On Tuesday evening, the President of French Polynesia, Moetai Brotherson, met with Karl Anihia of the association Tahiti Herb Culture, Philippe Cathelain, President of the Union Polynésienne du Chanvre, as well as pharmacists and doctors to discuss progress on the cannabis legislation, which is one of the Tavini party’s campaign themes. The meeting focused on four main areas of action, with the goal of drafting a new law by “the end of the month” according to Tahiti Infos.
“This is a meeting that we have been waiting for for a very long time. Already with President Fritch, we had asked him several times but we never got an answer. There, a simple request to Moetai [Brotherson] and he receives us as soon as he returns from his mission, so that proves his attachment to this file. He is very aware of the urgency for sick people who can no longer take it. So yes we are very satisfied. We were treated to a very attentive, very pragmatic ear,” explained Karl Anihia after being received by President Brotherson and his Minister of Agriculture, Taivini Teai.
The agenda included discussions on medical cannabis, as well as other topics such as industrial hemp, CBD, local CBD (such as monoi, a hemp-infused oil already sold in Polynesia), and the project national recreational cannabis law.
Before being elected President, the then deputy Moetai Brotherson tabled in the National Assembly a proposal for an organic law relating to the experimentation of the social regulation of cannabis in French Polynesia, which proposed the creation of Cannabis Clubs, associations non-profit organization aimed at bringing users together to cultivate cannabis for personal use. The text was sent back to the Constitutional Law Commission and has not changed since.
Tuesday’s meeting mainly allowed to establish a calendar, the associations having to join the working groups in two weeks. This collaboration is a significant step forward compared to the previous government. Karl Anihia explained that the first project will focus on industrial hemp and its outlets as a construction material, textile… The objective is to produce locally what is currently imported, such as hemp-based shampoos. The associations involved obviously have the support of professionals in the cosmetics industry, who are eager to participate.
The discussion on recreational use will be complicated in advance, warned Moetai Brotherson, indicating “that he could not go beyond what France authorizes”, even if cannabis consumption is significant in the archipelago. where 50% of the Polynesian population over the age of 15 uses cannabis.
