The relatively new cannabis compound HHC is extremely popular but is now banned all over Europe. However, some experts prefer to see the substance regulated.
Business of Cannabis reported last month that France would become the 11th European state so far this year to attempt to ban or heavily control the substance. On June 13, France officially took steps to amend its list of substances classified as narcotics to include HHC and its alternatives HHCP and HHCO.
HHC ban in Europe
The Swedish Public Health Service also announced that hexahydrocannabinol, and HHCP will be classified as narcotics from July 11, 2023. This ruling came after the compound was added to the list of substances under investigation in October, while another synthetic cannabinoid H4-CBD was also added in April.
Earlier in June, Hungary also informed the EU that it planned to add the compound to the narcotics list as well as HHCO and HHCP, making it the twelfth EU country to announce such measures. To summarize the general attitude towards HHC across the union, French MEP Aurélia Beigneux submitted a parliamentary question to the European Commission (EC) this month.
Ms Beigneux said hexahydrocannabinol was "currently flooding our continent" because it was so easy to access the drug, which "benefited from a legal limbo" and "caused a lot of concern among doctors". “The compound is not without risks to consumer health: it has many adverse effects on the neurological, cardiovascular and digestive systems and can lead to anxiety and depression,” she continued.
In light of this, she questioned whether the EC was planning to 'ban this highly harmful substance from EU markets' or 'run a prevention campaign for Member States'. “How does the EC intend to counter the emergence and commercialization of new synthetic drugs more generally?”
Open discussion about HHC
At the end of May, a panel of doctors, researchers, economists and lawyers from both the Czech Republic and the US met at the historic Brožík Town Hall in Prague for an open discussion about HHC and its current approach to regulation. Organized by Legalizace.cz in collaboration with the esteemed rational addiction policy think tank and attended by prominent individuals including Czech National Coordinator for Drug Policy Jindřich Vobořil, economist Michael Fanta, and research director of the rational addiction policy think tank Viktor Mravčík. Business of Cannabis has previously reported that Mr. Vobořil had drafted a draft proposal to regulate HHC and other "psychomodulating" substances, rather than ban them outright.
He told local media at the time: “It is a synthetic that is in the gray area for now. I see no reason to ban it per se, but it should be strictly regulated, just like cannabis.” In a significant departure from Mr Vobořil's position, the country's National Anti-Drug Headquarters and the Ministry of Defense, supported by the Ministry of Health, have put forward proposals to include HHC in the list of addictive substances from July 2023, and they submitted a draft regulation to the EC in May. The government's position, and the broader position across Europe, was central to the debate, with speakers calling for a regulated approach.
Source: businessofcannabis.com (EN)
