April 23, 2018.
A Canadian researcher has revealed a loophole in the French public health code legalizing the main psychoactive component of the cannabis plant, delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
The main psychotropic drug in legal cannabis for more than ten years in France
According to information revealed by Release, tetrahydrocannabinol (better known by the acronym THC), the main psychoactive component of cannabis, had been legal for more than ten years in France! We learn that an article of the Public Health Code authorizes the use of this molecule in certain forms. As a reminder, THC is particularly responsible for redness of the eyes when consumed, feelings of fatigue, drowsiness, hunger and euphoria.
Renaud Colson, senior lecturer at the University of Nantes and researcher at the University Institute on Addictions in Montreal, Canada, noted this subtlety in French law. It all started in 2004 when the public health code authorizes the use of “delta -9 – synthetic tetrahydrocannabinol“.
THC could be used in products such as herbal teas
Thus, according to the lecturer, the original text first authorized the synthetic product in 2004, thus allowing the importation of certain drugs such as Marinol, useful in the treatment of AIDS and cancer. Then an update of the text in 2007 removed the mention, allowing THC in its natural form. The researcher wonders about the real nature of this small error.
He wonders if this was really a mistake or if the government was thinking of opening a wider path to THC-based medication in France. If it is allowed to be consumed in its natural form, it could be used in the same way as cannabidiol (CBD), another active ingredient of the cannabis plant that is legally found in the form of herbal teas, liquid for electronic cigarettes, oils, cosmetic balms or capsules.
Marie-Eve Wilson-Jamin
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