The main law which governs any movement related to cannabis in France is that of December 31, 1970. Said regulation can be understood in several movements, the major ones being: possession, consumption, cultivation and distribution of cannabis.
POSSESSION AND USE OF CANNABIS
First, possession and / or consumption. Is owning and / or consuming this substance legal in France? This is strictly prohibited; whether the person is in a public or private place. In this vein, any individual venturing there can be sentenced to one year in prison; which could be accompanied by a fine of 3,750 euros. However, over time, things have changed. The Macron era softens and relaxes the relationship between cannabis and the law . Having or consuming this substance results in a simple fine. The imprisonment discussed above seems no longer to be required.
CULTIVATION AND SALE OF CANNABIS
Then, culture. Is growing your own cannabis legal in France ? Subject to possible changes to which the law may be subject, as of this writing, its cultivation is prohibited. To do so would be exposed to the following main penalties: a fine of 7.5 million euros and 30 years’ imprisonment.
Finally, the distribution or trade of cannabis . Like culture, selling this substance is repressed by law. In this regard, the fallout is typically the same. Or 7.5 million for a fine and 30 years in prison.
The good news remains that cannabidiol (CBD) is legal in France . Products containing it are authorized and effective. They are very often used in medicine, on the one hand; in cosmetics on the other hand and in food, moreover. Moreover, in this momentum, it is important to specify that therapeutic cannabis has a bright future ahead of it. How to explain this? Indeed, an experiment of this substance is set up in 2020. It makes the use of therapeutic cannabis a legal act. But, provided that it is a patient concerned by the experiment. Cf ANSM site on experimentation .