France to launch medical cannabis experiment in coming weeks
No legalisation for recreational use
Sunday, June 2, 2019
As a nearly unanimous French Senate gave medical marijuana the green light, France will start experimenting the use of medical marijuana for “about two years”, pending the approval of the health ministry. According to patient groups, somewhere between 300,000 and 1 million patients could be eligible to its use. The use of medical cannabis will be strictly controlled. Doctors will be permitted to prescribe it only as a last resort, after trying other available therapeutic treatments. In December 2018, the National Agency for the Safety of Health Products identified possible applications for medical cannabis: cancer, certain types of epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, palliative care, and pain that does not respond to usual treatments. (See also: Is France about to legalise cannabis?)
