A JOYFUL Antonin Cohen has spoken of his delight – and relief – after successfully winning a court battle which looks like securing the future of Europe’s CBD industry.
Speaking to BusinessCann just a few minutes after the ruling from the European Court of Justice he spoke of the ‘amazing victory’ after a six-year court battle costing Euros 200,000.
“We have not had very much positive news in Europe hemp and CBD industries over the last few years so I am very grateful for this ruling.
“When we launched KanaVape we had the legal advice and support from scratch. We took a very serious approach to compliance and studied the law.
“We worked out the details and I think that is whey we have had this win today.”
‘Great Result For Europe And France’
He said it had always acknowledged the definition of hemp and cannabis extracts under the international Drug Conventions and always felt KanaVape was within the legal parameters.
“When we launched KanaVape we were confident it would not be an issue for the French authorities and we were under the impression from what we were told by the authorities that this would be the case.
“However, they later changed their position on fibres and seeds and the use of CBD extracted from flowers and which has led to this court case dragging on for six years.”
“They took the most restrictive approach and this was later adopted by the European Commission.”
Mr Cohen, founder and CEO of European CBD company Harmony, called this ruling a ‘great result’ for the French CBD cannabis and hemp industries.
“It’s great for French entrepreneurs, French farmers, French labs they have been restricted from using CBD – while the rest of Europe is booming – even though gent though France is the largest hemp grower in Europe.
“I am very thankful for this ruling as it will will help put France at the forefront of European CBD.”
He said he is keen on as keen on working with regulators to establish new working guidelines for the industry.
‘Normally, The ECJ Ruling Is The Final Word’
Across Europe he hopes the ruling will shift the EC’s focus from classifying CBD as a narcotic.
He said: “Normally the ECJ ruling is the final word.”
However he added: “Will they look to add new restrictions? So it is important to continue this work with the regulators to provide all the data and education to assist them to better understand the market and regulate, so we can work as team to ensure there is only safe products on the market.
“For the safety of the while European citizens and also for companies looking to the enter and continue to operate in the market.
“I hope that following this ruling the EC will proceed with its Novel Food applications.”
For all the background to this case see: https://businesscann.wpengine.com/kanavape-judgement-expected-soon-stay-tuned-to-businesscann-for-running-updates-from-8-30am-ish-gmt/
