‘Weed-ing’ Out Disproportionate Regulation: The Free Movement of CBD in the European Union Following the Kanavape Judgment

Abstract

As cannabidiol’s (CBD) popularity has been increasing, multiple questions to as to its legal regime, including under European Union (EU) law, have been raised. In its preliminary ruling in the Kanavape case, the European Court of Justice, for the first time, clarifies that CBD falls under the free movement of goods provisions in primary EU law (Articles 34 and 36 Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU)). This case note critically addresses the Court’s reasonsing, while putting the case in its broader legal and policy context. Article 34 TFEU, Article 36 TFEU, cannabidiol (CBD), narcotic drugs, negative integration, UN drug conventions, Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties