Medical cannabis in France: the timetable and its impact on CBD

Between 2021 and 2024, the ANSM ran a trial framing the use of cannabis for medical purposes in five specific indications: neuropathic pain resistant to available treatments, certain forms of drug-resistant epilepsy, painful spasticity linked to multiple sclerosis, palliative situations, and certain oncology contexts. Patients were enrolled by trained hospital doctors, with close follow-up throughout the protocol.

At the end of this trial, the file was notified to the European Commission in March 2025 to initiate the move towards a general rollout phase. In practical terms, this means that a permanent prescribing framework, still being built, must progressively replace the experimental scheme limited to a restricted number of patients and establishments. The ANSM's thematic file remains the official reference for following the progress of this timetable.

Medical cannabis comes in the form of a medicine, often dosed with active THC at pharmacologically significant concentrations, reserved for specific indications and prescribed by a hospital doctor. It is in no way comparable to the wellness CBD sold in shops, which is an everyday consumer product, available without prescription, derived from industrial hemp with a very low THC content.

The framework for wellness CBD rests on a separate text: marketing remains authorised for any finished product whose THC content is less than or equal to 0.30%, in application of the Conseil d'État decision of 29 December 2022. Progress on the medical file, steered by the ANSM on an entirely different legal basis, has no direct bearing on this regulation. The two sectors evolve in parallel, without one replacing the other. Our article on common misconceptions about hemp and CBD looks in detail at this frequent confusion between the two schemes.

The general rollout of medical cannabis could, in the long run, clarify certain reference points for patients concerned by the five selected indications, notably access in community settings rather than only in hospital. This timetable nevertheless remains strictly framed by a medical pathway, with no connection to the free purchase of CBD products.

Wellness CBD is not a medicine and cannot replace prescribed medical cannabis. In case of illness, consult a healthcare professional.

Is medical cannabis already available in community pharmacies?

Not yet on a general basis. The rollout phase, under way since the March 2025 notification, is due to progressively widen access beyond the experimental hospital framework.

Can a patient replace their treatment with CBD bought in a shop?

No. Wellness CBD has no medical status and cannot replace a treatment prescribed within the medical cannabis framework, which is dosed differently and medically monitored.

Will this timetable relax the regulation of wellness CBD?

No. The two schemes fall under separate legal texts, one under medicines law, the other under everyday consumer law, with no relationship of dependence between them.

What are the five indications selected for medical cannabis?

Refractory neuropathic pain, certain drug-resistant epilepsies, painful spasticity in multiple sclerosis, palliative care and certain oncology contexts.