Kratom in France
Kratom Legal Status
Illegal since January 2020
Law
Where to buy kratom in France
Shipments are allowed when sent from an European Union member state where kratom is legal, regulated by the EU customs union in the Lisbon Treaty.
National Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM)
Through an official communicate on January 7th 2020, the French National Medicines Safety Agency informed that kratom was added to the list of psychotropic substances.
Under current French law (Articles R5132-88 et suivants du Code de la santé publique) this means that the production, manufacture, transport, import, export, possession, offer, transfer, acquisition or use of substances considered psychotropic by the agency are prohibited. In addition, the law doesn’t allow any agricultural, craft, commercial and industrial operations relating to these substances.
The Agency refers to several dozen alleged kratom-related deaths in the US to justify their decision.
National drug strategy & laws
In France, the responsibility of managing its national drug strategy falls to Inter-ministerial Mission for Combating Drugs and Addictive Behaviours (MILDECA).
The strategy focuses on five areas of action, including risk reduction, stepping up the fight against trafficking, improving application of the law, improving research of drug policies, and reinforcing national and international cooperation.
As far as actual laws are concerned, the use and possession of illicit drugs are criminal offences in France. The law itself does not distinguish between possession for personal use or for trafficking, or by type of substance.
However, the prosecutor will opt for a charge relating to use or trafficking based on the quantity of the drug found and the context of the case. Based on the principle of expediency, the prosecutor may decide to take legal action against the offender, simply close the case, or propose other measures as an alternative to prosecution.
National treatment policy
Addiction treatment is funded by the social security system in France. Treatment is provided both by general practitioners as well as specialized treatment centers. In each of the 100 sub-regional administrative areas there is at least one specialized treatment center, which provide both pharmacological and psychotherapy based treatments.
There is also a general care system implemented in French hospitals. These focus on withdrawal, residential care if needed, and is also the location of research.