global regulation of medical cannabis

4th November 2024

CannIntelligence policy tracker

More Regulatory databases

Sign up to our newsletter

Stay up-to-date with key market trends and regulatory news and receive complimentary data on a regular basis.

"*" indicates required fields

Corporate Email*

Name*

Name

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.