Police seize ‘cannabis’ beer

A GROCER in a Paris suburb has been charged with “incitement to use drugs” for selling a hemp beer called “Cannabia”.

Although the bottles contained only hemp – varieties of cannabis with very low levels of active ingredient THC grown for fibre and seeds – the labels were deemed provocative because, apart from the name, they also showed a cannabis leaf and had a section labelled “scratch and smile” which gives off a cannabis resin smell.

Police doing a routine check of the premises seized 20 bottles and charged the owner with the “incitement” offence which can carry up to five years’ prison and a €75,000 fine.

The incident was in Le Rancy, an eastern suburb of Paris – one of the rare well-off districts of Seine-Saint-Denis, a generally disadvantaged area considered to be a hub for drug trafficking.

The makers of Cannabia are a German firm, Dupetit Natural Products, which says it has permission to sell it in the EU.

The EU recognises a number of hemp varieties – with low THC – for uses including animal bedding and insulation or (the seeds) in making an edible oil. France is Europe’s largest producer.

The USA on the other hand bans the growing of all kinds of cannabis, including hemp.
Photo: www.dupetit.de