Paris (AFP)

Some 3,000 patients concerned, for two years: the National Assembly gave the green light Friday to the experimentation of therapeutic cannabis in France, Emmanuel Macron reminding him his opposition to recreational cannabis.

The experiment of cannabis for medical use, for which the drug agency had already approved, could "begin in the first half of 2020," said Secretary of State Christelle Dubos in the Chamber.

"This product will be in the form of herbal tea, oil or dried flowers. (...) There will obviously be no distribution of joints in pharmacies," said the deputy LREM and rapporteur of the 2020 budget of Olivier Véran, who was carrying the measure.

This experiment will involve people suffering from serious diseases - some forms of epilepsy, neuropathic pain, side effects of chemotherapy, palliative care or multiple sclerosis - for which the cannabis derivatives can constitute an additional therapeutic contribution.

It will be conducted in several hospitals in France, in particular referral centers for the pathologies concerned.

An initial prescription will be made by a specialist doctor, neurologist or pain doctor in particular. Patients will first have to provide themselves in hospital pharmacy and then will be able to renew their treatments in town pharmacies.

- "Not the Grail" -

"This is not the Grail of the painkiller, it is not a question of developing a new drug that would replace paracetamol or another analgesic but to find the means of a new adjuvant treatment", insists Olivier Véran, in explaining that "17 countries of the European Union have already authorized medical cannabis treatments".

The measure was welcomed by MEPs. "We must ignore the criticisms that are made around this proposal since a group of experts had validated the principle" of an experiment, said Jean-Pierre Door (LR).

"However this raises the question of the supply chain, France does not allow the production of cannabis," said the communist Pierre Dharreville.

According to a study by Grand View Research in 2017, the global market for medical cannabis, which is currently licensed in some 30 countries, could amount to $ 55.8 billion in 2025 (about € 50 billion), a figure almost five times higher than in 2015.

Forerunners since 2002, Canadian producers - Canopy Growth, Tilray, Aurora, Aphria - are among the leaders in the sector. In Europe, it is in the Netherlands that the first legal producers of cannabis appeared in 2003.

- In the Creuse -

In France, "we do not have a production chain, probably that the ANSM (drug agency) will use products that already exist abroad.At term there may be a French production", has reacted Olivier Veran.

After the vote of the Assembly, InVivo, one of the first French agricultural cooperative groups, filed a request Friday with the ANSM to position itself on the market.

Problem, at present, the law prohibits the cultivation of plants in France, more precisely those containing levels higher than 0.2% of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol, one of the active ingredients of the plant).

Asked about therapeutic cannabis at the end of his trip to Reunion, facing farmers interested in the industry, President Emmanuel Macron said that the executive was "rather favorable to that".

There must be "first a sanitary authorization led by the Ministry of Health" and as soon as it intervenes, "we will frame and develop it so that it can benefit local producers on our soil ", in Overseas France and metropolitan France, he said, citing in particular the department of Creuse.

The head of state is opposed to "the legalization of cannabis (recreational) or unregulated uses" because he "never saw robust studies showing that it had no effect on vigilance , especially the younger ones ".

Therapeutic cannabis, "has virtues (...) to accompany the treatment of pain," he said.

"Today, we have made a leap," welcomed the collective Alternative for Cannabis Therapeutic (ACT), which brings together several patient associations, while calling for a "French production of a drug at the right price , quality and certified organic ".

jah-caz-ggy-adc-ngu / cbn

© 2019 AFP