{"id":29194,"date":"2023-11-07T10:45:03","date_gmt":"2023-11-07T10:45:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabishealthnews.co.uk\/?p=29194"},"modified":"2023-11-07T10:45:06","modified_gmt":"2023-11-07T10:45:06","slug":"france-takes-major-step-towards-medical-cannabis-generalisation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabishealthnews.co.uk\/2023\/11\/07\/france-takes-major-step-towards-medical-cannabis-generalisation\/","title":{"rendered":"France takes major step towards medical cannabis generalisation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Via Business of Cannabis <\/a><\/p>\n

Following months of uncertainty and doubt, thousands of medical cannabis patients in France can now breathe a sigh of relief after the government finally confirmed that access to their treatment will continue.<\/h3>\n

On Monday, October 23, the government tabled an amendment to the Social Security Financing Bill (PLFSS) concerning medical cannabis, bringing it into France\u2019s general medical framework for the first time.<\/p>\n

Now, according to the new proposals, medical cannabis products will receive a \u2018temporary authorisation\u2019 for five years, with scope for these to be renewed by French authorities indefinitely.<\/p>\n

Benjamin-Alexandre Jeanroy of Paris-based Augur Associates<\/a> told us that while this represents a step towards fully-fledged generalisation, it \u2018is a very important step because it brings medical cannabis into general law\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is a huge victory in itself\u2026While it\u2019s still hard for patients, who still have to try every other treatment before being prescribed, it\u2019s now part of the tool box for doctors to prescribe and patients to access.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that once both chambers pass the PLFSS, there will be the capacity to start building a medical cannabis industry in France as pre-redacted ministerial decrees are expected to be published in the in the aftermath.<\/p>\n

What Happened?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

France launched its medical cannabis experiment in 2021, offering around 3,000 patients free cannabis products with an initial intended run-time of two years.<\/p>\n

The trial was intended \u2018to evaluate, in a real situation, the recommendations of the committee in terms of prescribing and dispensing conditions and the adherence of health professionals and patients to these conditions\u2019, providing safety and efficacy data as a \u2018secondary objective\u2019.<\/p>\n

Patients and industry stakeholders alike had expected that the experiment would be a near certain precursor to full regulation, yet with the experiment due to come to an end in March 2024, any mention of this was excluded from France\u2019s PLFSS when it was published last month.<\/a><\/p>\n

Following considerable pushback from the industry amid fears that not only would the thousands of patients lose access to their medicine, but also that the medical cannabis programme would be dead in the water, France\u2019s Minister of Health confirmed<\/a> in mid-October that the government would table an amendment to the bill which would address the issue.<\/p>\n

The Amendment<\/strong><\/h4>\n

This amendment was tabled last week, providing plans for a temporary status for medical cannabis products. Here are the key points:<\/p>\n