After years of uncertainty and delays, France will soon have a medical cannabis program.
Following a four-year advocacy campaign on Mar. 19, the nation sent three documents to European Union officials detailing how the program will be rolled out. When they will receive approval from the EU regulators is uncertain — possibly next year.
These documents were finalized in mid-2024, but government turmoil in France delayed their review.
“We’re just waiting for what I call ‘bureaucratic suspense’ to finalize,” Benjamin Alexandre-Jeanroy, co-founder of the French marijuana consultancy Augur Associates, told Business of Cannabis, “and then the government will sign the decrees once they’ve been signed off by the EU.”
He has estimated that France will have about 10,000 patients during the first year of medical legalization with that number steadily growing and potentially reaching about 400,000 within 10 years.
Medical weed will be prescribed to residents by physicians as a last resort treatment for severe health conditions when conventional therapeutics have failed. Flower will be accessible through the program, but patients will only be permitted to vaporize it.
The French National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products will be overseeing the implementation of the French medical cannabis framework.
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France has one of Europe’s highest consumption rates
Despite prohibition, people in France consume one of the largest quantities of cannabis among all European nations. A 2022 study found that nearly half of the country’s adults had consumed at least once. Moreover, around 1.5 million residents indulge regularly. Only Italy and Spain burn more.
A close proximity to Morocco, one of the world’s top producers of illicit bud and hashish, is a key factor keeping France stocked up on THC goods. Resin from this North African nation currently accounts for about 65 per cent of the total domestic supply.
The French government spends, and arguably wastes a staggering sum of €570 million per annum on marijuana law enforcement. But, after relaxation of laws in 2020, getting caught with small amounts will result in receiving a fine of only about €200.
There are 1,600 patients in the country who are legally receiving medical cannabis through an experimental government program. They will be permitted to continue doing so until Mar 31. 2026 if the EU lawmakers haven’t squared away the paperwork by then.
Cannabis has been illegal in France since 1970. The French illicit market rakes in about €1.5 billion per year.
💥 Cannabis (saison 7 – épisode 3)
Les textes réglementaires sont notifiés à l’Europe. On en saura plus dans 3 mois !
En attendant, les patients déjà traités auront toujours accès à leurs médicaments jusqu’au 31 mars 2026. #douleur #cancer #scleroseenplaques #soinspalliatifs pic.twitter.com/4Y4Noog2QE— Nicolas Authier (@NicolasAuthier_) March 19, 2025
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