Medical cannabis in France: where does the roll-out stand in 2026?

The draft decree governing the assessment, reimbursement and pricing of medical cannabis was submitted to stakeholders on 18 February 2026 (source: addictaide.fr / Sénat). This text is to set out the concrete arrangements under which cannabis for therapeutic purposes may be prescribed and covered once the trial phase ends.

The timetable provided for a review by the Conseil d'État before the end of June 2026 (source: ANSM / addictaide.fr). This step is a necessary condition before any official publication of the decree, which will then determine the practical arrangements for access for patients and prescribers.

This process, under way for several years, illustrates the methodical caution of the French administration on this sensitive file, between the imperatives of health safety and the expectations of the patients concerned.

Pending publication of the final decree, a transitional status already allows regulated access to medical cannabis for certain patients. The 2024 Social Security financing act (LFSS), in its article 78, created a temporary authorisation of use status (source: ANSM).

This transitional status aims to secure continuity of access to treatment for patients already enrolled in the trial scheme, until the permanent framework comes into force. It is not yet general access for the whole population of eligible patients, but a regulatory bridge between two regimes.

[INTERNAL-LINK: sale of therapeutic cannabis in France → /blog/vente-cannabis-therapeutique-france]

The distinction between the trial phase, the transitional status and the definitive roll-out remains central to understanding where this file really stands in the summer of 2026.

Medical cannabis, as governed by this future decree, is prescribed for precise therapeutic indications under medical supervision. This logic of individualised prescription sets it fundamentally apart from freely sold CBD products, which fall under commercial wellbeing regulation, with no treatment claim.

The CBD found in a specialist shop is never a medicine and cannot lawfully claim any therapeutic effect. Medical cannabis, by contrast, forms part of a care pathway supervised by a doctor, with a molecule and a dose defined for each patient.

These two regulatory worlds, although linked to the same plant, obey wholly different legal logics: one falls under the public health code and prescription, the other under consumer law.

The timetable remains conditional on the effective publication of the decree after its review by the Conseil d'État. No date for full roll-out has been communicated at this stage beyond that review expected before the end of June 2026 (source: ANSM / addictaide.fr).

For the patients concerned, the temporary authorisation of use status created by the 2024 LFSS continues to apply pending that text (source: ANSM). It is advisable to follow the official communications of the ANSM rather than to rely on unconfirmed estimates of a precise roll-out date.

Is medical cannabis already generally available in France in 2026?

Not yet on a definitive basis. A draft decree was under review in mid-2026, with a review by the Conseil d'État planned before the end of June 2026 (source: ANSM / addictaide.fr).

What is the difference between medical cannabis and CBD bought in a shop?

Medical cannabis is prescribed for a supervised therapeutic use. Freely sold CBD is a wellbeing product that cannot claim any medical effect.

What is the temporary authorisation of use status?

Created by article 78 of the 2024 LFSS, this transitional status allows regulated access to medical cannabis before the permanent framework comes into force (source: ANSM).

Can medical cannabis be obtained from an ordinary pharmacy?

Access to it is currently governed by specific channels linked to the transitional status in force, distinct from the free sale of CBD. Ask your doctor about the arrangements applicable to your situation.