A short-lived ban on the sale of CBD flower in France has been reversed for now by the country’s highest administrative court.
In a decision released Monday, the Conseil d’État (Council of State) has temporarily suspended the government’s controversial decree from Dec. 30 that banned the sale of CBD flower in all forms.
“The judge in chambers of the Conseil d’État considers that there is a serious doubt about the legality of this general and absolute prohibition measure because of its disproportionate nature,” reads the decision.
Read more: France bans sale of CBD flower and leaves under new regulations
The ban on CBD flower was included as part of regulations on hemp cultivation, which the government said were justified on the grounds of public health.
In response, industry organizations filed a liberty injunction to suspend the decree, citing that flower sales represented the majority of sales for more than 1,800 specialty shops impacted by the ban.
The Conseil d’État decision continues, “Indeed, it does not appear, at the end of the contradictory investigation and the exchanges which took place during the public hearing, that the flowers and leaves of cannabis sativa L. whose THC content is less than 0.3 per cent would present a degree of harmfulness to health justifying a total and absolute prohibition measure: this threshold is precisely that retained by the contested decree itself to characterize the cannabis plants authorized for cultivation, importation, export and industrial use.”
The temporary suspension on the ban is in place until the Conseil d’État reaches a definitive decision.
🍾Un grand soulagement pour toute la filière ! L’interdiction de la vente de feuilles et de fleurs est suspendue !!!
Un grand merci à nos avocats Gilles Boin et Maître Uzan SARANO.
Désormais l’on sait : la pomme 🍎, comme le jus de pomme, n’est pas un stupéfiant.— Syndicat du Chanvre (@SChanvre) January 24, 2022
Le Syndicat professionnel du Chanvre (The Professional Hemp Union) celebrated the suspension for confirming that the public health argument didn’t hold.
“Much remains to be done to supervise, secure and make this sector competitive. The cards are reshuffled and hope that the government will take this into account,” the group adds.
Earlier this month, a bill that proposed a state-controlled cannabis market was introduced but wasn’t adopted by the lower house of parliament.
Read more: France’s National Assembly rejects cannabis legalization bill
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