Shops selling products that contain CBD – the non-psychoactive, “feel good” compound from cannabis – are spreading across France after a court ruled that the country could not ban the substance’s sale.

CBD, or cannabidiol, can be found in everything from tea, to olive oil, honey, massage oil, cosmetics, and beyond. It is derived from the cannabis plant, but – in contrast to cannabis itself – it offers a purely relaxing result, with no psychoactive compounds or effects.

One proponent of the product, Aurélien Delecroix, president of the professional union, le Syndicat professionnel du chanvre (SPC), has even said that “the French market for CBD could reach €1 billion”.

On November 19 this year, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that France could not ban the sale of CBD that had been legally produced in another European country member state.

Ludovic Rachou, treasurer of the SPC, said: “The ECJ [also] concluded that CBD was not a narcotic.”

As a result, more and more shops are beginning to open in major towns such as Paris, Bordeaux, Marseille and Lyon, with CBD products on their shelves, many of which bear new labels reading “100% legal” [Read more at The Connexion]