Cannabis Health News
Just months ago, France’s long battle to establish a permanent generalised medical cannabis framework was on the brink of failure.
Despite other major European countries looking to France’s 2019 pilot scheme for inspiration, COVID-19, waning political will, operational hurdles, and the dissolution of the National Assembly in 2024 posed an existential crisis to the project.
However, in a dramatic about-turn from the government, which had only just emerged from months of political chaos, three separate documents detailing its proposed medical cannabis system were submitted to the EU for approval in March 2025.
Augur Associates and Newsweed, two organisations at the forefront of the ongoing developments in the region, believe that the incoming system not only sidesteps many of the issues other countries have faced in the implementation phase, but that it could reestablish the country’s standing as a model of inspiration for neighbouring states and prospective forthcoming EU supra-regulation.
‘State of the Medical Cannabis Industry in France – 2025’
A recently published report from the two French industry experts argues that while the incoming framework will be tough for many businesses to break into, its rigorous pharmaceutical approach will not only protect the industry and patients but also encourage innovation.
Its authors, Benjamin-Alexandre Jeanroy and Aurélien Bernard, told Business of Cannabis: “Overall, the system is serious, pharmaceutical, and designed to reduce stigma and improve access. It might not be the fastest rollout, but it’s likely to be a durable and exportable framework for other countries to follow. It fully integrates cannabis into the healthcare system, avoiding future arbitrary decisions which would single out regulatory processes or medical uses of the plant.”
Following the submission to the EU in March, two distinct processes are now at play. First, Jeanroy explained, is the regulatory process. These draft texts have now cleared the three-month TRIS period. In parallel, the texts have been submitted to the Conseil d’État (State Council) to check for potential legal contentions, a process which still ongoing and expected to be rolled out in the upcoming weeks.
Read the full report at
France Plans to “Fully Integrate” Medical Cannabis into its Healthcare System
