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Author: Hazel Norman

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Calls For Senate Approval Of Medical Cannabis Bill In The Philippines

Written by Hazel Norman on . Posted in Policy.

Earlier this year the Philippines House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved HB 10439, a measure that would legalize certain medical cannabis therapeutic products in the Philippines in limited instances. The principal author of HB 10439 is National Unity Party president and Camarines Sur Rep. LRay Villafuerte.

Despite the overwhelming approval in the Philippines House of Representatives, the measure appears to have stalled now that it is being considered by the Philippines Senate. Representative Villafuerte is urging Senators to approve the measure with no further delays.

“With the House’s third and final approval of HB 10439 in the previous legislative session, what we only need now is for our senators to act on their counterpart measure, in the hope that we can come up with an enrolled bill for submission to, and enactment into law by, President Marcos this third and final session of the 19th Congress,” Villafuerte said according to local reporting by Politiko.

What is being proposed in the Philippines is the legalization of cannabidiol (CBD) in limited circumstances, which, compared to other medical cannabis legalization models found around the world, would still be very restrictive. Representative Villafuerte is hopeful that the international spread of reform will tip the scales in the Philippines.

“I am more upbeat that the Congress will be able this time around to finally write a law allowing qualified patients with debilitating diseases to use CBD as an alternative treatment for their afflictions, hoping that the UN CND’s recognition of non-addictive CBD will convince most of our senators to pass their measure (Senate Bill 2573) legalizing medical cannabis,” Villafuerte said.

According to a recent study conducted by researchers from Ukraine and France, and published by the U.S. National Institute of Health, 57 countries have adopted medical cannabis legalization measures.

Cannabis Plants

Thousands Of Farmers In Morocco Have Received Authorization To Cultivate Cannabis In 2024

Written by Hazel Norman on . Posted in Business.

The climate in parts of Morocco is well-suited for large-scale cannabis production, which is why the North African nation has long served as a leading source of unregulated cannabis, particularly as a source for the European market.

In recent years, Morocco’s government has worked to modernize the nation’s cannabis policies and regulations to permit legal cannabis production and commerce. According to recently released statistics from Morocco, production authorizations have increased exponentially in 2024.

According to the National Agency for the Regulation of Cannabis-related Activities (ANRAC), Morocco has issued 2,837 authorizations to 2,659 farmers so far in 2024, up from 430 authorizations in 2023.

Additionally, regulators in Morocco have issued 60 authorizations for processing, 49 for marketing, 39 for exports, and 24 for seed imports. The increase in authorizations in 2024 demonstrates the growth of Morocco’s emerging legal cannabis industry.

Earlier this month, Morocco’s king pardoned nearly 5,000 farmers previously convicted of cultivating cannabis. The pardons issued by King Mohammed VI should “encourage farmers” to get involved in Morocco’s emerging legal cannabis industry to “improve their revenue and living conditions” the head of ANRAC stated according to initial reporting by Reuters.

Currently, cannabis is legal for adult use in Uruguay, Canada, Malta, Luxembourg, Germany, and South Africa. Additionally, 57 countries have adopted medical cannabis legalization policies to some degree. Morocco is trying to gain a meaningful share of a legal global cannabis industry that is estimated to be worth tens of billions of dollars.

malta flag

Malta Regulatory Chief: Cannabis Reform Is Working

Written by Hazel Norman on . Posted in Policy.

In 2021 Malta became the first European nation to adopt a national adult-use cannabis legalization measure. The only countries to adopt a national recreational cannabis legalization measure before Malta was Uruguay in 2013 and Canada in 2018.

However, unlike Uruguay and Canada where adult-use cannabis is dispensed through a variety of outlets nationwide, Malta is bound by European Union agreements that limit recreational cannabis commerce to noncommercial cultivation associations and regional pilot research programs.

Malta has adopted a cannabis legalization model that is built on home cultivation and cultivation associations from which consumers can source their cannabis legally. According to the nation’s top regulatory chief, legalization in Malta is working.

“The country’s harm reduction approach is working,” ARUC Chairperson Joey Reno Vella stated in a recent interview according to local reporting by Malta Today.

“Before 2021, before the reform was enacted, you had a reality where studies showed a large section of the population used cannabis, but they had no regulated market from where they could buy it. The cannabis they bought was not cultivated in a safe manner, and so posed more risks. They had to turn to the black market where they did not know what they were buying,” Vella also stated.

“They now know from where the product came from, what it contains and know that it does not contain harmful substances like bacteria, heavy metals and mold. The product will cause less harm and expose people to less risks.” Vella concluded.

Malta issued its first noncommercial cultivation association license in October 2023. The European nation’s emerging adult-use cannabis industry now boasts roughly 2,000 cultivation association members at 8 licensed locations. Six more associations have in-principal licenses and will become operational soon.

Per our prior reporting, regulations for noncommercial clubs in Malta include (but are not limited to):

  • A maximum of 500 club members
  • Cannot be located within 250 meters of a school or ‘youth center’
  • No advertising
  • Cannot use the word ‘cannabis’ in the club’s name, or anything that would ‘incite use’
  • At least two club founders with no prior convictions of money laundering
  • Clubs must have a legal representative
  • Club administrators have to be residents for at least 5 years
  • All cannabis has to be cultivated by the club itself (out of public view)
  • Registration fee of €1,000
  • License fee starting at €8,750
  • Initial licenses valid for 1 year, with 3 year renewals
  • Labeling requirements
  • Ongoing government auditing
  • Product testing
  • THC percentage caps for consumers 18-20 years old
  • Consumers can only have a membership at 1 club at a time
  • Revenue dispersal requirements
Ukraine Ukrainian Flag

Medical Cannabis Legalization Officially Launches In Ukraine

Written by Hazel Norman on . Posted in Policy.

Ukraine’s Parliament first approved medical cannabis reform in December 2023, with President Volodymyr Zelensky signing the measure on February 15th, 2024. This week the law took effect in Ukraine, paving the way for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and people with serious illnesses to access medical cannabis legally.

Cannabis resin, extracts, and tinctures are now excluded from the list of ‘dangerous substances’ in Ukraine under the new policy. The production of medical cannabis, development of medical cannabis therapies, and distribution of medical cannabis products will be tightly regulated in Ukraine.

“In order to implement the Law, the Ministry of Health team, together with the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, the State Medical Service, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the National Police and other executive authorities, have developed by-laws that regulate all processes in detail and will allow the patient to receive medicine from medical cannabis.” Ukraine’s Ministry of Health stated in a news release announcing medical cannabis legalization’s implementation (translated from Ukrainian to English).

“In order to ensure the cultivation of medical cannabis in Ukraine, Licensing conditions have been developed, which will soon be considered by the Cabinet of Ministers.” the Ministry of Health also stated. “Also, the entire chain of circulation of medical cannabis, from import or cultivation to dispensing to a patient in a pharmacy, will be subject to license control.”

Medical cannabis cultivation facilities are required to be operated in ‘closed soil conditions’ with ’round-the-clock video surveillance.’ Additionally, national police must have ‘free access’ to all facilities under the new regulations.

“For cultivation, there is a procedure for purchasing plant seeds – they must have a quality certificate and be registered in the State Register of plant varieties suitable for distribution in Ukraine.” the Ministry of Health stated.

All harvests will be subject to laboratory testing and all ‘laboratory studies’ will be ‘carried out exclusively in state laboratories.’ Every sale/purchase of medical cannabis in Ukraine will be required to go through a centralized electronic system for tracking. The Ministry of Health expects the system to be operational ‘in the fall of this year,’ and the system’s timeline will directly affect the launch of legal sales.

“More than 30 types of operations for more than 10 accounting objects will be recorded and accounted for. The system will include information on the production of medical cannabis seeds, sowing, cloning, planting plants and planting material, sending samples for laboratory testing, collecting plants, transporting, purchasing, manufacturing medicines, destroying waste, dispensing at a pharmacy, etc. Seeds, planting material, plants, intrapharmacy preparations, medicines, waste, etc. will be subject to accounting.” stated the Ministry of Health.

“Medicines from medical cannabis will be made in a pharmacy setting and prescribed by prescription to patients for whom conventional medicines do not have a therapeutic effect or cause adverse reactions that are poorly tolerated.” according to the Ministry of Health. “It will be possible to buy such medicines in Ukraine only with an electronic prescription, which will indicate the dosage form and dosage, the names of the active substances included in their composition. It is expected that medicinal products from medical cannabis will be available to patients in the form of oral drops, hard capsules, and dental pastes.”

“The law allows people entering or leaving Ukraine or transiting through its territory to carry medicinal products based on medical cannabis for their own use in an amount that does not exceed the amount prescribed by a doctor’s prescription.” the Ministry of Health concluded.

import export

Colombia Exported Over $10.8 Million Worth Of Cannabis Products In 2023

Written by Hazel Norman on . Posted in Business.

Colombia’s emerging legal cannabis industry exported over $10.8 million worth of cannabis products in 2023 according to recently released stats from ProColombia. ProColombia is a government agency of the Executive Branch of the Government of Colombia in charge of promoting Colombian non-traditional exports, international tourism, and foreign investment in the South American nation.

According to Colombia’s Ministry of Justice and Law, more than 3,000 licenses for the cultivation and production of cannabis have been issued in Colombia so far, with an estimated 864+ hectares of legal cannabis planted and a potential cultivation area of ​​at least 57 thousand hectares.

Of the $10.8 million worth of legal cannabis products exported from Colombia in 2023, 32% went to Brazil, 25% went to Australia, and another 14% went to Germany. Germany imported a record 31,398 kilograms of medical cannabis products in 2023.

“According to Mónica Hoyos, director of the Observatorio Colombiano de la Industria del Cannabis, who led the internationalization route of medicinal cannabis for companies of the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce last year: Brazil, Australia, Peru and Germany present better conditions for Colombian exports of medicinal cannabis, data that corroborate the information provided by ProColombia.” reported Sechat in its local coverage.

Mónica Hoyos also issued words of caution that the export numbers reported by ProColombia could be lower than what was actually exported from Colombia in 2023 due to various factors.

“From what we have been able to analyze, under-reporting may occur due to issues of tariff classification and export modalities. This situation, for example, has drawn the attention of entities such as the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), which recognized the discrepancies in the hemp export data from its database (Comtrade) and the data from national customs.” stated Hoyos according to Sechat.

Colombia has a long history with the cannabis plant, albeit not always involving a regulated industry. The South American nation legalized medical cannabis and industrial hemp in 2016 and 2021, respectively.

Cannavigia, an international cannabis compliance and production management company, estimates that Colombia’s commercial cannabis cultivators can produce dry cannabis flower for as low as $0.06 per gram, giving it a major advantage over legal industries in other nations where cannabis can cost as much as $2 per gram to produce.

The Colombian export figures for 2023, before any future adjustments, were an 11.3% increase over 2022 when Colombia’s medical cannabis exports amounted to $9.7 million, and a 96% increase compared to 2021.

jar of cannabis flower

Dutch Cannabis Pilot Trial Could Be Extended

Written by Hazel Norman on . Posted in Policy.

Regional adult-use cannabis commerce pilot trials are an interesting public policy experiment. The trials are permitted under EU law and are designed to help policymakers and regulators gather information to study and analyze to be better suited when crafting national cannabis industry policies and regulations.

Under the regional adult-use cannabis commerce pilot trial model a limited number of cannabis producers and retail outlets are permitted to conduct cannabis commerce activity. Additionally, adult consumers can register for the trials to source cannabis legally.

Pilot trials are currently operating in Switzerland and the Netherlands, and are expected to launch in Germany by the end of the year as part of ‘pillar 2’ of Germany’s advancing recreational legalization model.

The pilot trials in the Netherlands launched earlier this summer, and currently, ten municipalities are part of the public policy research experiment. Unfortunately, cannabis producers are reportedly struggling to meet quality standard requirements for the program, and that, in turn, could yield an extension of the pilot trials. Per excerpts from The Mayor:

Five of the licensed growers are only scheduled to begin deliveries in the first half of 2025. The intention is that the growers supply at least 570 kilograms of weed and 160 kilograms of hash per week.

Given that the growers have been unable to meet the required standards, this may mean extending the pilot phase and therefore delaying the next phase of the cannabis legalization plan in the Netherlands.

The Netherlands has long served as a top international cannabis tourism destination, and while the pilot trials are reserved for Dutch residents, many cannabis advocates have hoped that successful pilot trials would quickly lead to more comprehensive reform. It appears that advocates will have to wait a bit longer.

As was learned via Germany’s push for adult-use legalization, the European Union limits what cannabis reform measures can be implemented among its member nations. Widespread legal adult-use cannabis commerce, such as what is in place in Canada, remains prohibited by the European Union until EU agreements are modernized.

Currently, cannabis is legal for adults to cultivate, possess, and consume in Malta, Luxembourg, and Germany, as well as in Uruguay, Canada, and South Africa. Court decisions in several other nations also afford some level of legal protection to adult cannabis consumers, although the court decisions in those nations do not provide the same level of codified protections as in the previously mentioned countries where adult-use legalization measures were adopted and implemented.

import export

German Medical Cannabis Imports Rose 51% In The Last Year

Written by Hazel Norman on . Posted in Business.

Germany’s legal medical cannabis industry was already the largest in Europe before the first provisions of adult-use legalization took effect on April 1st, 2024, and thanks to the recent removal of cannabis from Germany’s Narcotics List, the nation’s medical cannabis industry is set to surge.

Still, Germany imports a considerable amount of medical cannabis products from other countries, particularly from Canada. According to a recent social media post by international cannabis expert Alfredo Pascual, medical cannabis imports have increased significantly over the last year:

In 2023, Germany imported 31,398 kilograms of medical cannabis products according to data from Germany’s Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM), a 26.2% increase compared to the prior year. In 2022 Germany imported 24,876 kilograms, compared to 20,771 kilograms in 2021, 11,746 kilograms in 2020, and 8,057 kilograms in 2019.

Roughly 50% of imported cannabis to Germany in 2023 originated from Canada compared to 40% the previous year. In the first half of 2024, 56% of medical cannabis product imports to Germany originated from Canada.

Starting in 2017, Germany legalized the use of 14 different varieties of cannabis flower for patients with severe debilitating diseases and no other treatment options. The legal medical cannabis products have been distributed through German pharmacies ever since. However, it wasn’t until 2019 that Germany allowed medical cannabis to be produced domestically, with the European nation’s medical cannabis industry initially relying solely on medical cannabis imports.

Three companies were chosen in 2019 to produce medical cannabis within Germany. The companies were capped at 10,400 kilograms of product production over the course of a four-year span. With the new CanG law taking effect, that quota system has since gone away. More companies can now apply to cultivate medical cannabis within Germany’s borders, and that will presumably impact Germany’s medical cannabis imports.

colombia flag

Colombia Is Set To Become A Top International Source For Legal Cannabis

Written by Hazel Norman on . Posted in Business.

Few regions in the world, if any, are as well-positioned as Colombia to sustainably produce mass amounts of raw cannabis material at an affordable price. The South American nation’s climate and geographical location are ideal for cultivating cannabis under the sun and in greenhouses on a very large scale.

Located along the equator, the duration of daily sunlight in Colombia is roughly 12 hours every day of the year, which is perfect for ‘flowering’ cannabis plants. In other regions of the world, including North America and Europe, cannabis can only be cultivated outdoors during warmer seasons.

Additionally, Colombia is located in the Andes Mountain range and has an average altitude of roughly 2,600 meters. Cannabis cultivated at higher altitudes requires less pest control than cannabis cultivated at lower altitudes.

Due to those factors and other factors, quality cannabis can be cultivated in Colombia for as cheap as $.06 per gram of dried flower – a fraction of what it costs to produce dried cannabis flower in North America and Europe, which can be as much as $2 per gram of dried flower.

Colombia has major cannabis production advantages over other regions that simply cannot be replicated, and the legal international cannabis business community is taking notice. Large companies are relocating their production facilities to Colombia and/or teaming up with domestic producers at an ever-increasing rate.

The opportunities in Colombia and the surrounding region are substantial, but getting in on the ground floor in a meaningful way can be tricky. It requires proper due diligence and networking with the right people at the right place and time.

A great opportunity for entrepreneurs, investors, and other industry members to learn more about Colombia’s emerging legal cannabis industry is coming up in Medellín, Colombia at the 2024 Cannaworld Congress where policy experts and industry leaders from the region and around the world will converge.

The 4th installment of the Cannaworld Congress, which is taking place on November 12th and 13th, 2024 at the Intercontinental Hotel in Medellín, will focus on medical cannabis policy, industrial hemp, and the emerging global industry.

Another great opportunity is the 7th installment of the EXPOMEDEWEED conference, which is taking place alongside the Cannaworld Congress from November 11th to 13th at the Intercontinental Hotel. EXPOMEDEWEED is the largest international cannabis industry event focused on the Latin and South American regions.

According to ProColombia, a government agency in charge of promoting nontraditional Colombian trade, the value of medical cannabis exports from Colombia was $10.8 million in 2023, which was an 11.3% increase over 2022, and a 96% increase from 2021.

Per Statista, Colombia’s legal cannabis industry is expected to increase to a value of $64.59 million by the end of this year, and “revenue is anticipated to experience a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR 2024-2029) of 2.09%, leading to a market volume of US$71.64m by 2029.”

somai pharmaceuticals products

Legal Global Cannabis Products Are Becoming More Diverse

Written by Hazel Norman on . Posted in Business.

As the legal cannabis industry continues to expand to nearly every corner of the planet, the variety of products available to medical cannabis patients is also expanding. Raw medical cannabis flower is still popular in many jurisdictions, however, patient demand and regulatory parameters are driving product innovation, particularly at the international level.

A great example of that can be found in Australia, Germany, and the United Kingdom where multi-country operator SOMAÍ Pharmaceuticals recently introduced its proprietary Mint Oral Solutions product line.

“The new line includes single-strain oils infused with peppermint terpene mixes in various dosage forms, from CBD-dominant to balanced and high-THC. The mint line is the first introduction to improve patients’ compliance and treatment adherence, combining purified extracts and a subtle aromatic mint taste.” SOMAÍ Pharmaceuticals stated about its new product line.

“Cannabis patients prioritize the products’ performance, smell, and taste,” said Michael Sassano, the founder and interim CEO of SOMAI Pharmaceuticals. “So as we prioritize improving patient experience, mint is an excellent starting experience as a popular blend with calming and therapeutic effects, as well as a pleasant subtle taste.”

Currently, the international cannabis industry is a patchwork of laws, rules, and regulations. As such, each market has its own nuances and limitations regarding which types of products can be sold. That, in turn, results in the introduction of new products as entrepreneurs and innovators come up with fresh ideas for products to meet evolving demand.

According to a recent study conducted by researchers from Ukraine and France, and published by the U.S. National Institute of Health, 57 countries have adopted medical cannabis legalization measures. The spread of global medical cannabis policy reform is being matched by a rise in the worldwide industry’s market potential.

For example, the global cannabis pharmaceuticals sector alone is projected to reach $102.4 billion by 2030, expanding at a CAGR of 53.3% from 2024 to 2030, according to a recent analysis by Research and Markets.

“In 2023, Europe dominated the overall market with a revenue share of 41.9% owing to increasing cannabis consumption, as well as rising awareness and positive attitude towards cannabis and its products.” stated Research and Markets in its analysis.

A separate global CBD market analysis conducted by Grand View Research found that the global CBD market was worth $7.7 billion in 2023, and estimates that the market will grow by 15.8% from 2024 to 2030.