French Medical Cannabis Patients Warned Treatment Will be ‘No Longer Accessible From January’

Via Business of Cannabis

The French Society for the Study and Treatment of Pain (SFETD) issued a statement this week warning that ‘in the absence of a decision’ from the now ousted government, ‘these medicines will no longer be accessible from January 01, 2025’.

It comes amid political chaos in the country, which saw the government lose a vote of no confidence on December 04, with parliament rejecting the budget for the coming year.

Despite last-ditch efforts to amend the Social Security Financing Bill (PLFSS) in October to secure a budget for the generalisation of medical cannabis, as promised by the government, the current proposals make no mention of medical cannabis.

France’s medical cannabis program has found itself in a disappointingly similar position to this time last year, having once again been left out of the budget for the coming year.

However, unlike the end of 2023, the political backdrop is far more complex, fast-moving, and uncertain.

This annual document lays out the budget for the coming year, and with no mention of medical cannabis, which is currently in a ‘transition’ phase ahead of a full rollout, the future of the program is now at stake.

France’s medical cannabis ‘experiment’ has now been running since 2021 and was widely expected to act as a precursor to a fully fledged medical cannabis system.

After being extended numerous times, seeing the government be repeatedly accused of ‘kicking the can down the road,’ the government finally put plans in place to enable medical cannabis to be ‘generalised,’ beginning in 2025.

As part of this plan, the program is currently in a so-called ‘transition’ period. This means that while no new patients can sign up to take part in the trial, those currently taking part will continue to receive their medication and be reimbursed until a fully fledged medical cannabis program has been established.

However, this is due to end on December 31, 2024, and no plans or budget have been established enabling the thousands of patients to continue to access their treatment.

In its warning to patients this week, the SFETD explained: “In the absence of a decision by the previous government, these medicines will no longer be accessible as of January 1, 2025.

“This will leave several hundred patients suffering from refractory neuropathic pain, who derive significant relief from their physical and psychological suffering, facing a sudden interruption in their treatment. This disruption could lead to a resurgence of severe and debilitating pain, as well as withdrawal symptoms due to the abrupt cessation of treatment.”

France’s PLFSS 2025, a controversial bill that would have pushed through €1bn price cuts on medicines, was shot down by parliament after the now former Prime Minister, Michel Barnier, tried to force the bill through the parliamentary process without allowing the lower house of the French parliament to vote on it.

This spurred a vote of no confidence in the French government, which also led to the resignation of Barnier on December 05.

Since then, French president Emmanuel Macron has been scrambling to form a new government and on December 13 appointed his long-time ally François Bayrou as his fourth prime minister of 2024.

Meanwhile, a special law was passed acting as a stopgap until the full 2025 budget is passed, preventing a US-style complete shutdown of the government.

The race is now on for Bayrou and his new government to draft a new budget and pass it through the deeply divided Senate and upper house of Parliament, which are due to examine the new bill today. It must be enacted before December 31 to ensure public services are not under threat of being disrupted.

The initial PLFSS 2025 aimed to address a projected social security deficit of €18.3bn for 2025, with planned expenditures nearing €661bn. To mitigate this deficit, the proposal included measures such as increasing taxes on gambling and sugary drinks and implementing savings in healthcare spending, including a 5% reduction in the reimbursement rate for medical consultations by social security, shifting a greater financial burden onto complementary health insurers.

While no mention of a budget for the promised medical cannabis generalisation was included, the situation remains fluid, and campaigners continue to push for amendments to ensure patients retain access to their treatment.