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Author: Marguerite Arnold

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Malta Becomes First Country In EU To Legalize Adult Use Cannabis

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Politics.

The country will edge out Luxembourg, Germany, and Portugal to create a fully functioning, federally legal cannabis market

Malta has just become the first EU country to formally legitimize an adult-use cannabis market. The Maltese Parliament voted to move forward on the same on December 14. All that is needed now is the signature of the President (a mere formality).

There will be a formal government agency established to oversee the industry. Regulated sales will be allowed to occur in shops. Home grow will be allowed.

How Will This Impact Recreational Reform Across Europe?

While cannabis reform and of both the medical and recreational kind, has been moving forward steadily in Europe, driven by Germany, over the last four years, 2021 and even more so 2022, is likely to be considered “Ground Zero” in terms of finally moving the recreational conversation over the finish line across the region.

Even Holland is formalizing its market on a national level. Beyond this, of course, Luxembourg will establish a limited recreational market, Portugal is likely to do so as is Italy. And of course, right in the middle of it all, even if not in the EU, Switzerland is moving ahead as of next year.

There are, beyond “domino” discussions, however, other interesting developments potentially afoot with this development. The first of course is financing for the industry, no matter where it is based in Europe. 

The second is what this development will do to the entire reform discussion in the UK. Like Canada, Malta is in the Commonwealth. It now becomes the second commonwealth country to formally legitimize the drug. Beyond this, of course, another commonwealth country, namely South Africa, is also about to move forward on significant cannabis reform.

Whatever happens, as a result, will begin to move reform forward not just within the EU, but potentially as a formal policy of the Commonwealth. This in turn, beyond regional pressure from the EU, may in turn finally convince policymakers at the UN to take the next step and enact truly global cannabis reform.

None of this will happen overnight, of course, and despite all the excitement, there is plenty of ground to cover from merely passing cannabis reform to implementing it on the ground.

Regardless, it is an important step, and further one that casts yet another encouraging light on the entire recreational cannabis conversation across Europe – if not a bit further afield than this.

The International Cannabis Business Conference returns to Europe in 2022 in Barcelona, Berlin, and Zurich.

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Former President Of France Francois Hollande Supports Adult Use Cannabis

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Politics.

While not willing to say he is “in favour” of consumption, he does believe that better control of the drug can be handled by legalization

In a sign that things are changing on the cannabis conversation even in France, which just this year reluctantly moved forward on a highly limited medical trial, Francois Hollande, who led the country between 2012 and 2017, came out with a statement in favour of the establishment of an adult-use market in the country.

Citing less his support for the industry and more as a common-sense one, designed to regulate the industry, prevent it from getting into the wrong hands, and making a dent on the black market.

The German Example

Citing the decision of Germany’s new “Traffic Light” Coalition to move forward with a recreational use plan, Hollande stressed that cannabis reform could not just be limited to a national discussion but rather tackled on a European level.

Hollande also believes that just decriminalizing the drug without providing for a regulated, legal market makes no sense. As he said in an interview with a European news organization, “As soon as it is legalized, there is no longer any reason to penalize, except those who could drive while having smoked or those who harm their health and the health of others by overconsuming.”

How Fast Will Reform Move in France?

France is one of the slowest moving European countries on the issue of formal reform – or at least it has been so far. Current President, Emanual Macron proposed earlier this year to launch a national debate on the issue. Perhaps the German decision to move forward will also speed this up now too.

Regardless, for a prominent former politician to take a stand on cannabis reform is a significant step, particularly given the fact that he pinned his logic on the German example.

The Great Teutonic Tipping Point for Cannabis?

It is very clear, regardless of how fast reform actually moves in France, or anywhere else in Europe for that matter, that recreational reform has now entered the mainstream debate. The German market will continue to drive the discussion forward – both on the medical and now on the recreational front. 

And even if it is not next year, or the next several after that, the writing is on the wall. France will follow suit.

Make sure to stay on top of European developments in the fast-paced and changing cannabis industry by attending the International Cannabis Business Conference when it returns to Barcelona, Berlin and Zurich next year.

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Former National Leaders Call For Global Cannabis Reform

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Politics.

Nick Clegg, the former Liberal Democratic leader, calls for legalization in the UK, following global trends

Citing the German and American cannabis market reforms, Nick Clegg, the former British Prime Minister, has now gone public with his support for cannabis legalization in the UK. In doing so, he is joining other public figures globally including four Nobel Laureates, in calling for a radical overhaul of not just British but global cannabis policy. Indeed, leaders from countries including New Zealand (former PM Helen Clark), Columbia (former president Juan Manuel Santos), Switzerland (Ruth Dreifuss, former president) and others have also added their voices of support in a new report called Time to End Prohibition.

Clegg’s comments come not only just after the momentous news that Germany’s new government will move forward on recreational reform as early as next year and as the UK unveils a new Ten-Year Strategy to combat drug crime and related issues that will target users and dealers with a hefty price tag of about $330 million.

Time For a Global Change

There is clearly a renewed call for such reforms now that Germany, Europe’s largest economy has announced a forward motion on the legalization topic as of next year. 

Further, as the debate continues to escalate (including at the UN level), there is a clear trade-off emerging in policy approaches to reform. Many countries, now cash-strapped because of Covid, are looking at the cannabis sector to create economic development opportunities.

The UK, while behind other countries is unlikely to sit this one out for the long term. Starting with the fact that despite onerous cannabis policies, the UK is still a cannabis exporting country.

International vs. Sovereign Reform

For the last ten years, cannabis reform has been very much a sovereign discussion. However, with Europe now entering the fray on a regional level and multiple countries around the world putting at least medical reform on the front burner, the conversation has clearly shifted. Further, the Covid Pandemic has also clearly shown the industry is an essential one – and further one that so far, has proven to be, if not Pandemic Proof, growing despite the global health crisis.

It is undoubtedly easier for those out of office now to lead the call for political change – but as Germany has shown this is also beginning to shift – particularly as new governments come into power. Indeed, Germany is not the first coalition government to enter office on the promise of cannabis reform. See Luxembourg in 2018.

However, the fact that so many former leaders are now calling on those who replaced them to move the conversation forward is just another sign that the globe is moving in a green direction and will certainly not turn back.

The International Cannabis Business Conference returns to Europe in 2022! Stay tuned.

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European Parliament Agrees To Raise THC In Hemp – Equivalent Of US Farm Bill

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Politics.

The European Parliament has agreed to raise the THC limits in hemp to .03%, bringing the EU into line with the US. Will this mean a growing new international hemp trade between the US and Europe?

Late last week, the European Parliament agreed on a new Common Agricultural Policy for the region, which goes into effect on January 1st, 2023. Namely hemp grown in EU countries can have a THC content of up to 0.3%. This is up from the current limit of 0.2% (at least at the EU level). National regulations within the region are already all over the place. 

This change has been bubbling for some time. However now that it has been formally adopted into something so fundamental as regional agricultural policy, there is little chance of the tide turning back on CBD. Namely as has also been widely feared that CBD would again be ruled a narcotic and at a regional level. With this announcement, there is little chance of that happening.

Implications

This is a very important moment for the hemp industry across Europe – and will invigorate the industry much like the passage of the federal hemp bill in the United States in 2018. What this means is that there is a regional minimum standard. Obviously, sovereign laws take precedence. However, what this does is set a bar that latecomers to the discussion will essentially have at least considered as a reference guide as they wrestle with full and final cannabis reform.

A Magic Cure-all?

While highly significant, this is not, however, the end of the hemp industry’s problems in Europe. Chief among those, starting in Germany, is the remaining inclusion of even CBD in national narcotics acts. For this reason, while a very big step that the hemp lobby, for one, is rightly celebrating, it is still not one that entirely overcomes the many issues even this part of the industry is still facing.

Indeed, the only real way to normalize the CBD discussion is to reconnect it, once again, to the THC one as multiple countries in Europe now wrestle with full and final legalization, even if only of the home grow kind.

However, luckily for everyone in every part of the industry, that is now a conversation that is fully underway.

Be sure to stay tuned to the International Cannabis Business Conference blog for the latest cannabis reform developments in Europe.

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Is‌ ‌European‌ ‌Recreational‌ ‌Cannabis‌ ‌Legalization‌ ‌Starting‌ ‌With‌ ‌Home‌ ‌Grow‌ ‌First?‌ ‌

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Politics.

A trend is developing – Italy, Luxembourg and now Malta, are on the verge of “recreational reform” that only allows for the personal cultivation of a limited number of cannabis plants. Is this the new “normal” until Germany leads the way?

If there is such a thing as a “trend” afoot in the European recreational cannabis reform discussion, then this is clearly one. Home grow is a hot topic in multiple European countries right now that are all publicly claiming to be implementing “recreational reform.” 

This is of course a huge irony considering not quite so recent developments. Namely, of course, that just as the Swiss are gearing up to launch their rec trial in 2022, Germany will probably legalize some kind of commercial marketplace and infrastructure, even if they kick the can down the road for a market start. Furthermore, it is precisely because the Germans did NOT want to tangle with the issue of patient home growing for medical use that the Bundestag passed the medical reform bill they did in 2017.

How four years ago. Not to mention, how much has changed.

In Germany right now, despite rising patient numbers, the pushback from the insurers and MDK is still considerable, in part because of the cost of cannabis treatment (still, sadly) and because cannabis is still considered a “drug of last resort.” Patients who cannot prove this, of course, are in the deep end of hell.

This is why the revived European home grow trend is so interesting. It also means that there will probably be some kind of home grow provision in the German recreational reform language. There must be. Nobody wants to penalize patients who still cannot get prescribing doctors or healthcare approval.

Regardless, this is a very, very interesting trend indeed. It means that there will be a huge interest in the mom-and-pop grassroots, even if such efforts have little chance of becoming legit. The Canadian model, for starters, showed that the commercial market’s largest competitor was patients.

The fact that this trend is now starting to take place in Europe is also a testament to the perhaps late realization by the powers that be that if medical reform takes place, there is little to stop the ball from rolling forward, starting with the fact that those who are sick and cannot get the drug any other way, will also almost always resort to “other” channels to get the only drug that seems to make a difference. 

With a focus on stamping out the black market, this also then pushes the discussion, in European countries right now at any rate, into a gentle slope that may start with home grow but in fact is a tipping point for full and final reform.

Be sure to keep up with European cannabis business trends – attend the International Cannabis Business Conference when it returns to Europe next spring and summer.

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French Medical Cannabis Trial Registers Its 1000th Patient

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Medical.

Seven months after the official debut of France’s medical program, the government has reached 1/3rd of its planned patient count. What next?

France has managed to keep a relatively low profile in the entire cannabis discussion, generally, despite all the furor now afoot in almost every country that surrounds it. It is not to say the French are inconsequential to the entire conversation. Indeed, a CBD vape case decided here is responsible for creating the first case law on the cross-continental transport and subsequent sale of legally produced product.

However, beyond this, and sadly, even on the medical side, the French have been missing from the discussion, and in a big way. Namely, seven months into the experiment, only 1/3rd of the total paltry study number to begin with have even been accepted in the now ongoing (and much delayed) trial. In contrast, Germany, which had about 800 patients at the time the law changed in 2017, had at least 8,000 patients of a first year’s total of between 12,000 and 20,000 incorporated into the formal program by the same period. Given the huge hurdles that still exist in Germany four years later and as the patient count tops six figures, this says a great deal about the hurdles now faced by the French.

Patient counts will continue to increase until September 2022 – which means that the government has just over 10 months to register the remaining 2/3rds of patients.

Covid is undoubtedly responsible – but beyond this, as every legalizing state and country knows, this is far from a fast process when done “officially,” and even more particularly for the first time.

That said, there is a bit of a silver lining. The quotas by patient indication and by doctor have been lifted. The criteria for access for those in palliative care and oncology have also been expanded.

There are only 48 general practitioners and 212 pharmacists who are now trained to prescribe and administer cannabis and a total of 1035 health professionals overall.

So far, 22% of patients have left the experiment due to adverse effects or inefficacy. There are, as a result, currently 779 active patients in the national trial.

One thing is for sure. The fact that the trial is already changing its official guidelines is a good sign. It means that the French, like the rest of the medically liberalizing planet, are realizing that preconceived notions about the drug, those who use it, and for what, are usually wrong, along with the “conventional wisdom.”

However, if one of the most cannabis-conservative countries in Europe so far can admit this, and adapt accordingly, it is also another sign that cannabis reform, and of all kinds, has landed in Europe, and will not be slowed.

Why not sponsor (and speak) at the International Cannabis Business Conference in Europe next year? Opportunities exist in Barcelona, Berlin and Zurich.

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Is Luxembourg Planning On Sidestepping Real Rec Reform?

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Politics.

The European country has had rec reform on its legislative agenda for the last three years. However, it increasingly looks like such plans have no intention of creating a commercial industry.

The coalition government of Luxembourg has been in the global spotlight since 2018 since it formally announced it planned to legalize recreational cannabis by 2023. Since then, however, exact steps and formal timelines have been assiduously avoided. Indeed, there have been many rumours in the last several months that the country planned to enter this space in a way that might be unexpected.

That lack of clarity came to an end last week when the government put its proposal online.

Here are some of the surprising details.

The Government Will Legalize Home Grow

Luxembourgian citizens will have the right to grow four plants at home – either indoors or outdoors – if the cannabis grow is secured and not visible to anyone passing by a public road. This is a per household, not resident law, meaning that no matter how many people live at a single address, the four plant rule will apply. This means that cannabis could be grown indoors, outdoors in a private garden, or on a balcony, out of sight of public view. 

The cannabis can be grown from seeds that will be available in stores in Luxembourg as well as imported online from overseas. This will be a huge boost for the seed stores in Holland and Spain (for starters). It may also lead to a booming “pre-recreational” cannabis market in seeds but nothing else.

Persons caught in public with more than 3 grams will still face an administrative fine (€145). 

The donation or sale of cannabis will remain illegal.

For a government that has also supposedly studied “other models” – starting with Canada, this is remarkably slow off the bat approach. Regardless, in a space currently defined by Holland and nobody else, it was unlikely that the Luxembourgian experiment was going to blow any doors off in terms of breaking the mold.

That honour will almost certainly fall to Germany – which of course in the last week has also seen its new political leaders declare that cannabis reform is a common plank if not top priority.

In the meantime, however, there will begin to be a limited cannabis market in Luxembourg, if only confined to seeds and home grow setups. And Switzerland, as well as Germany, will now almost undoubtedly set the pace for the rest of Europe.

Be sure to keep abreast of the now rapidly moving cannabis reform discussion in Europe by staying up to date with the International Cannabis Business Conference blog! Don’t forget, the International Cannabis Business Conference is returning to Europe in 2022.

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German Coalition Government In Waiting Sends Positive Signal On Recreational Cannabis Reform

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Politics.

The news that the so-called “traffic light” coalition had decided to work together on some kind of recreational cannabis reform is a positive step – but there are many details along the way to be done and dusted.

Last week, the news that the pending coalition government in waiting had come to an agreement on changing German cannabis policy spread, virally, within hours, first from German-language sites to English ones – and from cannabis specialty blogs to mainstream news.

The announcement, no matter how many details remain to be ironed out, is in fact, big news. It signals that the coalition government of the SPD, the Greens and the FDP will prioritize legislation as early as next year to start to tackle the entire recreational cannabis conversation. While the police have recently come out against recreational reform, just on a safety front, the green tide has turned here, and everyone knows it. Further it is a relatively easy lay-up win for a new government which is looking for ways to work together and gain points with an electorate that just voted the CDU out of power for the first time since the end of WWII.

That said, the devil is in the details – and this being Germany, there are a few to think about.

By far, the most important issue is how to redefine cannabis legally – and further to carve out medical versus recreational use starting with the German Narcotics Act. And that is daunting.

Here is why. Cannabis is listed as a narcotic in the Act. This is already problematic as Germany is now out of step with current EU thinking on at least CBD (namely that it is not a narcotic). However, CBD is the least of the problems here. THC is, when used medically, technically a “narcotic” – and further one that fits neatly, and pharmacologically, in the medicine cabinet of definitions that include major pain drugs, starting with opioids. “Legalizing” this as a recreational substance will take some legal eagling and wordsmithing to figure out a new kind of definition for cannabis under German (as well as EU) law. This is particularly challenging when, at an international level at least, cannabis is still defined as a Schedule I drug.

The push towards compromise is also happening at a time when the rumours are that the European Commission may yet rescind its ruling that CBD is not a narcotic.

Given the political winds, it is unlikely that the new coalition, once it formally agrees to work together and takes power in early next year, as widely expected, will backtrack on its promises. But it is also very likely that what may emerge is clear decriminalization and a deliberately small, limited and highly expensive to access market – at least at first. There is precedent. See the German bid.

But then again, see the German bid – which left German firms out of the first iteration of the same. There is hope at least that German politicians might have learned something so far – if not from other countries than the first medical tender.

It is for this very reason that no matter how messy the first iteration of recreational reform is likely to be, that it will change the conversation here and in a meaningful way – not only in Germany but across Europe. And that is significant, indeed.

Book your booths now as the International Cannabis Business Conference begins to gear up for next year’s conferences in Barcelona, Berlin, and Zurich!

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Just How Much Would The German Recreational Market Be “Worth?”

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Business, Politics.

A new study by the Institute for Competition Economics at the University of Düsseldorf estimates that the German recreational market could be worth 4.7 billion euros – but what is all this estimating based on?

A new study by the University of Düsseldorf has estimated that legalizing cannabis could bring in as much as 4.7 billion euros a year to the German economy. In Germany, this includes not only the size of the market but the impact on tax revenues, social security contributions from the legalized business, and savings to the police and justice system. The study estimated that 1.8 billion euros of this amount would in fact flow directly into the state treasury.

Of course, all of this is just conjecture at this point. However, given the current furore over the possibility of recreational legalization here of late, a study on the potential worth of said industry was bound to get attention.

But what do such estimates really have to do with reality? After all, when it comes to cannabis, German consumers are just like consumers everywhere else. Not to mention an estimate, before the market has even started, anywhere, is just that. However, here are some contributing factors to consider (beyond the nitty-gritty of getting there).

Size Matters

Here is one way to think about the potential market here. Colorado’s population is just over 5 million and the recreational market there tops $10 billion as of this year (in real-time). Germany has a population of 80 million. It does not take a huge imagination to figure out that Deutschland may turn out to be the EU’s most valuable recreational market, beyond its medical one.

There are a couple of differences to consider right off the bat of course. The first is that there is a real medical market here – and unlike in Colorado, health insurance does cover medical cannabis. Indeed, there are about 100,000 patients in the German system. That number is also going to increase over time – potentially to as much as 10% of the entire population.

What happens beyond that – in other words, a purchase of cannabis without a doctor’s prescription – is literally the great unknown. It is also established that consumers begin to use not only fewer illicit and prescription drugs but drink far less alcohol when cannabis is legal (at least in legalizing states and countries to date). In Germany, this is potentially a huge market – limited at this point by legalization and imagination. Culturally, Germans are ready for something new – particularly a plant they are hearing a great deal more about of late.

Beyond speculation, in other words, however, one thing is very clear. Germans are getting ready for some kind of recreational cannabis reform. And that is pretty massive.

Be sure to stay abreast of breaking European and global cannabis news and developments by following the International Cannabis Business Conference blog!