On Wednesday May 29, the Senate debated therapeutic cannabis, and almost all senators were in favor.
A debate, yes, but a debate without a vote in the Senate this Wednesday, May 29, at the initiative of Esther Benbassa, a senator from Europe Écologie Les Verts. “There’s no reason to exclude a molecule on the pretext that it’s cannabis, even though it could be of interest,” she declared, while the French National Agency for Medicines (ANAM) is due to announce its plan to experiment with therapeutic cannabis on June 26.
Between 300,000 and 1 million patients in metropolitan France could be affected, and over 82% of French people say they are in favor of medical use. 21 European countries have already legalized therapeutic cannabis.
France is one of a number of countries that allow the therapeutic use of cannabis-derived molecules on prescription. Three cannabis-derived medicines are already available, but are dispensed in dribs and drabs: Sativex, a spray that is supposed to relieve multiple sclerosis patients, has in fact never been marketed, due to a disagreement over its reimbursement. As for the other two treatments, they require temporary authorization by the ANSM (Agence Nationale du Médicament), which means that they are rarely used.
Jacob
