The incredible story of a French CBD pioneer.
From the arrival of the first Cannabidiol “vape pen” to the legalization of CBD hemp flowers.
The French Government will have tried everything to torpedo Kanavape, this decidedly too disruptive startup: “Narcotics trafficking, promotion of drug use, illegal practice of medicine and pharmacy, the illegal opening of a pharmacy …” These heads of The accusation will not all end up falling through during the famous trial which will take more than 7 years to clear its founders.
But a case that will also have made it possible to change European legislation, to create the “ well-being hemp ” sector with the opening of the French market to CBD and other legal cannabinoids, to democratize the knowledge and education of users of high-THC hemp to cannabis risk reduction as well as new, healthier methods of consumption, especially through vaporization.
When "Kanavape",
a pioneering brand in the CBD vape,
stirs up the debate on the legalization of cannabis in France.
A judicial soap opera as militant as it is entrepreneurial through a chronological press review:
1984
22 June 1984
Birth and early life of a visionary
Sébastien Ludovic Béguerie, un profil atypique à l’origine de la genèse de Kanavape
After a tumultuous adolescence specific to the city of Marseilles where he evolves, Sébastien quickly establishes a special relationship with cannabis. After being widely informed with the few possibilities and books available at the time, he decided after his baccalaureate to dedicate his university career to the study of this plant. Going through a BTS in horticultural production at Garachon then at the Ecole Supérieure d'Agriculture d'Angers, did an internship with Gianpaolo Grassi in Italy, obtained a professional license before a diploma in agricultural engineering in the Netherlands at the university Dutch from Wageningen, faculty where he participated in the creation of the first horticultural research center on cannabis at the university. It was during this period that he co-developed the TLC analysis method for future Alpha-Cat Test Kits during his internship at Bedrocan as part of the end of his university course. At the same time, he met and is introduced to the world of Dutch cannabis and its personalities such as Shanti Baba, Arjan Roskam, Franco Loha or Mr Nice and companies such as the Canna fundacion, Greenhouse , as well as to the associative and militant world for the use of cannabis in medicine by patients with IACM and UFCMedIn France.
>> Find Sébastien's full biography in the series dedicated to him on the "Let's Talk Canna" podcast .
2011
2011-2012
Leaving studies, 1st fairs and 1st professional experiences
First steps in the professional world of international cannabis
Just after leaving school, he got in touch with the company CannaTest in Seattle, which carried out cannabinoid analyzes for the emerging cannabis industry across the Atlantic with Derek Houston . Method of analysis that he will present at the Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam in 2011 as well as at that of 2012 where Derek arrives with a new kind of electronic cigarette from the OpenVape brand . The trigger to develop a similar product for France has already been launched.
2012
July
The beginnings of French flowering hemp
Creation of the Canèbe company in Marseille
Creation of CANEBE in Marseille for the production of Proof of Concept for TLC Test Kits for cannabinoid analysis and the first real experiments in the cultivation of the first catalog hemp flowers in the Luberon in Mérindol on the “Bio à la ferme” farm at Jean Louis Millet which will be used to market the first French CBD products such as flowers sold in the form of herbal teas , as well as capsules with decarboxylated trim , and CBD-enriched oil with skuff. These handcrafted products will be presented before the amazed eyes of visitors to Spanabis in Barcelona in 2014.
>> The Canèbe site, now a B2B platform to obtain Alpha-CAT, Golden Vape & KANAVAPE products.
2014
November 2014
The specialist in low-tech cannabinoid analysis
Creation of the ALPHA-CAT brand in Marseille.
Sébastien Béguerie continues his activity in the analysis of cannabinoids with his flagship product used by more and more breeders and professionals in the cannabis world. The " Alpha-Cat Test-Kit ", a low-tech tool using thin layer chromatography (or TLC, for Thin Layer Chromatography), allowing anyone to analyze the cannabinoid composition of any which product containing cannabis.
>> All ALPHA-CAT products and experience
>> All ALPHA-CAT products and experience
July 28, 2014
A product as innovative as it is disruptive
Birth of the Kanavape brand and launch of the first website.
Founded by Sébastien Béguerie and Antonin Cohen-Adad, Kanavape offers an electronic cigarette or “ vapoteuse” containing cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychotropic cannabis derivative still largely unknown, both by the general population and by cannabis users. A first website is launched shortly after, it will remain very confidential until the press conference organized for the launch of this brand new vape so disruptive for the time.
>> Buy the original Kanavape revisited with a choice of authentic flavors.
14 December 2014
Vice France hacks the communication of the launch
An article from Vice France triggers a viral buzz the day before the press conference.
While the communication had been planned so that the press would not talk about this first legal cannabis-based e-cig before the press conference on Monday, December 15, journalist Gaspard Glanz released his article for VICE France the day before the latter. . The paper goes viral even before the creators can calmly present their approach. The next day's press conference turns into a somewhat chaotic meeting, with many more reporters than expected. Even though specialist lawyers had guided them to move their communication away from presenting a favorable light on the use of narcotics , they had not foreseen the threat ofillegal practice of medicine and pharmacy during the press briefing. Antonin having had the misfortune to mention therapeutic allegations specific to CBD and their involvement in the association UFCM (Francophone Union for Cannabinoids in Medicine), it is these comparisons made during this press conference that will be reproached to them in the trials at come. In the days that followed, the entire French and international press via AFP and the international Vice network got carried away by this product, which was immediately categorized as " highly politically incorrect ".
>> Read the article by Gaspard Glanz behind the media buzz.
>> Read the article by Gaspard Glanz behind the media buzz.
15 December 2014
From the afternoon following the press conference
When questioned, media addictologists do not understand the stakes of such a product.
From the afternoon of the press briefing, the journalists get carried away and seek to ask the opinion of various experts on this disturbing product . Dr. Laurent Karila , psychiatrist and addiction specialist at the Paul-Brousse University Hospital in Paris, wonders about "the interest of releasing a product of this type" which will be seen by the general public as an " electronic joint " and which risks " tarnishing the image " of the vape as a new tool to stop or reduce the consumption of cigarettes . While at the same time, he confirms that cannabidiol is an " anti-psychotic product,it does not "in theory" lead to addiction . In no case does it mention the interest that Kanavape can offer as a tool of substitution or risk reduction concerning the use of cannabis.
>> The article of the point: "The electronic cigarette with cannabis arouses concern" .
16 December 2014
The day after the Minister of Health gets involved.
Marisol Touraine steps up and wants to ban the Kanavape.
In a France where the provocation to the use of narcotics is then still strongly applied , Marisol Touraine , the Minister of Health at the time affirms: " I am opposed to such a product being marketed in France because it constitutes an incitement to the consumption of cannabis which is potentially reprehensible by law " by specifying that it "intends to seize the judge to prohibit its marketing " in an interview on RTL, it will keep the same position in all these future media interventions on the subject.
>> On RTL: "Marisol Touraine wants to ban cannabis e-cigarettes" .
>> On RTL: "Marisol Touraine wants to ban cannabis e-cigarettes" .
End of January 2015
Authorities seek to nip Kanavape in the bud
Discreetly, the public health department of the Marseille prosecutor's office is opening a preliminary investigation into Kanavape.
While the press was carried away, that all the specialists or almost have an opinion on the question and that no regulation frames this new legal cannabis product which embarrasses the authorities . It is very likely that a directive from the Government, which above all does not want a legislative softening on the subject of cannabis or that the debate on its legalization be raised, a preliminary investigation is launched by the Tribunal de Grande Instance of Marseille.
February 20, 2015
Sébastien denounces his own culture of therapeutic cannabis.
A search carried out at the headquarters of the Kanavape company, 19 feet of hemp discovered at Sébastien's.
Sébastien must now respond, in another procedure, to " consumption, possession and purchase of cannabis ". During a search of his home following that carried out at the headquarters of his company, the investigators noted the cultivation of 19 feet of hemp, followed by 18 hours of police custody . Then defended by the lawyer Me Ingrid Metton who specifies that her client consumes cannabis for therapeutic purposes , but that the electronic cigarettes of Kanavape, they do not contain it . Sébastien explains to the court that he grew cannabis to treat attention disorders with hyperactivity as well as bipolarity and canprove its good faith by providing prescriptions from Luxembourg, French and Dutch doctors.
>> Electronic cigarettes: hemp discovered at the home of the co-founder of KanaVape
>> Electronic cigarettes: hemp discovered at the home of the co-founder of KanaVape
2015
May 2015
Expatriation to avoid persecution, even prison
Sébastien Béguerie moves to Prague in the Czech Republic
Due to the relentlessness of the French services on the person of Sébastien and his impossibility to develop his activity in France, he decides to settle in Prague where the legislation is much more lenient and the environment more than bubbling for the entrepreneurs of the cannabis and hemp in general. It can finally focus on the production and distribution of its lines of CBD oils , capsules and CBD cosmetics under its own brand: ALPHA-CAT.
September 8, 2015
A first in France for mental disorders
Sébastien is exempted from punishment after having pleaded the therapeutic use
Found guilty and sentenced for the use and possession of cannabis for the 19 plants of cannabis discovered at his home in February 2015, Sébastien obtained a waiver of the sentence before the Marseilles court after pleading for therapeutic use. His lawyer in this case, Ingrid Metton was proud to announce that this is a legal first "for a defendant suffering from mental disorders" using cannabis for therapeutic purposes in France.
>> In La Provence: "Marseille: lenient justice with a patient treated with cannabis."
(Photo credit: Patrick Nosetto)
2016
Early 2016
The legal process becomes too painful for him to bear
Departure of Antonin Cohen from the Kanavape adventure to launch the Harmony brand
Exhausted and dejected by the media and legal adventure, but also strong in the experience and contacts acquired in the field, Antonin decides to move away from the Kanavape tumult to set up his own Harmony brand and specializes in the marketing of a range of CBD e-liquids in 10 ml format . Taking advantage of the hype of CBD in e-liquids in the press, he develops hemp-related flavors well known by cannabis users looking for aromas specific to different varieties of marijuana. However, he remains available to justice in the Kanavape case.
>> Learn more about Harmony.
>> Learn more about Harmony.
Mid-2016
In parallel, research is progressing on the vaporization of cannabinoids.
Several American studies show that vaping is a very good method of administration for the delivery of CBD.
Studies on cannabis and its components, which were very limited until the 2000s due to a strict international control framework for the substance, multiplied exponentially in the 2010s, with its access becoming more democratic. , mainly in Israel and North America. More and more of them are interested in the different methods of administration , the action times and the bio-availability of cannabinoids , vaporization is quickly establishing itself as the best method of inhalation, allowing a simplified dosage and rapid action of effects while avoiding the many risks associated with combustion.
2017
November 2017
Imbroglio among senior health authority officials
While the ANSM sought to ban CBD vaping products, the DGS considers that their sale "appears to be legal".
The Directorate General of Health (DGS), affirms that " the marketing of these products appears legal under certain conditions ". Thus, " the production, manufacture, transport, import, export, possession, offer, transfer, acquisition or use of cannabis and its derivatives are prohibited" . A derogation however: " the industrial and commercial use of varieties of cannabis devoid of narcotic properties may be authorized" as long as the THC content "is not greater than 0.20%" . Thus, adds the DGS, "only e-liquids intended for vaping, containing molecules from the aforementioned varieties and having a delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol content of 0.20% or of synthetic origin, can be considered as not contrary to this regulation" .
>> The "electronic joint" would be legal according to the Ministry of Health .
>> The "electronic joint" would be legal according to the Ministry of Health .
End of 2017
While Kanavape cannot be distributed, other players are breaking through.
Meanwhile, the CBD vape market is booming in France
While cannabidiol (CBD) vape products are considered harmless compared to classic THC cannabis, their growing use for non-therapeutic or “ wellness ” purposes still remains within a gray legal framework in France. In a national environment that was built on fear of cannabis, the (unfounded) fears of authorities and experts about the sharp increase in its use and accessibility are rife. Consumers are drowned in an offer of CBD products in a French market where there is a lack of regulation and information on the quality and composition of the products .
>> The newspaper Le Parisien plays on fears and worries about the success of the "electronic joint".
>> The newspaper Le Parisien plays on fears and worries about the success of the "electronic joint".
4 December 2017
3 years later, the Kanavape trial finally begins
Opening of the Kanavape trial at the Marseille Criminal Court
For prosecutor Marion Chabot, Sébastien Béguerie and Antonin Cohen-Adad have " clearly positioned their product in a medical field, permanently linking Kanavape and the UFCMed " and are asking for the sentence of 18 and 15 months in prison respectively. suspended sentence , as well as a fine of 10,000 euros each , and a joint 5,000 euros to be paid to the Order of Pharmacists, which had instituted civil proceedings, in addition to having to pay for an official publication aimed at denying the therapeutic claims sold at the Kanavape launch press conference. Defense (Me Matthieu de Vallois and his colleague Me Ingrid Metton),releases the two defendants and contests the fact that Kanavape can be likened to a drug.
>> "Prison required for the founders of the hemp-flavored vape" by France3TV .
>> "Prison required for the founders of the hemp-flavored vape" by France3TV .
December 14, 2017
The World Health Organization states that CBD is safe to use.
WHO recommends against classifying CBD as a doping product internationally
The WHO Expert Panel on Drug Abuse concludes that cannabidiol (CBD) does not appear to have any potential for abuse or health harm and that since cannabidiol is not classified as a narcotic, the available information does not do not justify a change in the status or classification of this substance among doping products in sport and recommends that it not be classified as such in international competitions.
>> The recommendation not to classify CBD as a doping product on the WHO website.
>> The recommendation not to classify CBD as a doping product on the WHO website.
2018
January 8, 2018
But are acquitted of the offense of provocation to the use of narcotics
The Marseille criminal court condemns the founders of Kanavape for “violations of the legislation on drugs”
Almost receiving the maximum sentence pronounced on December 4, 2017 (18 and 15 months suspended prison sentence, 10,000 euros each and 5,000 euros in damages to be paid to the Council of the Order of Pharmacists), Sébastien Béguerie and Antonin Cohen-Adad are found guilty of several offenses against the legislation on medicines , but are however acquitted of the offense of incitement to the use of narcotics . For Ingrid Metton, “ Kanavape has been subject to numerous checks and no one has banned it. The court penalizes a product that has not been recognized as illegal ". The lawyers are appealing this decision.
>> CBD pioneers, condemned in first instance.
>> CBD pioneers, condemned in first instance.
June 11, 2018
Even if the agency has no real legal authority
The MILDECA prohibits the marketing of CBD flowers and declares that all products containing THC are prohibited.
The administration, placed under the authority of the Prime Minister, in a hasty and extremely restrictive declaration published on the governmental website of the Interministerial Mission for the Fight against Drugs and Addictive Behavior (MILDECA, since unavailable), specifies that the product product must be obtained exclusively from fibers and seeds of the varieties of hemp in the European catalog appearing in the decree of August 22, 1990, must not contain any trace of THC, that no therapeutic claim must be used and formally prohibits the production and sale of hemp flowers . CBD vape products remain permitted as long as they are produced overseasand that they contain no trace of THC (broad spectrum product).
>> Decryption in Liberation: The government is cutting the rug out from under the coffee-shops
>> Decryption in Liberation: The government is cutting the rug out from under the coffee-shops
June 17, 2018
The Minister of Solidarity and Health of France not in focus
Agnès Buzyn wants to ban French-style “coffee shops” and the CBD products distributed there.
The Minister of Solidarity and Health, Agnès Buzyn, wants to put order in the legislation in force (while admitting that it is vague) and believes that the shops distributing these products will soon be closed. It announces its intention to ban all cannabis products containing THC even if they respect the legal limit of 0.2% . As a doctor, she opposes all forms of legalization of cannabis, judging it as “ a toxic and dangerous product, which causes major cognitive disorders in young people, as well as a large number of road accidents ” ...
>> Cannabis: Agnès Buzyn plans to close the "coffee shops" on RTL.
>> Cannabis: Agnès Buzyn plans to close the "coffee shops" on RTL.
July 23, 2018
The Ministry of Justice sends a circular to prosecutors
The Directorate of Criminal Affairs and Pardons toughens the tone in applying the law in wanting to apply the law blindly
The French Ministry of Justice indicates that establishments offering for sale cannabis-derived products containing THC and/or not fulfilling the cumulative conditions provided for in the decree of August 22, 1990 may be prosecuted for offenses relating to the legislation on narcotics . The news report says CBD “ is found primarily in the leaves and flowers of the plant, not the fibers and seeds. Therefore, in the current state of the applicable legislation, the extraction of CBD under conditions that comply with the public health code does not seem possible ”. This seriously complicates the business of many new economic operators seeking to market productsbased on cannabis while respecting French regulations.
>> The dispatch in its entirety (PDF) .
>> The dispatch in its entirety (PDF) .
August 2018
CBD does not present risks of abuse or dependence
The WHO recommends not classifying CBD as a controlled substance in UN conventions.
The WHO Expert Committee on Drug Dependence (ECDD) ruled that CBD presented no risks of abuse or dependence and was therefore " generally well tolerated". with a good safety profile ”, enough to make it impossible to register it on the list of dangerous narcotics. In short, CBD is recognized as harmless, which does not justify its control at the international level.
>> CBD presented no risks of abuse or dependence on Newsweed.fr
>> CBD presented no risks of abuse or dependence on Newsweed.fr
September 2018
In order to assess the relevance of its use in France.
Opening of the first studies on cannabis for medical use in France
More than 22 years after California, 15 after Holland or even Israel , France, with much delay on the subject, launches the creation of a multidisciplinary Scientific Committee in charge of evaluating “ the relevance and feasibility of the use medical cannabis in France ”. It is still only, at this time, an assessment of the need to open a medical and scientific use the time to make an inventory of national and international regulations on the subject.
>> Evaluation of the relevance and feasibility of making therapeutic cannabis available in France on the ANSM website.
>> Evaluation of the relevance and feasibility of making therapeutic cannabis available in France on the ANSM website.
October 23, 2018
It will be up to the Court of Justice of the European Union to decide
Kanavape trial: the Aix-en-Provence Court of Appeal seizes the CJEU
Before judging the case, the Aix Court of Appeal chose to refer a preliminary ruling to the Court of Justice of the European Union on the compatibility of French regulations on CBD (defined by the decree of August 22, 1990) with European law , in order to get out of the legal vagueness surrounding the marketing of CBD and other legal components of cannabis in France. Me Ingrid Metton, sees in the judgment of the Court of Appeal " a scathing snub to the current repressive policy, which is not legally founded ", and intends to solicit as assisted witness all the persons indicted for the marketing of products derived from legal hemp.
>> On le monde.fr: CBD electronic cigarette: the Aix-en-Provence Court of Appeal seizes European justice
>> On le monde.fr: CBD electronic cigarette: the Aix-en-Provence Court of Appeal seizes European justice
2019
June 20, 2019
A new report shakes up the position of the Government
A note from the Council of Economic Analysis recommends legalizing cannabis to "take back control"
The memo points out that despite having one of the most repressive policies in Europe , the French, especially minors, are among the EU's heaviest cannabis consumers . The current prohibition system does not work: it does not protect the most vulnerable, burdens public spending and benefits organized crime. Based on an economic analysis and a study of recent foreign experiences, Emmanuelle Auriol and Pierre-Yves Geoffard explain that legalizing recreational cannabis would limit access to the product for the youngest., would fight against crime, would make it possible to develop a sector of the economy by creating jobs and taxes while improving French society as a whole (health, security and social justice).
>> Cannabis: How to regain control by the Council of Economic Analysis .
>> Cannabis: How to regain control by the Council of Economic Analysis .
October 2019
The French experiment will involve 3,000 patients
The National Assembly gives the green light to an experiment in the use of medical cannabis
As part of the examination of the Social Security draft budget for 2020, the authorization of an experiment is therefore voted. It aims to assess the effects of cannabis on patients with certain serious medical conditions. The goal is to determine if cannabis can offer an alternative to current treatments and to measure potential side effects. Covering 3,000 patients, the treatment may take the form of dried flowers, oils and other more traditional galenic forms. The different dosages can integrate variable ratios between its two active ingredients: tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) with psychoactive effects, and cannabidiol (CBD ) which causes muscle relaxation.
>> Therapeutic cannabis: the Assembly authorizes an experiment on point.fr .
>> Therapeutic cannabis: the Assembly authorizes an experiment on point.fr .
2019
November 19, 2019
France disavowed in its prohibitionist approach
Kanavape trial: The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled French CBD regulations contrary to European Union law
Sébastien is the only one to appear against France against Europe before the Luxembourg Court of Justice in the long-awaited trial. The CJEU delivers its judgment on November 19, 2020 ( CJEU C-663/18 November 19, 2020 ). For her, CBD is neither a medicine nor a narcotic . Consequently, prohibiting its sale in France constitutes an attack on the free movement of goods in the Union . This amounts to de facto authorizing the sale of CBD products in France, even if the processing of cannabis remains prohibited there by the decree of 90, indicating that CBD is legal even if it "is extracted from the Cannabis sativa plant [hemp] in its entirety and not just its fibers and seeds ”.Kanavape is therefore logically whitewashed and the French Government like MILDECA are repudiated in their prohibitionist approach to the issue.
>> The ban on CBD in France deemed illegal by European justice on LeMonde.fr
>> The ban on CBD in France deemed illegal by European justice on LeMonde.fr
November 2020
MILDECA forced to admit its mistake
MILDECA updates its update on CBD legislation.
Even if this announcement (like its previous statement of June 2018) has no real legal value; the MILDECA after having eaten its hat, sees itself obliged to update its position concerning the legislation on the CBD and the legal products of cannabis . She notes that CBD is legal even though it “ is extracted from the Cannabis sativa plant in its entirety and not just its fibers and seeds .” It also removes the mention of the ban on CBD flowers and the presence of THC in the finished product . Due to the various judicial snubs, these “points” on the legislation are currently unavailable on the Internet.
>> On Newsweed.fr: MILDECA takes stock of CBD legislation
>> On Newsweed.fr: MILDECA takes stock of CBD legislation
September 1, 2020
The State optimizes the persecution of cannabis users
Generalization of the fixed fine for the use of narcotics
Directed even towards cannabis users , the AFD (200 € with an amount reduced by 150 € and an amount increased by 400 €) for use is generalized throughout the territory after its experimentation in some regions of France. In fact, its application is also often carried out on CBD cannabis consumers , although they have purchased a product legally in a store with a storefront. Many French associations making up the CNPD ( Collectif pour une Nouvelle Politique des Drogues ) protest against this “ false decriminalization ” and announce a new failure of this provision.
>> The fixed fine of 200 euros for generalized drug use throughout the territory
>> The fixed fine of 200 euros for generalized drug use throughout the territory
December 2, 2020
A significant advance for its medical use
The Commission on Narcotics and Drugs takes cannabis out of the most restrictive category, recognizing its medical use.
The United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), the body determining which substances qualify as drugs under international law, approves the "reclassification" of cannabis and its resin in international treaties, thus recognizing its medical benefits . Traditionally, cannabis and its resins were present in the most restrictive category of Schedule IV of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 , listing substances that are highly addictive and have little or no medical use, which is no longer the cases after a vote at the 63rd session of the CND following the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO).
>> The UN officially recognizes the medical usefulness of cannabis.
>> The UN officially recognizes the medical usefulness of cannabis.
2021
March 26, 2021
After more than 3 years of debates and preparations...
The French Minister of Health, Olivier Véran launches the experimentation of medical cannabis in France
The experiment launched by the Minister of Solidarity and Health at the University Hospital of Clermont-Ferrand, in France, with the first prescription of medical cannabis to eligible patients. Aiming to collect the first French data on the efficacy and safety of cannabis for therapeutic purposes and to prepare the circuit for possible use. Thus, approximately 3,000 patients will be followed in 215 reference centers in 170 hospitals selected by the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM).
>> An article to understand everything on France Info .
>> An article to understand everything on France Info .
June 23, 2021
The Court of Cassation applies the judgment rendered in November by the Court of Justice of the European Union which contradicted the French authorities.
This judgment, eagerly awaited by French traders, concludes that if the CBD is produced legally in the EU and the THC is at trace level, the product cannot be qualified as a narcotic product , regardless of whether it is are flowers or a processed product, and can therefore be marketed like any ordinary product, like any product derived from a plant. The shops therefore win their case , but still not the producers for whom the cultivation and harvesting of raw flowers still remains within an ill-defined legal framework.
>> Le Monde: For the Court of Cassation, any CBD legally produced in the EU can be sold in France.
>> Le Monde: For the Court of Cassation, any CBD legally produced in the EU can be sold in France.
June 28, 2021
Report recommends cannabis legalization
Submission of the final report of the joint fact-finding mission on the regulation and impact of the different uses of cannabis
After 18 months of hearings , the deputies of six committees of the National Assembly adopted the publication of a " final report ", bringing together the thematic reports published since September 2020 (Hemp sector, therapeutic cannabis and recreational cannabis ) and we made the report of the work carried out. At the same time, a citizen consultation collected contributions from more than 250,000 people . The conclusion of the fact-finding mission is clear, clear and precise; it calls for a " supervised and regulated " legalization of recreational cannabis in addition to advancing more quickly on the theme of hemp well-being and the use ofmedical cannabis.
>> On LCP: Cannabis, the final report of the assembly's fact-finding mission adopted
>> On LCP: Cannabis, the final report of the assembly's fact-finding mission adopted
June 28, 2021
Harmonization of the THC level expected at European level
The European Parliament raises the THC level in authorized hemp varieties to 0.3%.
After going from 0.5% in 1984 to 0.2% in 1999, the European Parliament approved a new regulation concerning the limit of THC in the varieties of hemp available in the European catalog. The increased limit to 0.3%, thus allows a greater diversity of products on the European market as well as more outlets for varieties of hemp rich in CBD . This decision aims to align with current international standards and hemp products with a THC content of less than 0.3% will be considered legal in the European Union.
>> On HempToday: European Parliament signs off on raising EU THC limit to 0.3% .
>> On HempToday: European Parliament signs off on raising EU THC limit to 0.3% .
December 31, 2021
A new stop against the current of what is happening in Europe
France: A judgment prohibits the sale of CBD hemp flower and leaf.
The French Government now wants to clarify its position, even if it means taking a tough and prohibitionist line by establishing a clearer framework for producers, who must now be under contract with a processor before cultivating, prohibiting them from selling their flowers and leaves in the form raw without being processed . Shops and distributors for which flowers and other herbal teas represent nearly 80% of their turnover are taking all possible legal action to challenge this order .
>> Cannabis: CBD flowers are now prohibited for sale in France.
>> Cannabis: CBD flowers are now prohibited for sale in France.
November 2021
CBD vapes containing quality concentrates
Creation of the "Golden Buds" brand. 1st CBD vape products with distillate.
Before taking control of Kanavape, Sébastien Béguerie wanted to integrate into the vision of Golden Buds a real experience of the entourage effect of cannabinoids through extracts of distillates with a high concentration of CBD in its complete form (full spectrum ) but above all without any additives (PG/VG). Golden Buds products thanks to the aromatic terpenes specific to Californian varieties will allow an intense vaporizing sensation for all cannabis connoisseurs . The brand incorporates a cultural and lifestyle dimension, based on what is done in California, while promoting the ongoing legalization processes.
>> The Golden Buds website: Golden Buds Vape.
>> The Golden Buds website: Golden Buds Vape.
2022
January 7, 2022
A narcotic must be "harmful, addictive and psychotropic"
The Constitutional Council gives a legal definition of a narcotic product.
Hitherto absent from the public health code, the list of products in question is drawn up by the management of the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM), with a risk of arbitrariness in these decisions. Also, to regulate this absence, the Constitutional Council has established three criteria for defining narcotics . It must be harmful , addictive and psychotropic . Alcohol and tobacco meet these three criteria, while CBD does not meet any of them , so it cannot be considered a narcotic and therefore prohibited. Me Xavier Pizarro, Kanavape's lawyer at the Marseille bar who obtained the judgment of the CJEU, asksin summary proceedings to the Council of State the suspension of the decree of December 31, 2021 based on this decision of the Constitutional Council.
>> Cannabis: the Constitutional Council clarifies the definition of narcotics and gives hope to the CBD sector.
>> Cannabis: the Constitutional Council clarifies the definition of narcotics and gives hope to the CBD sector.
January 24, 2022
The Council of State suspends the decree prohibiting the sale of CBD flowers
Xavier Pizarro (Lawyer Kanavape) obtains the suspension of the decree of December 31, 2021 from the Council of State for the UPCBD.
The ministerial decree which prohibited, since December 31, 2021, the sale of the flower and the hemp leaf loaded with CBD, the non-psychotropic molecule of cannabis, is suspended by the Council of State. In rendering its decision, the institution notably recalled in a press release that the flowers and leaves of certain varieties of cannabis were "devoid of amazing properties", and could therefore be marketed in France .
The MILDECA deletes its points on the legislation previously published and produces an article specific to the decree .
>> Cannabis: "France is the opposite of what is being done in Europe", Me Pizarro, lawyer for the Union of CBD Professionals.
>> Cannabis: "France is the opposite of what is being done in Europe", Me Pizarro, lawyer for the Union of CBD Professionals.
February 1, 2022
A mixed result in a prohibitionist atmosphere
Lawyers are trying to clarify the legal status of cannabis and its various components before the Constitutional Council through priority questions of constitutionality (QPC)
After qualifying for good the legal status of CBD with the CJEU with the famous Kanavape judgment by Me Xavier Pizarro (UPCBD), with other lawyers, including Me Nicolas Hachet (NORML France), and SCP Rocheteau and Uzan- Sarano (for SPC, Syndicat Professionnel du chanvre) poses several priority questions of constitutionality in relation to cannabis in an attempt to redefine its legal status and its application before the law before Alain Juppé.
>> Pleadings by two NORML France expert lawyers to the Constitutional Council .
>> Pleadings by two NORML France expert lawyers to the Constitutional Council .
March 19, 2022
A conference for the legalization of cannabis
Kanavape Cofinances and Co-organizes the Legalize-it conference in Marseille.
After numerous legislative tumults, a conference on the issues related to the regulation of cannabis , organized on the initiative of the NORML France association , the Alpha-CAT company , the environmentalist and citizen group of the city of Marseille and the support for the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament . These are political figures, local elected officials, users, lawyers, specialists, entrepreneurs and associations who meet for debates on the necessary legalization of cannabis . Much relayed by the press, it was however unfairly shunned by the political decision-makers of the center and the right.
>> The "Legalize-it!" in Marseilles.
>> The "Legalize-it!" in Marseilles.
September 26, 2022
A decision criticized by patient associations
French therapeutic cannabis experimentation extended for a year
François Braun, Minister of Health, announces it to the National Assembly's Social Affairs Commission. The decision was criticized by patients questioning the rationale for extending the experiment . The reasons given for the extension include the low participation of private doctors , the lack of data on the economic benefits of the use of medical cannabis compared to traditional treatments, and the need to comply with European regulations. The objective of 3,000 registered patients is still far from being reached at this date (barely more than 1,600 patients after two years).
>> Experimentation with therapeutic cannabis extended for a year.
>> Experimentation with therapeutic cannabis extended for a year.
December 29, 2022
Legal CBD flowers once and for all
Pure and simple cancellation of the decree of December 31, 2021 by the Council of State.
The highest administrative court, seized by various actors in the sector, considers that "it does not result from the instruction (...) that hemp flowers and leaves whose THC content is not greater than 0, 30% would have a degree of harmfulness to health justifying a general and absolute ban on their sale to consumers ". It is therefore the end of a political doctrine and a new stinging defeat for the Government which has made a whole sector under construction waste a lot of time and energy, knowing that it is in its right and which only asks be regulated.
>> On Point.fr: The Council of State cancels the ban on the sale of CBD flowers.
>> On Point.fr: The Council of State cancels the ban on the sale of CBD flowers.
January 24, 2023
Yet another report calls for the legalization of cannabis
The ESEC recommends moving away from the status quo to move towards a supervised legalization of Cannabis.
This advisory body of civil society , where associations and unions sit, has created an ad hoc commission to open the debates "often caricatured on the subject". It proposes to work on 3 axes : “ Organize the public and participative debate for a new regulation of cannabis .”, “ Deploy emergency measures with a view to better regulation of cannabis in France .” and “ Building a Model for Managed Cannabis Legalization .” The reports and notes of the specialists have been accumulating for several years but the French executive still does not seem to have taken the measure of the scientific analyzes to entrench itself from the moralist angleand easier from an electoral point of view, until when?
>> Cannabis: moving away from the status quo, towards supervised legalization.
>> Cannabis: moving away from the status quo, towards supervised legalization.
We always recognize the pioneers:
they are the ones lying face down on the ground, far in front of you with an arrow stuck in their back.
they are the ones lying face down on the ground, far in front of you with an arrow stuck in their back.
Philip Donald Estridge
Père de l'IBM PC
