The decision had been awaited since the end of last year: after the agreement of the National Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM) in July, it is now the National Assembly which has just authorized the establishment of an experiment on cannabis for therapeutic purposes.
“The main objective of this experiment will be to assess, in a real situation, the cannabis prescription and delivery circuit as well as the support of health professionals and patients. Its secondary objective will be to collect the first French data from efficiency and safety “then underlined the ANSM in a press release.
24-month experience
This experiment should start in 2020 and last two years: 6 months of implementation, 6 months of inclusion of the 3000 patients planned, 6 months of patient follow-up and finally, 6 months of data analysis. A report will then be drawn up by a scientific committee. The prescribed products will be inhaled (oil, dried flowers) or ingested (drinkable solutions, oil capsules) by patients suffering from serious and painful diseases: cancer, certain forms of severe epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, pain refractory to therapy.
“It is not a question of developing a new drug which would replace paracetamol or another analgesic, but of finding the means of a new adjuvant treatment” declared the deputy. Olivier Véran, rapporteur for this proposal of the Social Security 2020 draft budget.
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