The French government has finally seen the light and announced that medical cannabis is here to stay.
The move has been a long time coming, particularly given the forward motion of another large economy, Germany, which kicked off this process, albeit messily, in the spring of 2017.
Here is the first twist.
It also means, no doubt, that there will be entries into the market by other pharmaceutical firms, if not a rush to set up domestic distribution companies .
Given the language of the resolution, however, specifically “only growers who have contracted to supply their production may cultivate cannabis plants for the purpose of manufacturing medicines,” it appears that flower may be on the way out.
Don’t think such a decision has gone unnoticed at any federal French agency.
Such legal showdowns are likely to be necessary everywhere, and France, so far, has been one prime example of that, and at an EU level.
That beats the record, so far, of other challenges launched from other sovereign countries in the bloc.