Brief History of Cannabis in France

There's such an interesting history with cannabis in France that dates back to the 16th century. Back then Jean Talon, entitled the first Intendant of New France, commanded that all French colonists grow hemp under what was known as the rule of King Louis XIV. At first the farmers were hesitant – they wanted to plant their usual staple crops but they had no choice as it wasn't a request to grow the wondrous hemp plant back then – it was required by Talon. He used the desire for textiles and especially clothing to encourage the farmers to grow hemp – they'd be better off with a stronger weave as everyone back then made their own thread. But we can't say that Jean Talon had a knack for doing things with integrity as he created a plan that would leave the farmers literally no choice which forever has changed history and helped to create what's now the hemp industry. “I have found that to encourage the inhabitants to grow a great deal of hemp it was necessary to induce in them a want of thread. To this end I seized all I could find here and I will only distribute it to those who agree to return a stated quantity of hemp.” It took until early 18th century for the inhabitants of France to realize the plant had psychoactive abilities from text that is available in regards to the use of cannabis for this purpose from this region. It was introduced in this manner as Napoléon Bonaparte began his rise to power.

During the era and rule of Napoléon, some believed that cannabis was causing serious concerns among the troops of Egypt as they had developed a habit of smoking hashish in a rather non stop manner. One good aspect of this was the fact that they quit drinking alcohol and had replaced it with the hash according to reports of his subordinates. But due to behavior after heavy use of hashish was reported by many to be unbecoming of an officer, Jacques-François “Abdallah” Menou responded by issuing a order banning any cannabis use. Napoleon’s army didn't like this and sent hashish samples back to colleagues to have them analyzed and asked for experiments to be done. Dr. Jacques- Jean Talon, entitled the first Intendant of New France was already researching and running his own trials of sorts back then with the plant so the soldiers request was not rejected, instead the research began to ramp up as Moreau became the first physician to do systematic work on the effects of drugs on the central nervous system by administering cannabis tinctures to patients with mental illness and then went on to study their various reactions. Moreau strongly believed cannabis was the very key to understanding all mental illness. By 1803, various types of cannabis extractions were being done for his work, but much more was to come.

By the 1840s and 50s, literally dozens of French pharmacists began devoting their life to the study of concentrates made from hashish, publishing dissertations, monographs, and peer-review articles on its medicinal and scientific benefits. There was no doubt to the French that cannabis was and is medicine. French epidemiologist Louis-Rémy Aubert-Roche published a treatise in 1840, he argued within it that hashish administered as an ingested micro dose in which he called a “dawamesk” taken with a cup of coffee, successfully cured plague in 7 of 11 patients he treated in the hospitals of Alexandria and Cairo during the epidemic of 1834-35. It was further studied as an anti-contagionist in a pre-germ theory era, Aubert-Roche, as most physicians then, believed the plague a non transmittable disease of the central nervous system spread to humans via “miasma,” or bad air, in unhygienic and poorly ventilated areas. There was poor understanding of the health issues but these researchers had broken ground with the ability to fight off a deathly illness with the use of the cannabis plant – and had proved it through research and trial so long ago.

Aubert-Roche firmly believed that hashish intoxication excited the central nervous system and counteracted the effects of the plague, literally curing the patients. “The plague,” he wrote, “is a disease of the nerves. Hashish, a substance that acts upon the nervous system, has given me the best results. I thus believe it is a drug not to be neglected.”

The history of cannabis in France is extensive, this snippet gives one proof in the pudding that cannabis was medicine long before it ended up on US Pharmacy shelves in the 1800's and as well, long before prohibition or the Controlled Substances Act. Physicians, healers, and researchers of the past were more informed on the abilities of the plant, due to freedom in research, than many are now hundreds of years later and in some cases – thousands of years later.

Today, only limited types of cannabis-derived products are legal in France, although the political climate and the acceptance of the plant is changing around the globe rapidly.

-Mike Robinson, Founder, Global Cannabinoid Research Center