Association France Cannabis

Association France Cannabis (often shortened to France Cannabis) is a French professional association founded on 20 April 2023 by Fabien Artigaud and Yohan Varin, two former members of the Association Française des Producteurs de Cannabinoïdes (AFPC). It federates hemp and cannabinoid producers — particularly growers of hemp flowers — and works to structure and professionalise the French cannabis and CBD sector. The association describes itself as a network of passionate cultivators and positions its mission around legal defence, legislative proposals, producer protection, information sharing, and advocacy for a 1% THC threshold. The organisation emerged from a desire to go further than existing industry bodies. Its founders brought international experience from Dutch greenhouses, Canadian farms and Californian hills, and assembled complementary expertise in cultivation, genetic selection, communication, prevention and advocacy. France Cannabis was officially registered on 7 July 2023. It has since grown to around 60 member cultivators, with a six-member bureau, and has produced more than 25 live streams and 35 hours of debate content, featuring 28 guest experts. Key activities include collective legal action, legal support and legislative monitoring, drafting a proposed law to give the sector a regulatory framework (1% THC, fair taxation, protection for small producers), and monthly Twitch live streams open to all. The association also runs the Cann'Agri round tables, an inter-union forum. It has engaged with French tax authorities on VAT questions and with experts on pharmacology and synthetic molecules. Its advocacy centres on raising the legal THC threshold to 1% so French cultivators can compete internationally, and on promoting transparency and integrity across the supply chain. As a non-profit association, France Cannabis is not a commercial company and does not sell products directly; it operates as an industry representative body and advocacy platform for the French cannabis and CBD sector.

Association France Cannabis was born out of a split within the Association Française des Producteurs de Cannabinoïdes (AFPC). In February 2023, two AFPC members, Fabien Artigaud and Yohan Varin, decided to create a new structure to go further in their commitment to the French cannabis sector. They quickly surrounded themselves with complementary profiles to found France Cannabis, aiming to build a solid professional network to support hemp flower cultivators and give them a voice in the national cannabis debate. The founders brought international experience from Dutch greenhouses, Canadian farms and Californian hills, and assembled expertise in cultivation, genetic selection, communication, prevention and advocacy. The association was officially created on 20 April 2023 — the symbolic date of #420 — during a meeting of founding members. It was officially registered on 7 July 2023. In its first year, France Cannabis focused on legal and regulatory groundwork. On 5 September 2023, it began a legal monitoring partnership with the firm Duch in Toulouse. On 15 December 2023, it questioned the Service des Impôts des Entreprises (SIE) about the VAT applicable to companies in the sector. On 2 February 2024, it launched its first public live stream on Twitch, beginning a series of monthly broadcasts open to all. On 1 March 2024, it hosted an exchange with Kevin Condé on pharmacology and synthetic molecules. On 10 March 2024, it received the SIE's response on VAT, alerting the sector to tax issues. On 19 April 2024, it held its first Cann'Agri round table, an inter-union event. The association has grown to around 60 member cultivators, with a six-member bureau, and has produced more than 25 live streams and over 35 hours of debate content, featuring 28 guest experts. Its advocacy centres on raising the legal THC threshold to 1% to allow French cultivators to compete with international production, on fair taxation, and on protecting small producers. It also drafts a proposed law to give the sector a regulatory framework and pursues collective legal action and legislative monitoring.

• Fabien Artigaud and Yohan Varin, members of AFPC, decide to create a new structure.

• Founding members' meeting; official creation of France Cannabis on the symbolic #420 date.

• Official registration of the association.

• Start of legal monitoring partnership with the firm Duch in Toulouse.

• Questioning of the Service des Impôts des Entreprises about VAT applicable to the sector.

• First public live stream on Twitch, launching monthly broadcasts.

• Exchange with Kevin Condé on pharmacology and synthetic molecules.

• Response from the SIE on VAT; alert to the sector on tax issues.

• First Cann'Agri round table, an inter-union event.

Industry association and advocacy network for French hemp and cannabinoid producers, campaigning for a 1% THC legal threshold and a fair regulatory framework.

1. 1France Cannabis — Association des producteurs de chanvre CBDassociation-france-cannabis.com
2. 2France Cannabis : qui sommes-nous ? Fondateurs et équipeassociation-france-cannabis.com
3. 3Association France Cannabiswikidata.org