France's Medical Marijuana Trial Benefiting Over 2.5K Patients Will Continue & More Euro-Cannabis Updates

France: Medical Marijuana Trial Program To Continue

France will continue its experimental medical marijuana (MMJ) program, benefiting some 2,540 patients, confirmed the country’s Minister for Health Aurélien Rousseau, writes Business of Cannabis. The experiment was supposed to end in March 2024.

During last week’s Social Affairs Committee of the National Assembly, Rousseau was asked about the MMJ trial by committee deputies Caroline Janvier (Renaissance) and Karen Erodi (LFI). The minister responded that the experiment resulted in “clinical feedback showing a benefit for the patient.”

Rousseau further explained that the reason he would not allow for a full medical marijuana rollout across France is because there's no “European marketing authorization,” at this point. He added that the authorization should be prepared by 2025. In case that doesn’t happen, Rousseau signaled the government might “switch to so-called compassionate access” schemes that are designed to enable patients to access some drugs still in development.

Europe Approves New Cannabis Flower Monograph

The European Pharmacopoeia Commission adopted a new European monograph during the June session and has now made it publicly available online to address high interest.  The monograph will also be published in Ph. Eur. Supplement 11.5 in January 2024.

The new document covers marijuana defined as dried, whole or fragmented, fully developed female inflorescences of Cannabis Sativa L. It is based on all the data obtained from various national authorities regarding the use of cannabis in their jurisdictions.

European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & Health Care will hold a webinar on the new monograph on Dec.14. 

The Netherlands: Weed Capital To Have Highest Tourism Taxes In Europe 

Amsterdam,  Europe’s go-to city to chill out and get high is working to address its huge influx of tourists. Following this year’s decision to no longer allow marijuana consumption on its streets, the Dutch city is now preparing to impose the highest tourism taxes in Europe. Instead of the previous 7% hotel room rate, guests will now have to pay 12.5%, writes Mirror.

Belgium: Only 35% Of Country’s Residents Back Marijuana Legalization

A recent study revealed that even though marijuana is the most commonly used illegal substance in Belgium, only 35% of the country’s residents support legalizing it, writes BrusselTimes. Per Le Soir's 'Grand Barometer' survey, 48% of Belgians surveyed are against the reform while 17% are not sure how they feel about it. The survey questioned a representative sample of 2,600 adults.

Earlier this year, Belgium’s deputy prime minister publicly backed legalization. "We must end the hypocrisy," Pierre-Yves Dermagne told the daily L'Avenir in an interview, writes the broadcaster RTBF. “We must consider legalizing cannabis in Belgium," he said, adding that "there is no point in using state resources to combat cannabis. There are types of crimes that are far more serious and have a far greater impact on societal life."

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Photo: Benzinga edit with images by Claudio Schwarz and Brian Jones on Unsplash