THE latest move by the French authorities to undermine the country’s thriving CBD industry will be met with widespread resistance, say the industry’s leading trade bodies.
France has the largest CBD and hemp market in Europe employing some 20,000 people with a total value of around €700m.
However, in a recent move the French Health Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES) concludes CBD poses a threat to human reproduction.
It claims studies have shown that CBD may have teratogenic effects and it has put the industry on notice of potential termination of the use of CBD in food and cosmetics.
However, a trio of French CBD and hemp bodies – the French Association of Cannabinoid Producers (AFPC), The Professional Hemp Union (SPC) and the Union of Industrialists for the Vaporization of Hemp Extracts (UIVEC) – say they will fight any attempts to curtail the thriving industry.
In neighbouring Italy the CBD industry is in the process of being outlawed by the Government and the French industry is determined to prevent any similar moves in their domestic market.
Ludovic Rachou, President of UIVEC, told Business of Cannabis: “In the worst case scenario ANSES could shut down the industry, but we cannot see this happening.
“The CBD industry has thrived in France for the last 10-years-or-so and we will fight to allow it to continue to do so.”
This new alarm is the latest of a number of attempts by the French authorities to interfere in its thriving CBD industry.
The country was at the centre of a key determination in the drawn-out KanaVape case, which ended up with the European Court of Justice in 2020, when it determined that CBD is not a narcotic and can be traded across the EU.
Following this defeat the French Government formally acknowledged the court’s determination, but in 2022 caveated that with a ruling which outlawed the sale of CBD flowers for smoking or drinking as tea.
The French Council of State cancelled this ban in early 2023, and while many viewed these events as a concerted attempt by the state authorities to undermine the industry, Mr Rachou believes otherwise.
He contends they are unrelated; preferring to identify the European industry’s main medical cannabis player – GW Pharmaceuticals, now Jazz Pharmaceuticals – as the primary agitator in the ANSES move.
CBD had come to the attention of ANSES a few years earlier due to its booming popularity in France and at the behest of the Government it was asked to incorporate it into its purview.
During its investigations into the effects of CBD it chose to focus its findings on the medical use of cannabis in the drug Epidyolex, manufactured by Jazz.
Consequently, its determination is based on the use of CBD in daily doses of up to 2,000mg which is far in excess of those recommended in the healthy-lifestyle, retail sector.
And, late last month ANSES made the surprise announcement that CBD be classified as a ‘presumed human reproductive toxicant’.
This will see it classified as a ‘Category 1B’ product meaning it is subject to strict risk management measures, labelling requirements and potential prohibition.
On further investigation ANSES also discovered that CBD was not not registered with the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), and it has now asked this authority for guidance on the safety of CBD in a determination which may also have an impact across the 27 member states of the European Union.
ECHA opened submissions to the ANSES analysis in March this year and these will close on May 17, after which the ECHA will ‘then issue an opinion on the harmonised classification of CBD’ by August 20, 2026.
Mr Rachou said: “We have been talking to ANSES on this matter for sometime. This really is the result of a misunderstanding on their behalf and has probably come about because of lobbying by Jazz Pharmaceuticals.
“We will be submitting evidence to the ECHA on the safety of CBD. It has been in common use in France for the last 10 years and there have been no adverse effects for users.
“The levels of CBD widely consumed are far below those which have been used by ANSES. These are massive amounts and to consider these as representative of the retail market is just plainly wrong.”
The country’s trade associations say they will fight any negative determinations with the use of data, science and point-by-point counter arguments to the ANSES submissions.
Mr Rachou, whose CBD company Raya is one of France’s leading players, highlighted how the bureaucratic nature of decision-making in the EU means there will be not any determinations on this issue for some time.
“This process will take a number of years and we are in a strong position to support the industry and the many people who use CBD to the benefit of their daily lives.”
He says CBD is now a ‘basic commodity’ featuring in the country’s main supermarkets and available at some 1,500 specialist shops, several thousand tobacconists, as well as pharmacies and e-commerce platforms.
In a 2022 survey over 16% of French adults say they had consumed CBD at least once in their lives.
In response to the Business of Cannabis the ECHA issued the following statement. “Our assessment process is about the hazards of the substance. The risks of its uses will be assessed under other pieces of use specific legislation.
France has submitted a proposal to harmonise the classification and labelling of Cannabidiol to ECHA. There is an ongoing consultation on this proposal related to reproductive toxicity until 16 May.
After the consultation, our Committee for Risk Assessment, RAC, will examine the evidence in France’s proposal and from the consultation, and form its opinion on the proposed classification of cannabidiol.
Once RAC adopts its opinion, it will be sent to the European Commission for a decision. After the Commission has adopted a delegated act, it will add the substance to Annex XI of the CLP Regulation. After that, all manufacturers, importers and downstream users of the substance must classify, label and package it accordingly.”
ECHA’s committee for risk assessment has 18 months to adopt its opinion, the legal deadline for the opinion is August 20, 2026.
Ludovic Rachou will be speaking at Cannabis Europa in London on a ‘State of Play’ panel about the French medical cannabis market. For more info and tickets, click here.
The post French CBD Industry Under Attack From Food Regulators appeared first on Business of Cannabis.
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France has the largest CBD and hemp market in Europe employing some 20,000 people with a total value of around €700m.
However, in a recent move the French Health Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES) concludes CBD poses a threat to human reproduction.
It claims studies have shown that CBD may have teratogenic effects and it has put the industry on notice of potential termination of the use of CBD in food and cosmetics.
However, a trio of French CBD and hemp bodies – the French Association of Cannabinoid Producers (AFPC), The Professional Hemp Union (SPC) and the Union of Industrialists for the Vaporization of Hemp Extracts (UIVEC) – say they will fight any attempts to curtail the thriving industry.
In neighbouring Italy the CBD industry is in the process of being outlawed by the Government and the French industry is determined to prevent any similar moves in their domestic market.
Ludovic Rachou, President of UIVEC, told Business of Cannabis: “In the worst case scenario ANSES could shut down the industry, but we cannot see this happening.
“The CBD industry has thrived in France for the last 10-years-or-so and we will fight to allow it to continue to do so.”
This new alarm is the latest of a number of attempts by the French authorities to interfere in its thriving CBD industry.
The country was at the centre of a key determination in the drawn-out KanaVape case, which ended up with the European Court of Justice in 2020, when it determined that CBD is not a narcotic and can be traded across the EU.
Following this defeat the French Government formally acknowledged the court’s determination, but in 2022 caveated that with a ruling which outlawed the sale of CBD flowers for smoking or drinking as tea.
The French Council of State cancelled this ban in early 2023, and while many viewed these events as a concerted attempt by the state authorities to undermine the industry, Mr Rachou believes otherwise.
He contends they are unrelated; preferring to identify the European industry’s main medical cannabis player – GW Pharmaceuticals, now Jazz Pharmaceuticals – as the primary agitator in the ANSES move.
CBD had come to the attention of ANSES a few years earlier due to its booming popularity in France and at the behest of the Government it was asked to incorporate it into its purview.
During its investigations into the effects of CBD it chose to focus its findings on the medical use of cannabis in the drug Epidyolex, manufactured by Jazz.
Consequently, its determination is based on the use of CBD in daily doses of up to 2,000mg which is far in excess of those recommended in the healthy-lifestyle, retail sector.
And, late last month ANSES made the surprise announcement that CBD be classified as a ‘presumed human reproductive toxicant’.
This will see it classified as a ‘Category 1B’ product meaning it is subject to strict risk management measures, labelling requirements and potential prohibition.
On further investigation ANSES also discovered that CBD was not not registered with the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), and it has now asked this authority for guidance on the safety of CBD in a determination which may also have an impact across the 27 member states of the European Union.
ECHA opened submissions to the ANSES analysis in March this year and these will close on May 17, after which the ECHA will ‘then issue an opinion on the harmonised classification of CBD’ by August 20, 2026.
Mr Rachou said: “We have been talking to ANSES on this matter for sometime. This really is the result of a misunderstanding on their behalf and has probably come about because of lobbying by Jazz Pharmaceuticals.
“We will be submitting evidence to the ECHA on the safety of CBD. It has been in common use in France for the last 10 years and there have been no adverse effects for users.
“The levels of CBD widely consumed are far below those which have been used by ANSES. These are massive amounts and to consider these as representative of the retail market is just plainly wrong.”
The country’s trade associations say they will fight any negative determinations with the use of data, science and point-by-point counter arguments to the ANSES submissions.
Mr Rachou, whose CBD company Raya is one of France’s leading players, highlighted how the bureaucratic nature of decision-making in the EU means there will be not any determinations on this issue for some time.
“This process will take a number of years and we are in a strong position to support the industry and the many people who use CBD to the benefit of their daily lives.”
He says CBD is now a ‘basic commodity’ featuring in the country’s main supermarkets and available at some 1,500 specialist shops, several thousand tobacconists, as well as pharmacies and e-commerce platforms.
In a 2022 survey over 16% of French adults say they had consumed CBD at least once in their lives.
In response to the Business of Cannabis the ECHA issued the following statement. “Our assessment process is about the hazards of the substance. The risks of its uses will be assessed under other pieces of use specific legislation.
France has submitted a proposal to harmonise the classification and labelling of Cannabidiol to ECHA. There is an ongoing consultation on this proposal related to reproductive toxicity until 16 May.
After the consultation, our Committee for Risk Assessment, RAC, will examine the evidence in France’s proposal and from the consultation, and form its opinion on the proposed classification of cannabidiol.
Once RAC adopts its opinion, it will be sent to the European Commission for a decision. After the Commission has adopted a delegated act, it will add the substance to Annex XI of the CLP Regulation. After that, all manufacturers, importers and downstream users of the substance must classify, label and package it accordingly.”
ECHA’s committee for risk assessment has 18 months to adopt its opinion, the legal deadline for the opinion is August 20, 2026.
Ludovic Rachou will be speaking at Cannabis Europa in London on a ‘State of Play’ panel about the French medical cannabis market. For more info and tickets, click here.
The post French CBD Industry Under Attack From Food Regulators appeared first on Business of Cannabis.
Continue reading...
