French tobacco shops ‘ready’ for legalisation of cannabis
As the French government re-examines the country’s obscure laws on cannabis use, tobacco shops are already looking to corner the market if the drug is legalised
Sunday, July 22, 2018
“We’re for the recreational use of cannabis if it’s legalised. And we’re ready to sell it in our tobacco shops”, Philippe Coy, president of the Confederation of Tobacco Shops, told French newspaper Le Parisien in an interview. In mid-June, French Health Minister Agnès Buzyn announced that the government would re-examine the country’s drug laws, which allow for the sale of cannabis-derived products as long as they contain less than 2 percent THC (the main active ingredient). The legal loophole has been exploited by a growing number of entrepreneurs in France, who have opened coffee shops selling “legal cannabis” products. Two venues, however, were forced to close in Paris last month under a law that prohibits the “transport, possession, offer or transfer, acquisition or use of narcotics”.
