According to a recent survey conducted by Norstat Institute on behalf of the patient association APAISER S&C and newspaper L’Hemicycle, 92% of survey respondents expressed support for the legalization of medical cannabis in France.

“Two years after the end of the ANSM’s (French National Agency for Medicines and Health Products Safety) trial and the enshrining in law of a five-year temporary authorization, and despite repeated commitments from successive governments, the prescription of cannabis-based medications is still not authorized in France.” APAISER S&C wrote on its website (translated from French to English).

“Faced with this impasse, APAISER S&C and the newspaper L’Hemicycle commissioned an opinion poll to gauge the level of information and opinions among the French public and to address any remaining obstacles to the debate.” the association also wrote. Key findings of the survey include:

• 92% of respondents support the authorization of medical cannabis
• 72% want medical cannabis access for all conditions for which cannabis is scientifically proven to be effective at treating
• 82% consider it to be ‘problematic’ that medical cannabis access remains limited in France
• 79% consider that the ongoing public debate remains hampered by misconceptions
• 73% believe French authorities are not sufficiently taking patients’ suffering into account
• Only 11% believe medical cannabis’ effectiveness ‘remains too uncertain to justify its medical use’

“These results confirm what we have observed for several years: the general public has moved beyond taboos to focus on the well-being of patients. They now expect decision-makers to take responsibility and allow patients access to treatments that exist, that work, and that are currently denied to them.” says Mado Gilanton, President of APAISER S&C.

“We have rarely seen such a level of consensus on such a sensitive issue. With 92% support for medical authorization, we are facing a clear, informed, and consistent public opinion. The data speaks for itself: the regulator is out of step with its citizens on this matter.” says Raphaël Clavé, Managing Director of Norstat France, about the survey results.

APAISER S&C (Association to Help, Inform, and Support Studies and Research for Syringomyelia and Chiari Malformation), a non-profit patient association founded in 2000, is recognized as being of general interest and has been nationally accredited since 2007 to represent patients within hospital and public health bodies. The only association dedicated to patients with syringomyelia, Chiari malformation, or spinal cord clefts, it is a member of the Rare Diseases Alliance and Eurordis.

The published survey results come on the heels of a report that France may be in the process of banning cannabidiol (CBD) edibles. According to an industry expert referenced by France 24 in its local coverage, “CBD edibles account for about 40 percent of sales in the specialised shops that have cropped up in cities and towns across France.”

France is one of the largest cannabis markets in Europe, albeit almost entirely unregulated. An estimated 99.7% of France’s cannabis industry remains unregulated, resulting in a lot of profit potential going untapped by entrepreneurs and investors. Lawmakers and regulators in France have worked in recent years to craft a more modernized medical cannabis model, and with a national population of over 68 million people, a legalized cannabis industry in France has the potential to become one of the largest on the planet.

According to the European Union Drugs Agency’s 2025 report, France is home to the highest lifetime cannabis usage rate by adults in the European Union. Over half of adults in France (50.4%) report having used cannabis at least once during their lifetime. For context, the next closest nations on the report are Spain at 43.7% and Denmark at 37.6%.

A previous market analysis conducted by Beau Whitney of Whitney Economics found that France is ranked in the top three European markets for cannabis, with an overall potential market value of $8.3 billion, and that boosting medical cannabis access in France could reduce health care system expenditures by nearly $1 billion.

A separate study by an economic advisory board within the nation’s prime minister’s office determined that the French government spends roughly €570m annually on cannabis prohibition enforcement. The study recommended that France adopt adult-use cannabis legalization and launch a regulated recreational industry. Emmanuelle Auriol, a professor at the Toulouse School of Economics who authored the study’s report and findings, estimated that such a policy change could create as many as 80,000 new jobs and generate €2.8bn in taxes annually.