French Polynesia wants to know everything about its “pakalolo”, the cannabis found on Tahitian soil. It will soon be possible. The president of the community has just signed an order authorizing ” I’import, export, possession, extraction and processing of Indian hemp and preparations containing it or made from the Cannabis sativa L.” by a scientist.
Edouard Suhas is a doctor in bio-organic chemistry at the Louis-Malardé Institute. He is the lucky one. His experiment – the pakalolo Phytochemical screening of seedlings cannabis from French Polynesia – will last three years. The researcher’s objective will be to find the perfect Polynesian cannabis.
” What interests us is to find a plant that is as rich as possible in CBD and as low as possible in THC »announces Edouard Suhas at the microphone of Radio 1. For its leader, the director of the Louis-Malardé Institute, “these are the plants that we want to use to develop a sector in Polynesia”.
Because if he finds this perfect cannabis, Polynesia can then develop a production of medical cannabis. As we know, high-dose CBD could be useful against epilepsy or even treat opioid addiction. Such a find “pcould be the vector of development of a profitable economic sector for the French Polynesia “writes the president of the community in his decree.
Polynesia absent from experimentation with therapeutic cannabis
To study the different varieties of cannabis in the archipelago, the biochemist will use… the plants seized by the police and gendarmes. He can have up to ” 500 grams maximum per month. In his laboratory, he will sift the cannabis plants.
A bit like Strain Huntershe will seek to determine the qualities of the plants according to their origin. “Will the pakalolo from Huahine have the same profile as the one that grew in the valleys of Tahiti or on the coral soil of the Tuamotu? asks Edouard Suhas. It will also analyze the composition of THC and CBD. Polynesians often boast of having a paka high dose of THC.
The start of this scientific study is good news for French Polynesia. Indeed, this community was not included in the experimentation with therapeutic cannabis present in Metropolitan France since the spring of 2021. Because it is an autonomous territory, where the laws often differ from France. To refuse this ban, the Economic, Social and Cultural Council of Polynesia said at the time ” not convinced “ the validity of the experiment.
