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Author: Marguerite Arnold

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As Cannabis Insurance Reimbursements Spread Across Europe, Where Does That Leave US And Canada?

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Medical.

Across Europe, patients are winning battles for their right to free or insurance-reimbursed cannabis care. What does this mean for North America?

According to the Italian press, a Sicilian woman with MS, Loredana Gullota, received her first fully reimbursed cannabis prescription recently. She is the first patient in the region to obtain the same, despite the fact that the decree to mandate coverage was approved by the regional health system a year ago. According to doctors, this means there are now 5,000 patients across the island they can start to prescribe for – their reluctance so far being cost. The average patient could not afford the monthly fees ranging from 300-1,500 euros.

In Germany, right next door, cannabis prescriptions continue to increase, in part because there is a growing understanding about the drug – and thanks to a national training program that has now been launched on the municipal level to target doctors. This is also true of Luxembourg, where the medical training program is clearly also paving the way for a recreational market to start presumably sometime next year. France is running its medical trial. And other countries are now being pulled along – even the beleaguered NHS is considering ways to make good on the prescriptions it has issued so far (even though there are few of these in the UK either).

But with all this growing enthusiasm on the continent, where does this leave the question of reimbursed cannabis in the United States and Canada – the home of cannabis reform, broadly.

Broader Healthcare Provision Is One Avenue To Greater Reform

There is a certain amount of good news here that can fairly easily bounce internationally if the Biden Administration is bold enough to seize it. Namely, the United States specifically has an opportunity to create a state-based agricultural market that can supply and fund its own healthcare funds. In turn, more people being included again in a semi-public option that also includes cannabis care might be just the ticket that the rest of this conversation really needs to get recreational over the line in the coming years.

In Canada, the lack of enthusiasm for including the drug as part of normalized healthcare provision so far has mostly come from doctors and mostly because of the lack of studies and information available. That is likely to also begin changing as more data is available from Europe.

Ultimately, it will be the medical market in Europe that undergirds other kinds of reform – as elsewhere. And so far, with the exception of the Dutch, this is happening, even if achingly slowly, country by country.

Be sure to book your tickets to the next International Cannabis Business Conference – returning to Europe Summer 2021!

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The Opportunity Of Cannabis Funds And Stocks On The London Stock Exchange

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Business.

With MCG Pharmaceuticals becoming the first cannastock to list on the public exchange in London, and a plethora to follow in the coming weeks, what is the potential for a hot finance market blooming post-Brexit?

Even the Financial Times is excited about this one – the LSE is finally opening to cannabis stocks. Post-Brexit, the need to raise funds both to nourish the domestic market and to access the European one, will be critical. 

However, the question remains, despite the ability to raise money (as in Canada and the U.S.), will the cannabis firms who rush to access such equity here use it any more efficiently than say their Canadian forebears?

Undoubtedly, the forward march of progress on the legislative front means that broadly the answer will be yes. That does not mean of course, that all the froth is gone from the market. But what it does mean is that London now has a viable market in which to raise funds for the industry at home and for operations across the continent. And the exchange may well, as a result, be a serious competitor for the Deutsche Börse. The fact that London is getting going with its own canna-equities offerings is also likely to stir the still fairly dormant conversation across the Channel – namely in Frankfurt.

By anyone’s standards, in other words, this is an exciting and much overdue development and promises a healthy injection of cash into an industry now chomping at the bit to roll out new products in the wake of reforms enacted during the Pandemic.

British Equity Is Needed in Several Places

There are several places that all this equity can flow. The first is obviously to established international firms (like MCG Pharma) with a footprint and a path to entry in the growing medical market across the continent.

The second, of course, is into burgeoning start-ups that are eyeing the current environment and beginning to think about strategic next steps in a world post Pandemic.

It is highly likely that Germans will want to see greater reform and push the agenda as the country prepares to go to the national polls. It is also highly likely that other Europeans will too. Beyond Europe, there are obviously other exciting possibilities ranging from Asia to Africa. The LSE is far from as sluggish as its European counterparts generally.

Accessing equity, in a way that is far more familiar to both North American and British firms becomes, as a result, even more important. This is, in other words, perhaps one of the rocket boosters the industry has long needed across the region. 

Be sure to attend the International Cannabis Business Conference when it returns to Berlin this summer to get the hottest insights on the developing European cannabis equities market.

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French Government Picks Six Companies For National Medical Cannabis Trial

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Medical.

For all the foot-dragging, the French appear to be on track for what appears to be the largest, organized national trial in Europe.

It is hardly surprising, and for a number of reasons, that the French have finally stepped up to the plate on the medical cannabis discussion. After all, the WHO ruled that the drug was not a Schedule IV last December, right around the time that the European Commission voted that CBD is not a narcotic. This is now an unavoidable topic in every European capital.

However late they may be to this particular discussion, however, the French also seem to have learned a few lessons from neighbouring countries (including right next door in Germany) on how to proceed with this perennially sticky wicket.

As the Dutch government retreats in a fumbled recreational trial, and the German cultivation license holders have (yet) to produce at full speed, the French decided to take a different tact. Namely, they announced the launch of a national trial (much delayed) at the end of last year. There are to be 3,000 patients. And, here is the rub, participating companies must provide both product and vapes, for free.

Which Companies Will Be Participating?

There are six companies who have now been picked for selection in the French trial as announced in late January by the ANSM (the French agency of Medicines and Medical Devices). Their names will sound familiar to anyone who has paid attention to the global industry over the last few years. Like the German tender, several of the participants are from Canada (Aurora and Tilray/Aphria which are also both German bid winners). Australian firms Althea and Little Green Pharma were also chosen, along with the Israeli Panaxia and the UK based Emmac Life Sciences.

All of the product will be imported as the cultivation of cannabis is currently still illegal in France.

European Implications

With France now admitting that cannabis has medical efficacy, the second-largest economy in the EU has now signed up to moving forward on reform. Even if behind other places in Europe.

This also means that the next question is now, inevitably, in the room, and across Europe. When does recreational reform finally come here?

That topic is also on the table, inevitably, as COVID-19 restrictions begin to lift.

Be sure to book your tickets to the International Cannabis Business Conference this summer, when the conference returns to Berlin.

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Amsterdam’s New War On Its Pot Shops

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Politics.

As the first federal Dutch cannabis cultivation bid goes down in flames, Amsterdam city officials propose banning tourists from its cannabis cafes.

Long the progressive cannabis outlier during the 1980’s and 1990’s, even if operated in a grey area, Amsterdam if not Holland beyond that, gave the world a first look at what a relatively open cannabis industry might look like.

In this century, however, the Dutch have lurched from one unsuccessful campaign to the next to better regulate the industry – and so far have only included imposing regulations that have drastically shrunk the number of coffee shops but not consumers. While some of these campaigns, such as closing down cafes that operated near schools were noncontroversial, the current proposal – to ban all tourists from Amsterdam’s coffee shops just announced last week – makes little sense. Not to mention has little chance of succeeding.

Coming as it does on the heels of tighter lockdowns in Europe that will also begin to lift again this spring, as well as the failed first cultivation tender in the country, it is also clearly a short-term political play meant to impose long-lasting limits.

Of course, this latest move has not gone unopposed. The business association representing the coffee shops, the BCD, has begun lobbying hard against the ban as has the national PCN representing cannabis businesses across the Netherlands. They are joined by several policymaking non-profits who have focused on cannabis.

Their advertisement against the ban points out that restricting tourist access will not be successful (it never has been before). It also pointed out the difficulties faced by non-Dutch legal residents. As the industry-backed ad summed up the issue, “The coffee shops are not the enemy, but an essential facility and an effective ally in the fight against illegal drug trafficking in the city.”

Whither Next?

This development is unlikely to be entirely divorced from the recent failure of the Dutch cultivation bid. It is also clearly a short-term play by officials to try and nail an ever-present thorn in their sides by attaching an idea born of a Pandemic that will never hold water after it.

It is unlikely, in other words, that cash-starved retail businesses of any kind, will, or should be placed in the position, of turning down customers, no matter where they hail from.

Stay tuned. The next steps are likely to be very interesting, especially at a time when several European countries are moving forward on the recreational cannabis discussion.

Be sure to attend the next International Cannabis Business Conference this summer in Berlin to find out all the latest developments on rapidly changing European cannabis policy.

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Ole! The Spanish Supreme Court Takes Aim At Barcelona’s Cannabis Clubs

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Business.

The Spanish Constitutional Court has issued two rulings against the Barcelona club scene – but with a pending case in the EU’s highest court, does this really matter?

As 2021 dawns with sputtering hope of a revival of society, if not economies globally, it appears that authorities in Europe are taking on the issue of cannabis reform in a decidedly “old-fashioned” way. To date, only Holland has fully tackled the issue, and its first attempt at a national cultivation scheme has already fallen by the wayside. 

In Spain, the issue is front and centre right now, with a country that has seen its celebrated club culture essentially decimated by the various rules and regulations of lockdown. Beyond that, however, the “instigating” founders of the scene in the first place, are facing national jail time. Albert Tió indeed, turned himself in last December. His case against the Spanish national government is now pending in the European Court of Human Rights at Strasburg.

Reform, in other words, is a high profile issue.

To address that, the Supreme Court has made two decisions lately that directly affect the industry. In two decisions, that came right on top of each other the Court declared the City Council of Barcelona “lacks the competence” to regulate the clubs via municipal plans, and the 218 clubs it has registered for the purpose so far.

So far, the municipal authorities in Barcelona have not backed down. After all, they realize that Spanish authorities at the federal level are making a lot of noise over what could, legitimately, be nothing, given the pending EU court’s decision. Not to mention, as city leaders have already publicly pointed out, they are unwilling to revisit the matter until there is a federal solution, and in the meantime, there needs to be some kind of regulation.

Standoff city. Yet again.

A New Dawn For Spain in 2021?

There are about 1,500 registered clubs in Spain, with over 80% either in Barcelona or its outlying suburbs. The clubs employ about 7,500 people across the country. Each club has, on average, 3-400 members. Many clubs have either been shut down entirely or forced to operate in an even stranger, greyer, more precarious space since the beginning of the Pandemic.

With the new Supreme Court rulings, in other words, will at least a temporary additional level of complication, not to mention legal work, force that infrastructure to collapse?

It is clearly the goal of authorities right now. That, however, at least in the short term, is a goal they are unlikely to achieve. Cannabis has landed in Europe, and it is unlikely that it will be successfully rolled back, in Spain, or anywhere else for that matter as Luxembourg joins the conversation later this year.

Be sure to book your tickets for the International Cannabis Business Conference when it returns this summer to Berlin to get the latest on ever-changing European cannabis legislation and business environments.

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Bedrocan To The Rescue! British Cannabis Patients Get 6 Months Relief

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Medical.

Post-Brexit scrambles by British patients on imported medical cannabis from Holland gets six-month reprieve with Dutch authorities and UK Home Office both agreeing on a short-term solution

British cannabis patients, who have fought for their children and relatives for years now, were given a sudden victory over cannabis prescriptions in October 2020. Only to have it taken away in December. Now a new government initiative is putting temporary measures in place for the next six months.

It seems like it all should have been taken care of, but like many things related to Brexit, cannabis was just one more thing that fell off the table.

Luckily, the highly vocal activists, according to the Edinburgh News, have managed to step into the breach and an import company in Glasgow has been able to restart cross channel supply. The Dutch government has concurred that as a temporary measure, it can export again, for six months, in a special deal with the British Home Office.

Of course, since the NHS is not yet authorizing the use of cannabinoid oil as the British Paediatric Association has not yet approved the same, families are at the harsh end of costs – around $1,200 a month.

This is not a new story, of course. What is unique, however, is how “fast” relatively speaking, authorities have moved, and in several countries – while failing of course to remedy the financial impact.

It sounds so Germany, with the exception of course that in Europe, this frenzied dance around cannabis started almost four years ago – and so far nobody has a lifetime prescription (as a few patients were beginning to get in the UK as of last fall). 

Regulatory Hell In Several Directions

There is no guarantee of course that the myriad levels of red tape will be cleared even in the next six months – for anything, let alone cannabis specifically. 

In the meantime, this is surely a boost for the domestic British cannabis industry, no matter how nascent it may be. It is also a wake-up call, globally, that the issue of cannabis regulations, in every country and region, needs a massive modern update if not reboot.

If the world is to change, dramatically, post-Covid, cannabis will undoubtedly be part of that mix. 

In the meantime, look for continued bumpy waters, in almost every jurisdiction and renewed activism from every quarter, including the industry for the next 12 months. As the threat of the Pandemic recedes, in other words, there is a very real possibility that frustrated proponents will make real the inevitability of history, finally, that full reform has always been.

Be sure to attend the International Cannabis Business Conference when it returns to Berlin in summer 2021!

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The Rise Of “Localized” Recreational Cannabis Markets In Europe

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Politics.

Amsterdam is again raising the idea of a tourist-free cannabis industry, and Luxembourg plans the same. Will this drive reform across Europe or will COVID-19 reset the conversation?

The Dutch may have reinvigorated the cannabis discussion during the dark days of the 1980s and 1990s, and given the world the “coffee shop,” but so far in the 21st century, the Netherlands has been the centre of multiple failed attempts to “better regulate” itself, let alone give pointers to anyone else. The question is, however, how much will the Dutch “experiment” influence others across Europe? 

The latest attempt has been a cultivation tender which has been marred by missteps and delay, unprofessionalism and just like the German medical tender before it, scrapped to be revamped to another day.

This was followed by another call by Amsterdam (which sat out the national cultivation bid discussion like other larger Dutch cities) to regulate tourists right out of town. As strange as it seems during a global Pandemic that has decimated the tourist industry globally, the city of Amsterdam at least from the position of its civic leaders, is saying, “don’t come back.”

How successful this will be is another story. But will this idea become a “norm” as Luxembourg also begins to plan its own recreational experiment with similar rules, now slated theoretically for next year?

Nimbyism vs Tourism

Europe, as it begins to slide into the early days of smaller regulated markets, is about to hit the same snags as many U.S. states, in particular. Recreational cannabis is still not a winning political issue at the polls, even as medical cannabinoids have begun to become more accepted – and even if this too is still early days.

For that reason, the entire conversation is going to hit snags that have not been dealt with before. It is different when a federal government issues such rules vs. a state and so far there is little indication in Europe at least, that these are on course to be avoided.

That said, there is another discussion in town that may well wreck the best-laid plans of governments everywhere to keep sidestepping the conversation. And that is that economic development of every kind, including from the canna trade, is going to enter a different dimension post-Covid. 

Even if the tourists are not encouraged, in cookie-cutter NIMBY protests across regions, it will be tough to keep them entirely out. See the Spanish canna clubs as perhaps the best example of the same. Not to mention the rip-roaring potential of the human rights access court case that has the potential to completely rewrite the rules if the Court of Human Rights in Strasburg rules the way it should.

Be sure to book your tickets to the International Cannabis Business Conference when it returns to Europe in the summer of 2021!

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Aphria Announces First Cannabis Harvest For Germany

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Business.

The second growing facility for medical cannabis is about to deliver – but is this all going to be enough?

Aphria, now merged with Tilray, is edging ever closer to actually delivering medical cannabis product grown domestically – but they are still not quite there yet. Delivery appears to be now promised for Q1 this year, but there are many hurdles still, between now and then.

That said, beyond the individual successes of any company that has made it through this torturous process, what does this mean for the future of domestically produced cannabis outside the “big three?”

Steady As She Blows…Until After Covid…

There has been an acceptance since the early days of the cultivation tender in Germany that the initial bite at the apple – the first cultivation tender – would never produce enough for the growing and anticipated demand. This has been exacerbated by the many unavoidable delays in production thanks to Covid.

However post-Covid, with a renewed focus on domestic production and further green economic development, this is likely to morph into a very interesting discussion, even in Germany and even more particularly after the next general elections. And even more particularly with more established and regulated industries in Holland and Luxembourg, if not the Swiss, who are unlikely to sit this one out for long.

Beyond this, there is likely to be a growth in domestic production on the continent to feed other markets – like the Brexited UK. Obtaining the correct permits and beginning cultivation in this climate is likely to be just as torturous as it was before, if not slightly more painful for the next 18 months, but there is no way the activist British patients on the ground are going to stand for excuses, any more than they were before.

Bottom line? Long term the cannabis industry promises to be a growth industry that is integrated into other re-economic developments but it is not going to be quick, easy or cheap.

The Future Of Home Grow and Smaller Licensing In Europe

While the Canadians have the model down for smaller growers, this is an idea that has yet to be broadly adopted in Europe. That said, Italy has certainly opened the way, and it is unlikely that such ideas will be entirely thrown out the window, particularly if there is licensing revenue to be had. 

This does not mean that such developments will be easy to achieve. However, there is clearly a new day dawning on a number of fronts, and cannabis reform will be in the room from now on.

Be sure to attend the first post-COVID International Cannabis Business Conference in Berlin this summer!

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The Dutch Cannabis Tender Hits The Skids

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Business.

Like the German medical cannabis tender bid before it, the Dutch government has run into a few problems rolling out a regulated industry across the country – and the first tender for cultivation has imploded

One thing is for sure. Governments find it very hard to roll out a federally controlled tender bid for the cultivation of cannabis. Everywhere.

Here is the thing the U.S., however, can take away from the following story. Don’t smirk – there is nothing about a state-driven licensed process on that side of the pond that is anywhere as complex if not complicated as doing it on this side of the Atlantic. And that is before the inevitable flubs and stupid politics get mixed in.

Here is the quick update. The first federally overseen Dutch attempt to finally regulate the cultivation of cannabis bound for domestic coffee shops (outside of major cities, which already decided to sit this out in favour of their own systems), has just hit formal skids.

Here is the upshot. The Dutch bid selections (9 rather than the initial expected 10 after one of these got disqualified) will all have to be reconsidered. Multiple errors in selecting winners, including leaving out the wishes of local councils, multiple entries by the same firm (this was a “lottery” after all) and other very unprofessional issues have all arisen in the last week as the bid was supposed to be decided. 

Even Dutch growers, and those who back them will concur that this was not only a highly foreseeable if not preventable situation. Not to mention the logic at work in reconfiguring the process is absolutely inescapable. Business plans as well as the disclosure of investor names are mandatory (for starters).

Unsurprisingly, the referees to all of this are circling wagons – but there is going to clearly be another bid redo in an environment where free wheeling cannapreneurial efforts are hitting the skids after being exposed to even the most minimal and logical regulatory muster.

In the meantime, enterprising firms interested in having their shot at a “little cannabis farm” in Holland should be aware that the decision process is far from over.

For an inside look at some of the most pressing regulatory, cultivation and tender bid issues in Europe, be sure to book your tickets to the International Cannabis Business Conference when it returns to Europe.