HHC ban ‘a matter of weeks’ for health minister

The sale of hexahydrocannabinol (HHC), a synthetic derivative of cannabis, will be banned within a few weeks, announced the Minister of Health François Braun on Monday May 15 on franceinfo. According to the minister, this product currently on free sale must be banned “as quickly as possible”. “I think it’s a matter of weeks”he specified.

>> REPORT. “Not authorized, but not illegal”: what is HHC, this cannabis derivative sold freely in France?

“It is a product which arrived on the market a short time ago, yet old, which has been known since the 1950s, which was not exploited at all since it is not at all present at high dose at the natural level, but it is a product that is taking a hole in the market. Now we have to close this door quickly”, developed the minister. In the form of candies, flowers, resin, oil and even electronic cigarette liquid, it is a synthetic cannabinoid obtained by hydrogenation. Its molecular structure is close to THC, the active principle of cannabis, which is prohibited in France. “Obviously it is a product that causes strong addiction, it is a derivative of cannabis, significant psychotropic effects”underlined François Braun.

A legal vacuum surrounds this substance which is increasingly marketed on the internet or in many specialized shops which have opened their doors in recent years. For the minister, “there is a hole in the racket that needs to be filled quickly so that we no longer have this completely abnormal free sale”. “They take advantage of a fault (…) of classification”denounced the minister. “They are not classified as narcotics. I honestly think they will be soon”he said, awaiting the opinion of the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM).