Agnès Buzyn’s battle against French “coffee shops”

We already know that she’s against derivatives of tobacco, but Agnès Buzyn, current Minister of Health, has a new battle to fight. Now she is speaking out against cannabidiol, or CBD, a form of cannabis that does not contain the psychoactive substance THC, which is currently at the heart of a controversy. This substance, used in certain electronic cigarettes, is now available for sale in the form of smoking the herb or the resin, and it is available to all consumers.

To Agnès Buzyn’s dismay, this form of cannabis “light” is currently being sold to in flourishing stores in France. The legality of the substance remains in question, however, something that Buzyn has highlighted since there is no formal law prohibiting the sale of this product.

 

Coffee shops benefitting from unclear French laws

Officially, hemp containing less than 0.2% of THC can be purchased and consumed. Nonetheless, stores selling this new form of cannabis do not advertise the fact that this only applies to the drug being sold as a plant.  This is because these stores sell the product in the form of dry sheets that can be smoked, e-liquids for electronic cigarettes, inhalable products, and other edible forms.

Nothing is stipulated for substances containing a low amount of THC. Faced with this, the Paris prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation, which will be given to the government’s drug enforcement agency in order to clarify the situation.  

For now, Agnès Buzyn has not made any formal accusation against coffee shops that are currently benefitting from this current market boom. On RTL radio a few days ago, she acknowledged the confusion surrounding products that contain less than 0.2% of THC.This will thus require careful consideration with an eye towards preventing fraud as the commercialization of cannabis continues to gain steam.