Author: Marguerite Arnold

Malta Has Not Issued Any Licenses To Cannabis Associations And Clubs

Written by Marguerite Arnold on September 5, 2022. Posted in Business, Policy.

Eight months after the new rules on cannabis use came into effect, the government has failed to issue a single license allowing such establishments to begin operating

Despite leading the way on cannabis legalization in Europe, the Maltese government has yet to issue a single license allowing non-profit cannabis associations and clubs to operate. The government has also failed to issue any regulations or guidelines for the operation of the same.

The government entity responsible for the same, the Authority on the Responsible Use of Cannabis (ARUC), has said that the process of issuing such licenses was “delicate” and “could not be done overnight.”

Where Is the Timeline?

According to Authority chairperson Mariella Dimech, a baseline study on the general population has been conducted. This study will serve as a foundation for the ARUC to create operating guidelines and regulations for such establishments.

That said, there are a few rules which are now in force that will undoubtedly shape the conversation.

Currently adults are allowed to carry up to 7g of cannabis when they venture outside of their houses – although they may not smoke in public. Residents of the island are also able to cultivate up to four plants.

Beyond this, the government has already established that such associations will be limited to 500 members each, must be located at least 250 meters away from schools or youth centres, and cannot advertise their services – including having signs that include either the word “cannabis” or pictures of the plant itself.

What Does This Mean for Other EU countries on the Cusp?

Nobody ever said that legalization was easy. On a federal level, it is even more challenging. See Canada, for starters. Yet in Europe, this conversation is even more complicated by the necessity of remaining in compliance with both regional and international laws. This is one of the reasons that Malta, along with Luxembourg and Germany, have begun multilateral discussions on how to legalize the recreational industry.

That said, it is clear that of the three, Malta has paved the way – even ahead of Luxembourg which promised a recreational market by 2023 (five years ago).

For this reason, it is unlikely that the creation of an entire non-profit industry will happen at a fast pace. It is also very likely that Malta is in discussion with the other two countries in the coalition on how to proceed domestically, particularly as what happens here may well be used as a blueprint for reform in at least these other two countries.

New Academic Study Links Cannabis Legalization To Decreasing Pharma Profits

Written by Marguerite Arnold on September 5, 2022. Posted in Business, Policy.

The study, published in a non-profit, peer reviewed journal, is the strongest evidence yet that the legalization of cannabis directly (and negatively) impacts both the name brand and generics pharma industry

A new study published by PLOS ONE, an American non-profit, peer reviewed journal, and conducted by researchers at California Polytechnic State University and the University of New Mexico, has found that the pharmaceutical industry in the United States has consistently lost money after US states legalize cannabis. In fact, the average market loss (in each US state) was estimated to be $10 billion.

The study based its findings on a review of prescription drug sales and stock prices of 556 pharma companies between 1996 to 2019 and market trends that emerged after the legalization of either or medical and recreational cannabis.

This is the first time a study has been able to encapsulate such findings formally, although there has been a lot of anecdotal data released to support this claim.

The study also notes that the longer-term impact is actually more significant for generic drug makers than branded pharmaceuticals.

Pharma vs Weed?

Pharmaceutical companies, particularly in the United States, have devoted huge amounts of money and other resources to slow down the legalization of cannabis – including by dispatching lobbyists to state capitals as well as Washington DC.

In Europe, the discussion has always been different. As a result, there has yet to be a formal study on the decline of “pharmaceutical” profits thanks to cannabis legalization – in large part because the industry is already more regulated if not “pharma-esque” here. In Germany, for example, the government as well as other agencies, including associations representing both pharmacies and the insurance industry, has far more involvement and control over the same. Plus of course, so far at least, the industry here has been shaped by pharmaceutical standards.

That said, these findings are also likely to impact the discussion on the ground in Europe about the role of generic cannabis (flower or extract) as a way for governments and government-backed insurers to save money. As a result, this reality is also likely to speed up the acceptance of if not interest in the medical cannabis sector by established mainstream pharmaceutical firms.

That movement has already started in Europe – in large part because of the focus on integrating cannabis into the formal pharmaceutical and medical vertical. Spanish Alcaliber, the world’s largest manufacturer of opioid drugs as of 2014 began moving into the cannabis space around the time that Germany mandated the coverage of medical cannabis by health insurers. Beyond that, Dr. Reddy’s, an Indian company known for its lower cost generic drug focus, bought a German distributor at the beginning of this year.

Regardless, it is clear that medical cannabis is starting to come into its own – and further challenge mainstream medicines for a large variety of conditions.

Panama’s President Approves Executive Decree Regulating Domestic Cannabis Industry

Written by Marguerite Arnold on September 5, 2022. Posted in Business, Policy.

Laurentino Cortizo approved Law 242 at an executive level to move the now legalized industry forward from legislative bill to on the ground reality

Last Wednesday, President Laurentino Cortizo signed an executive decree to allow the now legalized Panamanian cannabis industry to actually move forward into implementation. He previously approved the new law legalizing medical use after it passed in the legislature last October.

The executive decree creates a regulatory framework for the domestic industry. This will allow both for the development of regulated cultivation, extraction, and manufacture of both the plant and drugs derived from it. The Ministry of Security is now tasked with overseeing operations and compliance. Consumption by patients will be tracked via a patient registration system.

“The goal of all this is that Panama has the best business model for the medical cannabis industry. Our intention is to promote in the medium and long term the establishment of local and foreign companies that will be able to supply the domestic market using raw materials produced in Panama,” said Mr. Cortizo.

Panama Leads the Region on Cannabis Reform

Cannabis was outlawed in the country in 1923 – seven years after the Panama Canal was completed. Panama became infamous, however, for the shipment of cocaine to the United States during last half of the 20th century.

Despite its tortured Drug War history, the country has moved forward with cannabis reform as a leader in Central America, becoming the first country to pass medical cannabis legislation last year (followed by Costa Rica).

This is interesting for several reasons, including the fact that Panama has long been known as a major exporter of agricultural products to North America. 28% of the total exports of the country end up in the United States.

It also opens up very interesting discussions about global cannabis shipping. The country is the site of the most important continental passageway (the Panama Canal), which saves ships from having to circumnavigate the tip of Latin America. If medical cannabis is now legal in Panama, this means that there should be no problem with shipping cannabis through the Canal. This in turn could be a boon for particularly Canadian markets – although it is a discussion which has yet to percolate in the US because of a lack of federal reform.

It is also very likely that Panamanian medically certified biomass (at minimum) will end up in European markets.

That said, it is clearly one more step towards the normalization and complete commodification of the plant as well as cannabis-based medications.

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Debate About Cannabis Legalization Is Still Raging In Germany Despite Government Fast-Tracking Reform

Written by Marguerite Arnold on August 29, 2022. Posted in Policy.

Bayern’s Health Minister has appealed to the German Chancellor to stop cannabis legalization because it was “irresponsible” after Olaf Scholz declares that there is no point in delaying cannabis reform

Last Friday, Bavaria’s Health Minister Klaus Holetschek, a member of the CSU, called on the federal German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz (of the SPD) to stop plans to legalize cannabis. In a speech made in Munich, Holetschek based his arguments on a speech that the Chancellor had recently made in Magdeburg that the government will continue to press forward on legalization plans despite some evidence that per Scholz that “people suffer psychological damage” and “ruin their lives” by using cannabis. “If the Chancellor knows the major health risks of cannabis, he should now make use of his authority to issue directives and put the legalization project on hold,” Holetschek said.

The attack appears to be, beyond a direct attack on cannabis legalization specifically, a political attempt to build on citizen protests against Scholz that occurred in Magdeburg last week. These are being prompted by fears over inflation and rising energy prices, beyond generalized criticism of the leadership of the Traffic Light Coalition itself.

Regardless, Holetschek is also the most senior politician, so far, to criticize the idea of cannabis legalization.

What does this mean for German reform?

An Easy Political Target by Conservatives

There is much talk of a conservative backlash in Germany this fall as energy inflation begins to bite. That said, it is uncertain how successful this will be, particularly as the current government has been signalling all summer that it will continue to roll out a package of incentives and other help to minimize the economic pain felt by Germans. The widely praised (and used) $9 a month train tickets are just one of these initiatives. So is a $300 grant to taxpayers from German utilities to offset higher energy prices (which has already been distributed).

The fact that cannabis legalization has been apparently added to issues to criticize the current government over, by a centre-right politician who seems to be trying to score points against the ruling parties more generally, is, as a result, far from a surprise.

The attack also appears to indicate that those against cannabis reform have little evidence or political capital to expend to support the same.

That said, there is increased rumbling if not doubt among some on the ground here that the Traffic Light Coalition will achieve their goal of passing legalization legislation in the next 12 months. Reasons usually now focus on how the German government will be able to fit legalization into international treaties which specifically ban cannabis less than domestic opposition – starting with the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotics.

For that very reason, full cannabis legalization is likely to become even more of an imperative as the tripartite government coalition now consisting of authorities from Germany, Luxembourg and Malta strives to create a value that Germans can understand.

Just like help in alleviating the high cost of fuel, cannabis reform represents a tangible metric of accomplishment.

As a result, the fact that a conservative German regional political figure, in what is considered Germany’s most staid state, is trying to call the ruling government “irresponsible” (for any reason) is unlikely to gather much steam federally.

That said, it does appear that other state health departments across Germany are also in the middle of a cannabis education campaign. For example, the Frankfurt Drugs Department will be holding an online forums in early September to educate the public about the efficacy of medical cannabis in treating psychological disorders as well as discuss burning issues like the assumption of costs by insurers for cannabis treatment beyond allowing people to discuss recreational reform.

What such backlash might be a signal of, however, rather tragically, is that state officials in states like Bayern may throw a wrench in local attempts to establish dispensaries once federal reform comes, creating a patchwork of reform that varies from state to state.

Recreational Cannabis Trial Begins Selecting Participants In Basel, Switzerland

Written by Marguerite Arnold on August 29, 2022. Posted in Policy.

The Swiss pilot project is due to begin on September 15, allowing 370 people to access cannabis and hash through legal means

“Weed Care,” the first cannabis legalization trial in Switzerland, is a mere fortnight from kicking off. The program, located in the Swiss city of Basel, is now in the process of selecting participants. Authorities will begin contacting successful applicants over the next few weeks. More people have already shown an interest in participating than slots allocated for trial participants. In fact, after online registration was launched last week, close to 600 people signed up.

No matter who is finally selected, residents of the city can continue to register on the website of the pilot project. Prerequisites are that participants must be over 18, not pregnant and can prove that they already use cannabis.

Four tested strains of cannabis flower and two strains of hash will be made available starting on September 15.

Background on Basel’s Cannabis Legalization Trial

The trial is intended to provide information about the extent to which legalization and a move away from the black-market influences’ consumer behaviour and impacts consumer health. Participants will be subject to checks by officials running the experiment.

The Basel city director of Health, Lukas Engelberger has already said that while he would prefer a no-cannabis use policy, prohibition has clearly failed. As a result, the goal of the study is to create a “minimally harmful” regulatory model to create a market which is safe.

Basel is one of five Swiss cities to embark on such a trial. The southern town of Lausanne appears to be the second municipality on track to implement the same – although it will create a trial about three times larger that consists of 1,000 people.

Medical cannabis use became legal on a federal basis in Switzerland as of the end of July. The government made amendments to the national Narcotics Act in May 2021 to allow such trials to proceed.

Could The Swiss Experiment Impact European Reform?

While there have been many naysayers on the German side of the border, it is very likely that the Swiss recreational cannabis trial is likely to influence cannabis legalization discussions in other countries. This does not mean that it will be a carbon copy. For example, in Switzerland, the first distribution of recreational cannabis will happen through pharmacies. That is unlikely to happen in Germany.

However, the idea of starting with limited home grow options as well as specific city trials, albeit not necessarily with limited participation, is very likely to be adopted across borders – potentially starting in places like both Germany as well as Luxembourg and Malta.

Estonia To Allow Farmers To Cultivate Hemp With Higher THC

Written by Marguerite Arnold on August 29, 2022. Posted in Policy.

A regulatory amendment is now being drawn up by the Estonian Ministry of Social Affairs to allow hemp with higher THC limits to be cultivated in the country

In a major advance for the European hemp industry, Estonian regulators are planning to allow hemp farmers to grow crops with a THC level higher than the current 0.2%. By 2023, that limit will be at least .3%. This in turn will bring the country up to regional standards created by the EU last year.

The change will require an amendment to the country’s Narcotic Drugs schedule.

This new liberalized policy however is not a move to legalize recreational cannabis – but rather is being touted as a way to help domestic hemp farmers who have repeatedly complained about their limited cultivation options under the current regulations. Currently there are only two varieties of hemp that can be legally grown in Estonia. The proposed regulatory update would allow between three and five new varieties of hemp to be cultivated.

The difference will also certainly make the country a more competitive market for the burgeoning CBD industry. About 6,800 hectares (16,000 acres) are currently under hemp cultivation in Estonia. Farmers who cultivate hemp crops with THC under the set limits are eligible for agricultural subsidies.

Normalizing Regulations in the Hemp Industry

The EU regulations on hemp have now been set at 0.3% across the region. Switzerland, outside of the EU, allows for hemp varieties that contain up to 1% of THC. It is unlikely that the rest of Europe will follow in Swiss footsteps in this regard until full recreational legalization. However, what this development does do is move Estonia to the front of the line of European countries which are on the cusp of changing their national policies on cannabis to conform to EU rather than outdated national standards.

The lack of regulatory homogeneity across EU countries is one of the largest impediments to a regionally strong cannabis industry – of any kind.

What Impact Will Recreational Reform Have on THC Limits on Hemp?

Recreational cannabis reform may impact regional standards on the amount of THC allowed in hemp. In all likelihood, however, just as is the case in the United States and Canada, the European cannabis market is likely to remain stratified between “medical,” “recreational” and “industrial” in terms of licensing and specific cannabinoid limits after full legalization. Such regulations will define which verticals cultivators are allowed to operate – and come, almost undoubtedly, with additional levies and taxes based on the amount of THC in cultivated plants.

In the meantime, Estonia will be one of the first countries to formally implement “new” EU standards on THC levels allowed in hemp.

Is Costa Rica On Track For Recreational Cannabis Reform?

Written by Marguerite Arnold on August 29, 2022. Posted in Policy.

The newly elected president Rodrigo Chaves, has laid out a plan for full legalization within his first 100 days in office that he says should be presented to Congress by November

Costa Rica is now on a fast track to full cannabis reform. The country’s president, Rodrigo Chaves, who took office this April, has just announced exciting plans for the full and final legalization of cannabis.

Chaves said his administration is now preparing regulations for the implementation of medical cannabis and hemp cultivation (which became law before he took office). Beyond this, he is also on track to legalize recreational use, an issue which he discussed during his campaign in the run-up to the election.

A bill is now being prepared by his office for full legalization, which will be presented to the country’s congress by November 1 (at the latest).

On Track with Germany?

While it is not directly connected, it is clear that the German plan to move ahead with recreational cannabis reform is influencing the global discussion. While no definitive plans have been revealed yet, it is widely expected that the draft German legalization legislation will be presented to the Bundestag on about the same schedule as Costa Rica.

If that is the case, the discussion about how to implement recreational reform while still honouring the majority of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs will be undoubtedly broadened. Right now, this is the largest single roadblock to proceeding with adult use, according to the conventional wisdom coming out of Berlin this summer since the June hearings.

If Costa Rica becomes the first country in Central America to fully legalize cannabis, it will also almost certainly do three things. The first is that it will certainly galvanize the discussion in other neighbouring countries (starting with Mexico). The second is that this reform will undoubtedly attract even more American tourists if not expats frustrated with the slow pace of federal reform in the continental US. The third likely impact is that the country could stand poised to become a major exporter for recreational cannabis markets elsewhere. That starts with not only Germany, but other countries in Europe (like Luxembourg) now on the cusp of recreational change and where there is unlikely to be enough recreational cannabis grown domestically (at least at first).

In fact, international regulations for the export of recreational cannabis could be one of the first discussions of a growing club of nations who are now seriously contemplating such reform.

In the meantime, Costa Rica has indicated that it is certainly joining the club.

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German Traffic Court Association Recommends An Increase In THC Driving Limits

Written by Marguerite Arnold on August 22, 2022. Posted in Policy.

In a rather shocking victory, the German Traffic Court Association has recommended that legislators increase the level of THC found in blood of drivers suspected of drugged driving before being able to charge them

There has been an unbelievably surprising if not progressive victory on the recreational cannabis front in Germany this August that will certainly have long term implications. Namely, the German Traffic Court, by definition a conservative group that helps set rules on road safety, has recommended to legislators now trying to write cannabis reform legislation, that the current limits on THC levels should be raised from their current level before drivers can be charged with drugged driving.

The current limit is currently one nanogram of THC per millilitre of blood (or the smallest measurement possible). In other words, if one has inhaled any cannabis within the last 60 days, it might prohibit one from driving altogether.

Clearly this is an impossible standard. Yet unlike the police, the Traffic Court has suggested that this limit be increased, citing the impossibility of enforcement once recreational reform becomes legal.

What that limit should be, however, is another question – and further one that went unanswered by the Association.

Regardless this is a highly significant advance for reform. The Association’s recommendations are frequently used by lawmakers when crafting legislation. It is likely that this one will be too.

Driving and Cannabis Use

The entire conversation about driving and cannabis use is one that has been festering in Germany ever since 2017. Namely, patients, who are likely to have the largest concentrations of cannabis in their system but are the least likely to be “high” when driving, have been left in an uneasy legal limbo.

It appears that the Traffic Court has recognized both this, and the other large issue lurking in the room – namely how to judge if someone is impaired by weed while driving by measuring any body fluid.

Impairment from THC intoxication generally lasts no longer than five hours. The problem is finding a test that will accurately reveal if a driver was on the road within this window of time.

Blood tests, rather than hair or urine, are the go-to tests for police inquiries in drugged driving cases.

In the United States, new breathalysers are also being used in some states by the police, although their use is still not only controversial, but even the police prefer blood tests.

It is not clear how such testing would be performed in Germany post legalization.

One thing is for sure. It is far easier to recommend that the current ridiculously low limits be raised – and another to determine what those limits should be.

Emmanuel Macron’s Left Flank Presses Him On Full Cannabis Reform

Written by Marguerite Arnold on August 22, 2022. Posted in Policy.

31 senators challenged President Macron on the pages of Le Monde last week to implement full cannabis legalization – but what does this really mean for reform in France?

Cannabis usually exists, still, in the political fault lines, just about everywhere.

That is certainly true in France at the moment. Last Monday, thirty-one federal French senators published a letter in Le Monde, one of the most popular newspapers in France, calling for full legalization. Decrim, as they argued, is a cynical half step.

It is a fascinating development – and for several reasons – both about and beyond the legalization discussion specifically. On the cannabis front, it comes during the first year of France’s much delayed medical trial. It is also happening in a country which has already helped set European cannabis policy – on CBD.

Apart from this, however, the political impetus behind this declaration is absolutely a challenge to the status quo – and from a place that sitting president Emmanuel Macron cannot ignore. Namely, despite the fact that he has repeatedly said he would never implement recreational reform, this new challenge is coming from a group he needs to stave off the extreme right wing – both of whom are anti Europe and cannabis – after he lost a majority in Parliament this summer.

Despite the fact that Macron has repeatedly shown that he is a politician who can only be moved by increments, the fact that this bloc has also called for him to speed up, rather than incrementally implement the cannabis reform process says a great deal about the political climate locally, beyond just cannabis reform.

France’s Role in the European Cannabis Bloc

Right now, Germany is very publicly debating how it might implement recreational cannabis reform without violating the international treaties on drug control that, of course, also cover cannabis. The one that is most mentioned in Europe is the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. This is why three countries (so far) – namely Germany, Luxembourg, and Malta – have begun to meet on a multilateral basis to discuss how to proceed.

France as the bloc’s second largest economy, no doubt, should join that table. And Macron, as a committed pro EU politician, is going to have little wiggle room to completely ignore this development. This will be even more true as other countries begin to join this conversation – from Portugal and Italy to Greece and Spain beyond that.

One thing is for sure. France may not be on the leading edge of the revolution, but it is certainly joining the party – despite the wishes of its top politician.