It cannot be considered a narcotic, reports Konbini News agency.*

European justice rejected Thursday, November 19 the ban on cannabidiol (CBD) in France, stressing the harmlessness of this non-psychotropic cannabis molecule, a decision hailed as a “snub” by hemp followers and which whets appetites economic around this plant.*

Legal uncertainty persists around CBD in France, thanks to which the authorities have closed dozens of shops selling this “light cannabis”, without euphoric effect and prized for its relaxing properties.*

In a crucial judgment for players in the sector, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled that CBD has “no psychotropic effect or harmful effect on human health”, and that ‘it “cannot be considered a’ narcotic ‘”, nor as a medicine.*

A decision that should deprive many lawsuits in France of a legal basis and open up new perspectives for the European and French hemp industry.*

The Court considers products containing CBD – oils, herbal teas, chewing gum, cosmetics, etc. – as goods which must be able to move freely in the EU. “A Member State cannot prohibit the marketing of cannabidiol (CBD) legally produced in another Member State when it is extracted from the cannabis sativa plant [hemp, note] in its entirety”, according to the judgment.*

The CJEU thus agrees with two French pioneers of electronic cigarettes with CBD, Sébastien Béguerie and Antonin Cohen.*

The two Marseille entrepreneurs are being prosecuted for having launched Kanavape in 2014, based on an oil legally manufactured in the Czech Republic containing CBD extracted from all cannabis sativa, leaves and flowers included, while France only allows use seeds and fibers.*

After their first-instance sentences to 18 and 15 months’ suspended imprisonment, as well as a 10,000 euro fine, the case rose to European significance on appeal. In 2018, the Aix-en-Provence Court of Appeal sought the opinion of the CJEU on the compatibility of French regulations with those of the EU.*

In its response to the French judges, who have yet to rule on the merits, the European court considers that the ban on the marketing of CBD can only be adopted if the risk to public health invoked by France “appears to be sufficiently established”.*

“The biggest remains to be done”*

“It’s a huge relief, even if it’s not over yet,” Sébastien Béguerie told AFP from the Czech Republic, where he continues his activities related to CBD. This decision recognizes us as pioneers and before -guards, not like drug dealers. “*

“After such a persistence of the French state to kill this industry in the bud, it is a huge snub,” said his lawyer, Xavier Pizarro.*

By emphasizing that CBD does not have a harmful effect on health, as recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) since 2017, the CJEU is “forcing the hand” of French judges, he believes. He anticipates “releases by the shovel” in similar proceedings.*

“This is a very important stop for the CBD industry in Europe”, while “the European Commission seemed tempted by the idea of ​​considering CBD as a narcotic,” said Eveline Van Keymeulen, Antonin’s lawyer Cohen.*

The scope of this decision “goes well beyond the Kanavape affair,” adds Yann Bisiou, president of the L630 association, which specializes in drug law.*

The judgment not only validates the importation into France of CBD from other European countries, but also “opens the doors of the market to Canadians, who are heavyweights in the cannabis industry” and will benefit from the treaty. free trade CETA to export.*

“For entrepreneurs who want to develop this market in France, this is an extremely positive signal,” said the president of the Professional Hemp Trade Union, Aurélien Delecroix, which lists some 300 shops selling CBD in France.*

“But the biggest remains to be done. The government must […] allow farmers to produce CBD”, he judges, stressing that France is “the first European producer of hemp”.*

On Twitter, the president of the parliamentary mission on cannabis, Jean-Baptiste Moreau, was quick to call for measures “to start the production of CBD in France”.*

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From 01.01.2021, the following regulations apply, informs the Federal Office of Agriculture FOAG.*

• Agricultural production of hemp is permitted, provided it is not hemp used as a narcotic. All provisions of the Seed Law relating to the production and sale of hemp seeds and plants are repealed (Agricultural Ordinance Package 2020).*
• For agricultural production of hemp, the provisions of the Plant Health Law and the Ordinance on Direct Payments must be observed.*
• For the use of hemp as animal feed, the provisions of the animal feed legislation must be observed.*

Any variety of hemp is allowed for agricultural production, as long as it is not used as a narcotic (<1% THC w/w). So far, only certain varieties have been.***

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Mexico’s Senate approved a landmark cannabis legalization bill in a landslide vote on Thursday, paving the way for the creation of the world’s largest legal marijuana market if the initiative passes the next hurdle in the lower house of Congress, report Reuters.*

Senators voted 82 to 18 to approve the measure, with seven abstentions.*

Lawmakers are rushing to secure final approval before the end of the current congressional session in December. If enacted, the reform would mark a major shift in a country where drug cartel violence in recent years has claimed over 100,000 lives.*

The Supreme Court ruled in 2018 that recreational marijuana should be permitted, just one year after lawmakers legalized it for medicinal use.*

Socially conservative President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has shied away from publicly backing the legalization push, but neither has he opposed it, and senior cabinet members like Interior Minister Olga Sanchez have openly called for a shift to legalization and regulation.*

Lopez Obrador’s left-of-center Morena party, which backed the initiative, holds a majority in both chambers of Congress with its allies.*

The bill aims to “improve living conditions” and “contribute to the reduction of crime linked to drug trafficking,” according to its text.*

Weed companies have expressed interest in a future Mexican legal market, including Canada’s Canopy Growth WEED.TO and The Green Organic Dutchman TGOD.TO, as well as a unit of California-based Medical Marijuana Inc MJNA.PK.*

The legislation would let users carry up to 28 grams and grow as many as four plants at home.*

Sales to adults in authorized businesses would be allowed, provided the product abides by maximum levels of psychoactive ingredients.*

Children would be prohibited from using the drug or any involvement in its cultivation and sales, and driving while high would be illegal.*

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The Dutch government is supporting research into the use of medicinal cannabis in the treatment of neuropathic pain with € 1.9 million. The grant has been awarded to a joint project of the Centre for Human Drug Research (CHDR), a Dutch independent institute that specializes in clinical drug research, and the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC). Neurologist Geert Jan Groeneveld (CSO / CMO at CHDR and professor of Clinical Neuropharmacology at the LUMC) and Albert Dahan (professor of Anesthesiology at the LUMC) will conduct the research, reports the Dutch producer.*

The research intends to lead to a specific recommendation of an optimal delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) –  cannabidiol (CBD) dosage for the treatment of neuropathic pain in a particular subgroup of patients. In addition, it contributes to evidence for the effectiveness of medicinal cannabis. Bedrocan’s raw materials will be used for the production of the research material.*

Innovative

The research does not look at the entire plant, but purely at the pharmacological effect of THC and CBD. Groeneveld: “We want to approach this research exactly as a drug developer would. As a clinical pharmacologist, you extract the proven pharmacological components from a plant and do research with it. That is also innovative in this research”.*

The researchers will very accurately measure the pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of THC and CBD, the effects of both substances on pain and brain function and how the substances behave in the human body.*

“We are going to isolate the THC and CBD from Bedrocan cannabis and administer them in tablet form in different proportions. We will then look at the influence of CBD on the effects of THC , and investigate which THC-CBD combination is best for the treatment of neuropathic pain”, said Groeneveld.  The Dutch company Echo Pharmaceuticals from Leiden will produce the tablets for the research.*

Healthy subjects

The study consists of two parts. In the first part, healthy subjects will be administered the tablets with different THC and CBD ratios. The first part of the research will show whether the adverse effects of THC, such as getting high or feeling anxious, can be reduced by administering CBD simultaneously. According to Groeneveld, the scientific literature has so far provided conflicting results about this: “To be honest, I do not expect much from CBD alone as a treatment for neuropathic pain. From a pharmacological point of view, it is likely that THC affects pain, but this is less the case for CBD. CBD could have an effect on inflammation, but there is no reason  to use CBD as a treatment for inflammatory pain. We already have Ibuprofen for that. It will only become interesting if the adverse effects of THC, such as feelings of anxiety, can be alleviated by administering CBD at the same time. “*

Search for the ideal ratio between THC and CBD

THC (9-tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (cannabidiol) are the two most studied active ingredients of the cannabis plant. THC is known for its analgesic effect, but it also causes psychoactive side effects. CBD could lead to pain-relieving effects through other mechanisms. It is believed that CBD may also influence the psychotropic effects of THC by modulating THC binding to the CB1 receptor. However, it is still unclear what the ideal ratio of THC to CBD would be to take advantage of the CB1 modulating effects of CBD while preserving the positive effects of THC on pain. In addition, it is still unclear whether the analgesic effects that some patients experience as a result of CBD use are due to a pharmacological action of CBD, or simply because CBD prevents the metabolism of concomitantly used pain killers. The latter will also be investigated in these studies.*

Patients with neuropathic pain conditions

The effects on pain in patients will not be investigated until the second part of the study, after the results of the first study are known. This will provide information on which THC:CBD ratio works best. The second part of the study will take place among a diverse group of 200 patients with different neuropathic pain conditions. Groeneveld: “We are going to phenotype this group very well in advance. This means that we want to know exactly how the neuropathic pain manifests itself specifically in this group. Do patients have demonstrable nerve damage, do they have a personality disorder, are they depressed, or do they have sleep disorders? All these are variables that we are going to map.”*

Subsequently, the participants in a crossover study will receive placebo for five weeks, and after a wash-out period, they will receive five weeks of cannabinoid treatment or vice versa. Pain will be measured in each treatment period. Groeneveld: “In patients with clear pain relief, we want to further investigate whether there is a correlation between their variables, such as sleeping problems, anxiety or peripheral nerve damage, and the response to treatment with THC.”*

The first part of the study will start in the spring of 2021, and Groeneveld expects the first results in the summer. The second part of the study with the pain patients will start in the autumn and will last at least two years.*

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