VIDEO. Ban on the sale of CBD flowers and leaves: in Toulouse, everything is going up in smoke?
The decree published in the Official Journal prohibits the sale of CBD flowers. Professionals in the sector in Toulouse are up to the task. They fear multiple closures and layoffs. Appeals have been lodged with justice.
“Sorry, we don’t prefer to talk about this subject. We don’t want the police to show up.” On the other end of the phone, the managers of CBD, a relaxing cannabis molecule, in Toulouse are worried after the The sale of CBD flowers and leaves is now banned. This decision further weakens the industry, which has been groping for four years.
In the Jeanne d’Arc district, in the Toulouse CBD store, as in other specialized stores, the sale of hemp flowers and leaves represents more than half of the turnover. “It’s a stupid decision,” criticizes Mike, the manager. The government takes it because it is impossible for the police to differentiate legal flowers from illegal ones ”. In Toulouse, this business has grown tremendously in recent months. Dozens of shops have flourished in all four corners, despite the city’s legal vagueness since its inception. A judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), delivered in November 2020, has allowed many entrepreneurs to get started. But CBD was still not authorized in France.
The government decree raises fears of a chain of closures and layoffs. “With 65% of my turnover less, I will have to lay off my two full-time employees. We also have a work-study apprentice, his contract will not be renewed, ”laments Mike.
“The rays will change face”
The flower market is therefore doomed to disappear. On the other hand, the decree does not prohibit the sale of CBD products. Especially since it provides for the authorization of the cultivation of hemp. The maximum level of CBD in the plant has been revised upwards from 0.2% to 0.3%. This victory for French farmers will result in the massive arrival of products made from the molecule.
“To tend to keep their businesses, professionals will have to adapt. The rays will change their face. We will only offer CBD products. But will customers be receptive to this offer? “Asks the manager of CBD Toulouse, which has already been manufacturing CBD-based products since 2018. Liquids for electronic cigarettes, food products and even oils have already won over a (marginal) part of the customers of the establishments. The new legal guarantees will come from new investors, fearing, previously, of facing justice.
Recourse to the rescue?
The industry has held its breath for a week. She still has a few marbles to play before she sees her flowers wither. The constitutional council must rule on the decree. If the wise men come to ratify it, several organizations representing the sector were part of their desire to attack the text before the Council of State, ensuring that it contradicts European law.
Independents have already entered the legal battle. Mike a three appeal filed. “This decision comes out of nowhere. It is inconsistent, ”he laments. A few months before the presidential elections, this decree, behind the scenes, recalls the government’s firm position on the legalization of cannabis. “Drugs are crap,” hammered Gérard Darmanin, the Minister of the Interior, in 2020.