The very first "CBD Show" organized in Paris, in the middle of a period of legal uncertainty.

The CBD market has been booming for the past few months, not only in France but also throughout Europe. In 2023, it will possibly be estimated at 1 billion euros.‘€. However, there is still a "legal limbo" regarding the marketing of this legal cannabis, which could be cleared up in the coming weeks. In the meantime, the professionals of the trade met in Paris for the first "Salon du CBD", on October 18 and 19 this year.

CBD can now be found in all forms: oils, cosmetics, candy and food, and most commonly, in dried flowers ready for burning. Mahaut Aoste, brand manager of High Society, confirms this in her words, "I think we've just gone through 60 years of prohibition. If you prohibit a child from eating candy, the only thing they'll want to do is eat candy. There's a craze [for CBD] because it works and it fits very easily into everyday consumption.“

According to the latest figures from October 2021, there are more than 700 CBD shops and sellers in France, three times more than last year. Mr. Aoste confirms that he is regularly opening new ones in France and throughout Europe: "We have about 200 stores, over 4 years of business, and we've been opening between 5 and 15 a month for the past few months.".

The CJEU's decision in 2020 has helped the industry well. Indeed, this decision prohibited France from banning the import and sale of CBD products. A relief for all the players in the market, and especially Raphael Freuin, who has been betting on the sector for 10 years. "Information is beginning to be free in France, where before, it was not possible to give a positive image of cannabis without being in "incitement to drug use",he explains. Thanks to CBD, which is differentiated from THC, which is another cannabinoid but has no psychotropic effect, the public is finally discovering that cannabis also has many positive points.“

However, to the dismay of professionals as well as consumers and customers, a decree could soon change the deal. The government wants to expand the cultivation and commercial use of CBD, but it wants to ban the sale of raw flowers and leaves for smoking, which represents about 70% of CBD sales in France.

The position of France on this decision will therefore have to be carefully monitored.