Accents of Europe

In Europe, a booming hemp market

Audio 7:30 p.m.

Italian hemp.

© Pauline Gleize/RFI

By: Alice Rouja Follow

1 min

Thanks to European legislation authorizing the cultivation of hemp under certain conditions, this market is booming in the Union and today generates 475 million euros per year.  

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Hemp is this plant with atypical and remarkable leaves, which needs very little water to grow.

It was originally cultivated to make ropes.

But in the 1960s, people lost interest in it, probably because of the image conveyed by the hippie community.

Today, it is its big comeback, especially in

Italy

, where it is used to make textiles, building materials or even food products.

The explanations of

Cécile Debarge

.   

Hemp, we know it first because it is smoked.

It is sometimes called cannabis, when it contains THC, considered a drug and therefore illegal in most European countries... except in Malta or Germany, for example, for therapeutic uses.

Its other name is CBD.

A version without psychotropic.

Three initials that have become famous, as there are so many shops that offer it: to smoke it, but also to eat it or infuse it.

We take you to the

Czech Republic

, where the capital Prague has become a preferred destination for entrepreneurs in the sector.

A report by

Alexis Rosenzweig

.  

And off to

Sweden

 !

In Gothenburg more precisely, voted the rainiest city in Europe.

But over there, we love the rain.

The city has, in any case, decided to make it a tourist argument.

Frederic Faux.

Finally, the musical chronicle of

Vincent Théval

.

This week, let's listen to Belle and Sebastian's new album.  

(Rebroadcast May 6, 2022)

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Italian hemp: between trial and error and cannabusiness

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CBD, a booming market

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Sweden: Gothenburg in the rain