According to our information, the legalization of medical cannabis for 2024 will not be supported by the Macron government. The future Social Security Financing Bill (PLFSS) will in fact not include a budget line to generalize cannabis for medical use, the dispensation of which is currently limited to some 2,000 participants in the experimentation of therapeutic cannabis.
When asked by us about the reasons for this absence, the General Directorate of Health has not yet responded.
We are also awaiting the reaction of the various patient associations and influential groups around medical cannabis in France. We will add them as we receive them.
Franck Milone, founder of the medical cannabis producer LaFleur, was able to answer us and tell us that they had “mobilized with the authorities in recent months in order to participate in the various working groups for the integration of medical cannabis into the law common. The legislative texts are ready, patients and healthcare professionals are waiting for a clear framework, allowing secure access to medical cannabis. The situation for patients is critical, many have already been impacted last year with product shortages. The government needs to get more involved in this public health issue! France should not be a submarket. »
What future for medical cannabis experimentation?
The experiment should be extended to continue to support current patients and provide them with the medications they need. However, it may not be able to incorporate more sick people.
What chance remains for medical cannabis in France?
The inclusion of the generalization of medical cannabis in the PLFSS 2024 was the royal road to moving away from experimentation and leading to delivery for patients suffering from at least one of the 5 eligible pathologies (epilepsy, oncology, neuropathic pain, healthcare palliatives and painful spasticity).
The legalization of medical cannabis could still be proposed by amendment during the debates around the PLFSS.
