Augur Associates, a Paris-based market consulting and advisory firm focused on the sustainable cannabis and hemp industry in France and Europe, has published a new report titled France Medical Cannabis – Regulatory Progress & Market Entry Outlook. The 20-page report provides a progress update on France’s medical cannabis regulatory framework efforts.
France’s outstanding medical cannabis reimbursement decree has reportedly reached the Conseil d’État and is now under review, according to Augur Associates. The long-awaited final component and approval for France’s framework is reportedly expected to be signed into law in the near future, according to the report, with the nation’s first legal medical cannabis prescriptions under the new framework expected ‘in early 2027.’
“The report emphasizes that a product sold in another European country does not automatically comply with French requirements. It recommends five key areas of focus: a product-by-product gap analysis, regulatory structuring (with applicants required to be established in the EU or the EEA), dossier preparation, a market access strategy, and establishing a local presence with pharmaceutical companies, importers, and distributors.” Newsweed wrote about the report. The founder of Newsweed is a co-founder of Augur Associates.
“The report also identifies two paths: operating as a product and pharmaceutical player, or positioning France within a longer-term European production strategy.” the outlet also reported.
According to a previous survey conducted by Norstat Institute on behalf of the patient association APAISER S&C and newspaper L’Hemicycle, 92% of survey respondents expressed support for the legalization of medical cannabis in France.
- 92% of respondents support the authorization of medical cannabis
- 72% want medical cannabis access for all conditions for which cannabis is scientifically proven to be effective at treating
- 82% consider it to be ‘problematic’ that medical cannabis access remains limited in France
- 79% consider that the ongoing public debate remains hampered by misconceptions
- 73% believe French authorities are not sufficiently taking patients’ suffering into account
- Only 11% believe medical cannabis’ effectiveness ‘remains too uncertain to justify its medical use’
“These results confirm what we have observed for several years: the general public has moved beyond taboos to focus on the well-being of patients. They now expect decision-makers to take responsibility and allow patients access to treatments that exist, that work, and that are currently denied to them.” said Mado Gilanton, President of APAISER S&C.
France is one of the largest cannabis markets in Europe, albeit almost entirely unregulated. An estimated 99.7% of France’s cannabis industry remains unregulated, resulting in a lot of profit potential going untapped by entrepreneurs and investors. With a national population of over 68 million people, a legalized cannabis industry in France has the potential to become one of the largest on the planet.
A previous market analysis conducted by Beau Whitney of Whitney Economics found that France ranks among the top three European markets for cannabis, with an overall potential market value of $8.3 billion, and that expanding medical cannabis access in France could reduce health care system expenditures by nearly $1 billion.
A separate study by an economic advisory board within the nation’s prime minister’s office determined that the French government spends roughly €570m annually on cannabis prohibition enforcement. The study recommended that France adopt adult-use cannabis legalization and launch a regulated recreational industry. Emmanuelle Auriol, a professor at the Toulouse School of Economics who authored the study’s report and findings, estimated that such a policy change could create as many as 80,000 new jobs and generate €2.8bn in annual tax revenue.
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