France launches 2-year experiment with medical marijuana

PARIS (AP) — France’s government has launched a two-year nationwide experiment with medical cannabis with a view to eventual legalization. Some 3,000 patients around the country will be given medical cannabis treatments and their health monitored by the national medicines watchdog. The first prescription was issued Friday in southern France. The goal is to gather data about the effectiveness and safety of therapeutic marijuana and to prepare eventual logistical circuits for future distribution. Several European countries have already legalized medical marijuana. The French project was approved by parliament in 2019 but delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic.