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Author: Marguerite Arnold

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British Government Health Service Plans To Manufacture Cannabis Oil

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Medical.

Ah, the irony. After decades of resisting cannabis reform, the British government-funded National Health Service (NHS) has established plans to manufacture CBD oil itself. Why? To prepare for a clinical trial to study the efficacy of medical CBD on children with severe epilepsy.

The ironies are indeed large.

For starters, the once-vaunted and now struggling British NHS has also not managed to issue any prescriptions that approvers have passed through the gate. This has in turn forced legitimate patients and their families to turn to a variety of highly unappealing, expensive and in some cases, still illegal options.

The one company which has benefited from this situation, GW Pharmaceuticals, and for over 20 years, has been forced to lower prices on their own CBD-based drugs in the last year as the NHS has been forced to deal with the issue of cannabis reform. However, this is not yet low enough, apparently, which is why the government itself is in effect nationalizing production to determine efficacy.

It is not an entirely unprecedented move. The German government has essentially “bought” the first cannabis cultivation crop in Germany and is using this to drop sky-high prices that have been a feature of the legitimate market since its kickoff in 2017.

However, like the German government, the attention, noise and fuss are still “just” on the CBD market. The issue of medical THC is still a highly controversial one, and so far, at least in the UK, one that the government does not yet seem to want to address.

German Vs. UK Market Development

In Germany, physicians are increasingly approving cannabinoid drugs, even though there is still a highly complex interplay between government price and cost controls and the companies that operate in this space. There is high THC medical-grade cannabis being grown here – even though it is not enough to meet demand. Thus the export market.

Unlike the UK, THC reform was included in government plans. This does not mean that things are “good” on the ground in Deutschland – indeed there are many issues on the ground here. However, unlike the UK, Germany at least has admitted that THC has medical efficacy.

Where Everything Gets Weird

As just about everyone in the industry knows at this point, the fact that the European Commission is considering reclassifying CBD as a “narcotic” is sending shock waves through an already strange discussion no matter what the UK is calling itself these days.

One thing is very clear. Nobody is sure what to do about cannabis. It’s not a bird, and it’s not a plane. 

Stay tuned for more intriguing, if decidedly strange, developments.

The International Cannabis Business Conference will be returning to Europe next year. In the meantime, stay tuned for the strangest twists and turns of the entire story yet by signing up for our newsletter!

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Canada Now Has More Than 1,000 Legal Recreational Cannabis Dispensaries

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Business.

It is official. Canada now has more than 1,000 dispensaries. The last official count as of mid-July was actually 1010.

This is a stunning development in a country that, as of the first year of recreational legalization decided that only the government would be in the dispensary business.

How things have changed in just the last 18 months.

Further, it is also expected that the number of dispensaries is set to grow sharply, given the number of applications in the pipeline.

Where the dispensaries are opening to date is another matter. Openings are still highly uneven. The provinces with the most amount of dispensaries to date are Alberta and British Columbia, like the U.S., on the west coast. Ontario, the headquarters of the largest public companies, lags behind, in large part because of politics, and because of course, the original scrapped plans to mandate government-owned outlets for the recreational market.

Why Does This Matter?

One of the most intriguing stories out of the Canadian market is how effective mom and pops have been in staying the course, in part because patients have the right to grow their own (even if they have to obtain a license to do so). The larger companies are facing a huge backlash, in other words, from regional growers who want to grow and sell locally.

While the big public companies are absolutely investing in next-gen canna products, there is still a lively cultivation and distribution market afoot beyond them, and further one that is regulated first by the federal government and then, in the details, by the Canadian “states.” Just like the United States and certain countries in Europe could and probably also will be within the next five years.

Market Vs. Cannabinoid Forces

One of the stranger aspects of the plant is that in the process of legalization, certainly widely held “truths” about the market inevitably fall to the wayside. The first, as seen plainly in the Canadian dispensary conversation, is that the government cannot “control,” it. Patients and recreational users alike will find ways to get access to this plant, and in ways that continue to democratize the conversation.

And while there are still conversations of “one cannabis company to rule them all,” these have gotten decidedly lower in volume as the reality of meeting market demand if not regulatory muster has kicked in for those on the front end of this discussion.

Bottom line? While there will inevitably, just like the German distribution market, be consolidations and pivots, the cannabis market in Canada is opening, finally, for full and unfettered access to go along with all that reform.

The International Cannabis Business Conference will be resuming its international conference schedule as of 2021. In the meantime, stay tuned to this blog and sign up for our newsletter.

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European Commission Is Considering Classifying CBD As A Narcotic

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Business.

As if the confusion over Novel food in the EU was not daunting enough! The news just surfaced late last week that the European Commission has delayed 50 CBD-related Novel food applicants through September to consider the question of whether CBD extracted from the plant should be considered a narcotic.

The directive only applies to food items containing naturally occurring CBD and not synthetic cannabidiol.

Novel food regulations in the EU apply to any products not widely consumed before 1997.

If the EC qualifies hemp plants, even with less than 0.2% as a narcotic (the amount of THC allowed in hemp and as set by the region’s regulators, then the entire conversation has entered the next loopy diversion.

For the past several years, European level conversation about hemp has led to a strange stand-off between regional regulators and individual countries who have continued down the path of greater access and normalization. Namely, as of now, the (non-binding) legal guidance on the status of hemp on the EU side of the Channel is that anything hemp oil-related that is not pressed from seeds (in other words from the flowers and leaves of the plant) is “Novel.”

This alone has been disruptive for the industry – including country-wide health departments and downstream, state, and municipal guidance based on the same. The City of Cologne, for example, just banned all CBD extracts not labeled as novel food. Depending on the Commission’s decision in September, this might be the conversation about all things CBD that is extracted in any way, from the plant that effectively bans CBD for sale across Europe.

Legalization Has Taken A Sideways Move In Europe

There are two reasons for the industry to be concerned. 

The first is that the entire CBD discussion is clearly going to be mired in this kind of ridiculous contretemps for some time to come – especially if the World Health Organization decides to reschedule THC in December. 

Even framing the conversation in the terms that it now is – namely is CBD Novel food or narcotic -  is also a particularly strange way to characterize a plant that has been in use for both medical and recreational purposes for more than a millennia.

Such an avenue of discussion is clearly intended to iron out the many wrinkles that still exist in reforming regulation. It is also clearly intended to throw havoc into the ever-evolving parallel conversation that is clearly on the drawing board here – namely recreational reform.

If every cannabinoid extracted from the cannabis sativa is a narcotic, the entire discussion will be thrown sideways into a regulatory no man’s land that will take a decade to get unstuck. It is doubtful that individual countries in Europe, starting with Luxembourg, will allow that to happen, or to wait that long. Much less the nascent industry.

For more updates on the evolving European cannabis space, stay tuned to this blog and be sure to book your tickets to the International Cannabis Business Conference when it returns to Europe.

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New Zealand Recreational Use Vote On The Fence

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Politics.

With two months until the vote, opinion polls in New Zealand are beginning to pull slightly ahead in favour of legalization of adult-use cannabis. According to one poll which was published at the end of June, 56% of respondents plan to vote for legalization on September 19. Slightly more women than men (59 to 52%) plan to change the law.

The reason this national vote is quite so momentous is that this is also the date of the New Zealand national elections for president. When Americans go to the polls in November, however, they do not get to vote on federal national reform of the recreational kind. That is why the Kiwi vote is also one the rest of the world is watching right now.

Here is the other interesting nugget about the timing. Beyond the general political refurbishment on the regular schedule, in other words, and cannabis legalization, there are also other big issues on the ballot, like right to die regulations. Beyond legalizing adult use, in other words, there are major public policy issues at stake as well as a national election that are also likely to create heavy turnout and draw out both older and younger voters. Older voters everywhere are also beginning to come around on the issue, but even in New Zealand, this is a demographic with the lowest support for recreational reform. As usual, the highest numbers poll in those in their twenties and thirties.

Why Would A Victory In New Zealand Matter?

This is a very strategic election right now, globally, for the entire issue of cannabis reform. If the measure passes, it will also turn the country into the third (after Canada and Uruguay) which have effectively normalized the entire cannabis conversation.

This in turn will only galvanize activists if not the industry elsewhere – most notably both Europe and the United States (if not Australia beyond that). The industry is slowly starting to normalize, but the endless problems between in-progress regulations (and of every kind) and reform still on drawing boards is absolutely hindering the industry everywhere.

If the Kiwis in other words, move to legalize cannabis for consumers over 20 years old in September, look for that green tide to sweep globally.

The next step for recreational reform is clearly on the agenda will, in other words, be given a big push forward.

For evolving updates on global policy and business regulations, be sure to stay tuned to the International Cannabis Business Conference blog and the return of the conferences everywhere!

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British Virgin Islands Moves Forward On Medical Use

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Medical.

In a move that will undoubtedly see cannabis medical tourism go to new heights in the Caribbean, the British Virgin Islands’ House of Assembly passed a bill to legalize the production and use of cannabis in early July.

The Cannabis Licensing Act, 2020 provides a framework for medical marijuana use but adults can also possess up to one gram without filling out any paperwork. With a self-declaration form, adults can possess up to 50 grams. More than this will require a prescription from a medical practitioner.

In a move designed to please the tourist industry, visitors can possess cannabis as “therapeutic users” if they self-register.

Cultivation
The government will dedicate 50 acres of land for the cultivation of cannabis and is clearly gearing this into an economic development project for farmers. Cultivation will of course also be licensed by the government.

Beyond the considerable domestic trade this is likely to create, the government is also looking at export possibilities.

Questions About Tourism – On and Off Land
The Caribbean may well be the place where some of the more interesting rules about cannabis use are defined in the coming decades. Because these are international waters, the use of cannabis on the high seas remains an issue that is under the jurisdiction of international law. Yet after December, when the World Health Organization (WHO) is expected to change the classification of THC, this too will change.

Medical cannabis yachting tours may well become one of the hot growth industries of the next decade. But in the meantime, the “land-lubber” local tourist industry will inevitably experience a shot in the arm that other jurisdictions, certainly in the midst of a COVID-19 meltdown, may well emulate. Especially if cannabis itself is found to be in any way a preventative if not curative.

What Goes Down In The Caribbean May Also Happen In The Mediterranean
One of the reasons that this is such a bell-weather decision right now is that the other tourist hotspot with beaches that tends to follow similar trends, is located in and around Europe. The yachting and boating economies of French and Spanish coast communities have been devastated by the pandemic. 

A similar kind of move across the Pond, in other words, might be in the cards. 

In Spain, political parties have increasingly advocated linking cannabis reform with economic development. This clear signal in one of the hottest tourist spots in the world might be just the ticket to move the conversation in similar waters elsewhere.

For the latest updates on how the global cannabis industry is evolving, be sure to book your tickets to the next International Cannabis Business Conference when the conferences return to Europe.

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Australia Moves Forward Into The Global Cannabis Export Game

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Politics.

Cannabis reform is moving forward in interesting ways down under. Not content to “just” begin producing medical crops for domestic consumption, the Australian parliament appears to be following in the steps of Israel. Namely, the Export Control Legislation Amendment to the Certification of Narcotic Exports 2020 bill was approved in mid-June. Beyond the legislative lingo, this basically means that Australian grown narcotic and hemp cannabis products will face less red tape in being exported to the rest of the world.

More interestingly, the amendments to the bill were intended to give an extra boost to the Australian economy by allowing more cannabis to be exported in the wake of the COVID crisis.

Export certification offered by the Australian government will allow Australian exports to meet import requirements of countries now importing cannabis (of both the hemp and medical kind). 

The government is looking in particular at countries China as well as other markets in South-East Asia, Canada and the U.S.

Is There A  Global Demand If Shortage Of “Legitimate” Cannabis?

This is an emerging debate right now as the German market records a record-breaking quarter for insurance approvals and the state of Nord-Rhein Westphalia bans all hemp that is not “Novel Food” regulated. Is there a “legitimate” cannabis shortage?

That is a very good question. 

There is certainly a race to get crops and products certified under existing regulations. However, those are also changing. It is not likely that the current EU regulations will stand as is on the hemp front. It belies common sense to insist that hemp oil pressed from cannabis seeds is somehow “not novel” while that extracted from flowers and leaves is. This is a debate, sadly, that is also almost guaranteed to overshadow the recreational developments now absolutely looming in Europe.

However European regulations are just one part of the overall discussion. It is intriguing that the Australians seem to be targeting hemp markets outside of Europe with this new initiative. Medical products exports from Australia to Europe however, have been in the pipeline for the last several years.

Regardless of the shape of the overall developing market – the reality is that Australia is the largest exporter of food and agriculture generally to both China and other regional neighbours, this is an interesting development. It is an even more positive statement that post-COVID, cannabis will continue to gain status as both an economic crop and an important export product – globally.

Be sure to return to the International Cannabis Business Conference as the world begins to open up post-COVID. Details about returning conferences will begin to be posted soon.

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Is Cannabis Legalization Moving In France?

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Politics.

A group of French politicians has specifically called for cannabis reform linked to COVID-19 relief efforts in the country. And this is a giant step forward in a country known for dragging its feet on the latter.

France is one of the slowest moving reform countries in Europe when it comes to cannabis. Even efforts at basic decriminalization have been put in the deep freeze of bureaucratic deliberation, and furthermore, even since Emmanuel Macron, France’s president, promised more reform. 

Ignoring the issue, however, is a temporary holding pattern. There is no more ignoring cannabis reform in Europe and of both kinds. With the World Health Organization on track to tackle cannabis reregulation in December, and numerous European countries publically announcing reform, France is being dragged by both global and more regional developments to take a stand.

Political reluctance is also beginning to fade. This month, a group of 60 French elected officials called for greater movement on legalization. Their arguments range from economic ones (i.e. as COVID relief and redevelopment efforts) to reducing the amount of money spent on policing for a legitimizing market. 

Further, foreign models, in particular Canada, the American states of Washington, California and Colorado, and of course, beyond Uruguay, the European country of Portugal, have all been cited by French politicians as a way to look to the future of cannabis not only as a “drug” but rather a fully recreationally legal substance.

What Is Likely To Happen?

The French have also moved slowly on the medical question. Unlike Germany and the UK, there have been no mass adoptions of cannabinoids into the health system, or at least calls for the same. Unlike Spain and Portugal, and other agrarian European economies, there has also been no advance on the cultivation of even hemp, let alone medical standard GMP crops for economic reasons.

Beyond the early movers in the medical game, even in Europe (and at this point that includes Denmark, Holland, Poland, Malta, Italy and Switzerland) there is of course now Luxembourg’s recreational experiment looming ever closer on the horizon. 

For this reason, it is not inconceivable that the French will move fairly major reform quickly after refusing to examine the smaller issues for so long. However, as everyone knows, in this industry, there are many instances of two steps forward and several back. With German states now deciding to interpret EU laws on CBD, it is conceivable that France could follow the guidance of both the WHO and the EU rather than the rebel states across Europe who are absolutely at this point, beating a different rhythm and on a rapid march into the future of reform.

The International Cannabis Business Conference will return to Europe. In the meantime, keep up with us by following the blog!

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Calling Dutch Growers: Government Tenders Up For Grabs

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Business.

It sounds like a dream job, right? Grow cannabis (legally) in Holland.

Here is the good news: The Dutch government is opening up ten slots for aspiring cultivators between July 1 and 28. Like Willy Wonka factory tour tickets, this has been a cherished (and long-secret) process that has been in various stages of “strategic leaking” for at least the last year.

Just to put this into perspective, the last kind of tender held by the government was on the medical side (for two lots and which closed a year ago last week).

This time, ten municipalities will participate in a government-led experiment to better regulate the Dutch cannabis industry better, generally. The entire vertical has long been a grey zone, although for the last decade, a remarkably if more gradually regulated and legit one.

A total of 26 municipalities signed up for the experiment, although the larger cities (including Amsterdam, Rotterdam and the Hague) refrained from participating based on conflicts between existing city policies and the procedure of the new “experiment.” Indeed, based on the flourishing of the industry in particularly Amsterdam, it is curious if not a clearly politically sticky wicket in an already strange world. 

Regardless, the federal plan is proceeding and, despite COVID, on schedule (which is more than can be said about the German distribution tender which has now been delayed for the third time). Conditions, regulations and requirements for the entire value chain of growers, owners, municipalities, packagers have been produced by the government over the last months. 

Here is the interesting news. Unlike the German cultivation bid for medical cannabis, this application requires that successful applicants are Dutch residents, with a business that already exists and a certificate of good conduct. Application forms can be found here (all in Dutch).

The experiment will undoubtedly begin to regulate a complex supply chain nationally. This will also put undoubted pressure on the larger cities to at least cooperate. Given the looming spectre of recreational reform in at least one if not two European countries outside Holland in the next few years (beyond Switzerland), there is zero way the federal government will put this on a slow burner. 

The lower house of the Dutch parliament (the Tweede Kamer) approved the plan for a test of regulating the Dutch cannabis market in January 2019.

For more up to date information on the European cannabis industry, be sure to attend the International Cannabis Business Conference’s Berlin conference when it returns to Europe.

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Irish-French Alternative Investment Fund Launched In Search Of Long-Term Cannabis Returns

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Business.

Óskare Fund – a joint venture between Irish and French firms (Crossroads Capital Management and Óskare Capital) is an alternative fund now seeking investors and longer-term returns in the industry (no small feat). Neither is its existence. This is the first such fund to be domiciled in Ireland, approved by the Central Bank only last month.

In January, a (separately managed) exchange-traded fund (ETF) was first listed on the Irish exchange.

Private investors in the Óskare Fund must be able to invest at least €100,000 in portfolios based on the development and sale of medical-only cannabinoid-based products. The first round of the fund seeks €30 million in its first tranche, however, managers said that they sought up to €120 million more in successive rounds.

The prospectus describes the fund this way: “A long-term, potentially high-risk investment which is suitable only for sophisticated institutional and high-net-worth investors which are able to bear the risk.” A good start for sure in a niche that is already known for high volatility (see the Canadian public market if not the U.S.)

Investment strategy is to invest primarily in unlisted cannabis-related companies with broad and global exposure to the industry. This includes those firms involved in R&D in the medical space (including the development of pharmaceutical products and extracts) and all things (from production to equipment) on the hemp side of the equation.

The fund will seek stakes and boardroom representation in early-stage start-ups across the medical vertical, but not directly in cultivation. The investments will also be weighted in favour of Europe.

The fund, named after the Mohawk Indian name for cannabis, believes that this region offers the best regulatory environment for innovation, research and development of cannabinoids used for medical purposes.

Why Is This Interesting To Foreign Investors?

One of the more difficult aspects of investing in the European space is language barriers. The second is all the Brexit-related financial and compliance issues that go with the divorce. For that reason, Dublin, where the fund is located, is a hotbed for “alternative” investments if not cannabis (yet). Give it time.

The reason? There are financial incentives on both sides of the Brexit barrier, for one, that those in Ireland are well used to navigating (and far from just the cannabis front specifically). With feet in both the UK and Europe, in other words, this fund, as well as others, if properly managed, stands to play an increasingly important role in a Euro-market hungry for access to equity and a British market that is full of potential but still way behind with money sloshing around looking for “foreign” adventures.

For the latest on European cannabis developments, including financing and investing, be sure to attend the International Cannabis Business Conference when it returns to Europe.