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Author: Marguerite Arnold

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New Zealand Government Publishes First Draft Cannabis Bill

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Politics.

New Zealanders will go to the polls on September 19 to vote on recreational cannabis reform. The draft referendum has now been published.

Here are the main points of the legislation, which assume, broadly, that the measure will pass:

  • Adults 20 years and older will be able to buy products from licensed stores (no home delivery allowed)
  • Purchases will be limited to 14 grams of flower at a time
  • No advertising will be allowed. Plain packaging will be mandated
  • Home grow will be limited to two plants per person and 4 per household

Social Responsibility A Big Part Of The Legislation

One of the most interesting parts of the draft legislation is its desire to address issues that have plagued the industry just about everywhere else. Notably, the intent seems to be less profitability and revenues and more about a “race to the top.” Namely social responsibility and inclusion seem to be on the front burner of reform here.

No one company will be able to control more than 20% of the market share, and further, there will be set-asides for micro cultivators.

So far, this kind of mandate has been unseen in any other national cannabis reform.

What Might Be Available?

The first products to become available will be fresh and dried cannabis, plants, and seeds. However, edibles and concentrates will also be legal. Some products will be banned outright, including drinks and any packaged “cannabis containing roots or stems.”

Taxes will be applied at the point of packaging and labeling and will further be based on a combination of weight and potency.

Will The Referendum Succeed?

Passage of the referendum, of course, is still far from certain, but a growing number of Kiwis seem to think that recreational reform is a good idea. If passed, the country will become one of the few, outside Canada and Uruguay, that has taken the proverbial recreational cannabis bull by the horns. 

New Zealand has just started its medical cultivation program. It is conceivable that, because of this, the recreational referendum will fail. However, with the UN set to vote on the rescheduling of cannabis this December, and the desperate need for economic stimulus just about everywhere thanks to the current COVID-19 pandemic, plus growing support of the idea domestically, New Zealand might well, as of September, become a global leader in the ongoing cannabis discussion.

To stay abreast of the latest trends in the global cannabis industry, be sure to book your tickets to the International Cannabis Business Conference when it returns to Europe!

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Could Cannabis Reform Be Part Of The Post Covid “Green New Deal”

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Business.

While governments are still struggling to deal with the economic fallout from the global pandemic, one question continues to float through the entire conversation. Could domestic cannabis production be part of a massive infrastructural, if not economic, reboot? Especially because this also shortens and better secures global supply chains?

That question is clearly on the table in the U.S. right now, as states declare the industry “essential,” and lawmakers begin to consider whether to include the industry in the coming bailout packages.

In Europe, many are asking the same question.

But what could this mean, really, for economies who are literally flying in migrant workers to begin harvesting regular crops during the pandemic?

Here are a few of the trends that seem to indicate that this idea will be at least considered, if not is already in the cards.

Hemp Production Is Clearly Increasing – In almost every European country and the UK right now, hemp production is on the rise. Lobbying efforts have begun to place CBD at the forefront of the discussion about reform (just as in the U.S.). This means that recreational reform does come, hemp farmers who have managed to survive will be in the forefront of cultivation of the “other” kind.

Medical Cannabis User Numbers Continue To Rise: While it is still a fight to get access to cannabinoid treatments, patients in many European countries are continuing to rise – even if “all” they can get, for now, is dronabinol, the generic synthetic.

Cannabis Production Continues To Go Forward: While GMP certification and licensing have clearly slowed during the pandemic, there are still producers and distributors who are getting licenses. By next year, Spain, Portugal and Greece are expected to have product ready to flood European markets. Italy has already changed its laws to allow limited home grow. And don’t forget about North Macedonia.

Regional Reform Is In The Cards: Within two years, as most in the industry have predicted, the question at the table is not if but when reform is instituted on an EU wide basis. This will almost certainly happen in tandem with reform in the U.S. and after the UN changes global regulations on cannabis. The reason? International trade agreements that have come into force in the last several years. This means that individual European countries will finally be free to make their own decisions about legalization. 

Bottom line? It is clear that cannabis reform, starting with increased tax revenues sure to flow to overstressed economies thanks to the Great Covid Recession, is on track in Europe, even on an extended schedule. And given the massive blow the global economy thanks to the current pandemic, all such sources of revenue will clearly be welcome, just about everywhere that cannabis reform has so far stalled.

To keep abreast of the latest legislative changes if not rapidly moving business regulations in Europe, be sure to attend the International Cannabis Business Conference when it returns to Europe this summer.

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Swiss Parliament Passes Motion To Authorize Cannabis Production And Export

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Politics.

Despite being put on hold due to the pandemic, the Swiss Parliament has passed a motion calling for a change in the country’s cannabis law.

The bill will do several things. The first is to allow the Swiss to export cannabis. The second is to authorize regular doctors to prescribe cannabis directly. Currently, the only “legal” Swiss patients must obtain prescriptions from the Federal Office of Public Health. This is expensive and time-consuming and at present, there are only about 3,000 “legal” patients. It is however estimated that there are over a hundred thousand Swiss people who obtain the drug illegally to treat their symptoms. 

It is expected that the new law will come into effect sometime in mid-2021.

Currently, hemp with less than 1% THC is the only cannabis crop in the country that is widely cultivated. Medical production here, like in other countries, must obtain GMP certification.

A Swiss Trial Project?

While all bets are off about timing, thanks to the pandemic, there will be a Swiss trial project that allows the controlled distribution of cannabis to adults (in other words a recreational trial). The National Council voted in favour of the project last December.

In February, this was approved by a single Parliamentary committee. The project also has to pass the Council of States before it can proceed.

Is Switzerland Waiting For the UN?

There is no telling how many national cannabis legalization projects, particularly in Europe, are waiting for the green light from the UN. The international body delayed the decision on the reclassification and rescheduling of cannabis for 9 months in March, literally ten days before declaring a global pandemic.

Why Is Switzerland Such A Strategic Lever For Change?

Despite being located in the “heart” of Europe geographically, the Swiss are not part of the EU. This technically means they are not bound by any European decisions on the drug, made from Brussels. 

What this new law will mean, presumably when it comes into force next year, is that Switzerland could zoom ahead of even Luxembourg, which has already announced that it will enable full cannabis reform by 2022. With export legalized, this means that Switzerland could overtake Holland as the single largest cannabis exporter in Europe, on both the medical and recreational side within two years.

There are other contenders vying for that prize of course, both within and without the EU. Denmark, which is also not an EU member, could vie for this business. 

This development could also move the needle of reform in Brussels, changing the ability of EU members to proceed. 

Everything, however, seems to be resting on the UN’s pending decision in December.

The International Cannabis Business Conference will be returning to Europe. Check the blog for the reinstated schedule.

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Shortages, Price Increases Are The Snapshot Of The Euro Industry During The Covid 19 Pandemic

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Business.

If there is one thing that is clear during the current Pandemic, it is this – policymakers from a national and international level have not only dropped the ball on cannabis but are contributing to patients suffering unnecessarily.

Here is just a snapshot of the pain in Europe:

In France, black market prices, the realm of the desperate in a country which has shamefully lagged on any real reform, have doubled. The reason? Border controls to contain the virus have shut down “normal” supply routes from the Netherlands, Belgium as well as Morocco. This means that patients not only risk arrest in trying to meet dealers, but in a world where paychecks for most have been shrunk if not are non-existent, many cannot afford to buy a drug whose price has skyrocketed in the last month. This situation is even leaving the police worried about what comes next. Rivalries between gangs competing for products may lead to public disorder. Lockdowns, particularly in crowded accommodations, will get much more difficult to enforce. 

In Spain, most of the cannabis clubs have had to shut, due to a lack of regulatory decision making to keep them open or declare them “essential” as seen in the U.S. and Canada.

And in Germany, pro-cannabis associations, like the Branchenverband Cannabiswirtschaft (BVCW) have begun to warn not only of impending drug shortages but also the danger to patients from being forced to go to both doctor’s offices and apothekes to obtain the drug. Or worse, fall into the black market again.

BVCW has started calling for the Ministry of Health to implement telemedicine options like online doctor prescriptions and of course home delivery.

The reality of course, is that the entire industry was dealt a painful blow by the UN’s decision to delay a vote on rescheduling right before declaring a global pandemic for another 9 months.

In the meantime, the industry is being hit on all sides by a lack of regulatory guidance, bailouts, or basic legitimacy, and in a situation where cannabis patients are a subset of the most vulnerable.

That said, it is also clear that the industry is also gearing up to respond. It is unlikely, as a result, that international if not more regional and country-wide reform will be left on the table after the end of the year.

In the meantime, the industry is adapting, as it has before, to the next challenge, with the hope that it will finally see international recognition and regulation by the end of the year.

For updates on the latest regulatory changes across a now global industry, be sure to attend the International Cannabis Business Conference in Germany later this summer.

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Spanish Patients Can No Longer Access The Cannabis Clubs

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Cultural.

In the United States, the issue of whether the cannabis industry is “critical” or not is being fought on a state by state basis. In Europe, the situation is almost the same, except the mandates here are “national” and “federal.”

In Spain, one of the worst-hit Covid countries, cannabis patients are in a terrible situation. The Cannabis Clubs are all in a tenuous position thanks to the lockdowns and a failure by authorities to address the situation to help keep them open, even in a limited capacity (at least officially).  Most of the associations are closed due to the Pandemic. Those who risk opening for an hour or two a day are doing so in secret. And the supply on the street has rapidly escalated in price.  

As a result, most of the 200,000 patients in Spain currently served by the clubs are now left without medication, either because of lack of access to the clubs, or money, or both.

The clubs themselves are also in an almost impossible solution, even if they wish to help. Obtaining supplies from the outskirts of towns where the cannabis is cultivated for the clubs is almost impossible due to the lockdown measures. Those who brave the measures and are caught risk huge fines. Some clubs are opening for an hour or two a day, despite the lockdown, clandestinely, just to stay alive, if they can.

Indeed, as reported by Spanish ‘zine ElPlural.com, the Pandemic and efforts to control it, are having an outsized and terrible impact on Spain’s cannabis patients.  Carola Perez, president of the Spanish Observatory of Medicinal Cannabis, put it this way. “Right now, we are facing many calls from desperate people.”

Unlike the United States, Canada, and even Germany, where the drug has slowly begun to gain acceptance, and patients can still obtain supplies from dispensaries and pharmacies, the lack of regulatory progress or even current guidance in Spain has thrown a curveball that is, as some are describing it, a human rights violation of massive proportions because nobody thought about giving the clubs any sort of protection to operate. Or patients the right to obtain their meds from these outlets.

Where is the status of cannabis regulation In Spain?

The calls and promises to regulate the drug and normalize its use, even medically, have stalled since 2017. Cannabis has been banned in Spain “officially” since 1967 when the dictator Francisco Franco outlawed it, but in recent years, the clubs have begun to fill in the grey areas. There are currently only ten companies in Spain who have the right to cultivate the plant, given said authority from the Spanish Agency of Medicines and Health Products (AEMPS). This medication must be obtained from a doctor (still difficult) and is highly expensive.

Everyone else depends on the clubs and exists in a tenuous reality, created by a lack of forward progress on cannabis reform domestically, if not internationally. The pandemic, of course, has already made the gaps in the system, and the lack of real reform all the more visible.

For up to the date information on regulatory change across Europe, be sure to attend the International Cannabis Business Conference when it returns to Europe in late summer 2020.

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Are Prices Going To Fall On Domestically Grown Cannabis In Germany?

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Business.

With the world in lockdown and the race for “The Vaccine” if not “The Cure” what does this bode for cannabis pricing and availability in Europe, and specifically Germany?

For now, pharmacies are absolutely in lockdown, preventive medicine mode.

But there is hope on the horizon. A new tender bid for a domestic distributor for cannabis grown in Germany has now been issued by BfArM (the German FDA). To be considered, applications must be filed electronically by April 28.

This distribution contract will run from September 2020 for several years (until 2025).

BfArM will still technically “own” the cannabis, although distributors must pick up the product at the three locations in Germany where this is grown and deliver it to pharmacies as well as store it if necessary.

The winning distributor, who must have experience in narcotics distribution, although not necessarily cannabis, will be required to have experience, insurance, and the ability to prove their track record with good distribution practices. 

The agency believes that the floss will be bundled in 50-gram containers, which the distributor will then deliver to the pharmacies.

What Will Happen To Pricing?

BfArM has set pricing at €2.3 euros a gram. With a mark-up for administrative management costs at BFArM, plus a distributor mark-up, the total price to pharmacies is expected to beat the current price they are paying (about €10 per gram). By law, pharmacies are required to mark up everything by statute, although what this overhead will be is in discussion between insurers and pharmacies right now.

The good news, however, is that for the first time since the cultivation bid was offered, pharmacies will be able to sell the drug at a price considerably less than the current prices. And this is good for everyone.

What About Imports?

There is a lot of discussion about the pricing of imports right now. Clearly, the price to beat is German domestically produced cannabis. However, everyone also knows there is not enough being grown in the country. How much insurers (to start with) will be tolerant of large deviations from the price of domestically produced cannabis is unknown. However, this development alone begins to shed light on a price band for imports that is clearly developing.

Be sure to attend the International Cannabis Business Conference in Berlin this summer for more developments on the German cannabis market.

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What Kind Of Cannabis Is Being Dispensed In German Pharmacies?

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Business.

According to the latest figures from the statutory health insurers, there are now five different kinds of cannabinoids being dispensed and covered in Germany.

What are the trends, and where is this going in 2020?

Unprocessed Flower Is Still A Big Deal – The dispensation of unprocessed flower has steadily increased at German pharmacies for the last year. Between January and December, insurers increased their payments from €3.7 million euros to €5.5 million euros, an increase of just over 48%. That is good news for the raw flower market.

Cannabinoid Preparations Are Also Increasing – Cannabinoid preparations, which have now been reclassified into three different categories (cannabinoid preparations, flower used in preparations and full-spectrum extracts) have also increased from €2.9 million at the beginning of the year to €5.6 at the end of 2019 (a 93% increase).

Pharmaceutical Cannabinoids Hold Steady – Interestingly, finished pharmaceutical products increased the least in the last year (from €1.4 million at the beginning of January to €1.8 million by December). This is only a 28% increase, suggesting that patients are requesting, and insurers are covering, floss and floss based preparations at the pharmacy.

Trends For 2020

Overall reimbursements for cannabis as medicine are also increasing. In sum €123 million worth of cannabis was reimbursed in 2019, an uptick of 67% over the €74 million worth of cannabinoids that was reimbursed in 2018. 

That said, overall prescriptions did not increase in the same proportion – namely there was a 44% increase in the number of prescriptions processed year over year between 2018 and 2019 (267,348 over 185,370). This appears to indicate that doctors are writing prescriptions for larger quantities of cannabis, not necessarily that there are more patients.

All of this data is also based only on statutory health insurers (public healthcare). Data from private insurers is still not included.

The other issue in the room and in a big way, is that many early adopter patients have given up on legitimate prescriptions due to the hassle, if not fights with their insurers. This population, which is also largely untracked for obvious reasons, is either growing their own again, or obtaining it from the black market. In many parts of Europe, however, due to border closures caused by the Covid-19 epidemic, the difficulty of obtaining the drug in the first place may yet encourage many patients to go back into the legal system again or to look again, for a prescribing doctor.

Be sure to attend the International Cannabis Business Conference in Berlin this summer to understand the latest trends on the ground in the largest cannabis importing market.

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The Impact Of Cannabis On Retroviruses

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Medical.

As the world now hunkers down inside, and “social-distancing” has become part of a global vocabulary, the race is now on for both a vaccine and a “cure.”

There are, however, in the cannabis community, many who are now asking legitimate questions – such as will cannabis be part of the answer?

Those who lived through the worst years of the AIDS epidemic in particular, who are doing the loudest asking. Like AIDS, the virus – COVID-19 (or Corona) is a retrovirus. That means that while not exactly alike, there are similarities.

And while cannabis was never seen as a “cure” for AIDS within the responsible medical cannabis community, everyone who has been a caretaker or even a patient knows that Delta9 THC consumption has helped them cope with the side effects of antiviral treatment. If not help slow the progression of HIV (by lowering viral loads). And certainly, lessen the stress of having a chronic condition.

No Comprehensive Studies So Far

It speaks volumes about the stigma of cannabis that is still in the room that so far no country has called for any kind of testing about how cannabinoids (not just CBD) might help boost immune systems against this disease – particularly for the most vulnerable. Indeed, in early March, the UN moved its decision about the reclassification of cannabis back 9 months.

The implications of this are indeed interesting. Starting with the fact that cannabis potentially should be considered legally not “just” as a narcotic but, more accurately certainly for long term patients, as an anti-viral aid. That said, older people cannot just begin consuming Delta9 THC. 

Does CBD Have The Same Effect?

No. 

A “Natural Immunity”?

One of the reasons that a pandemic is so terrifying (see the Global Influenza Epidemic at the end of WWI) is that this is a virus that humans have no natural immunity to and there is no existing medicine to treat the same.

However, there are ways to boost your immune system naturally. A healthy diet, low consumption of alcohol if not abstinence, sleep and exercise, are the best ways to stay healthy. 

How cannabis might fit into that picture is another story. 

In the meantime, it is imperative that cannabis patients protect themselves with more diligence than usual. 

It is also important that the legitimate cannabis industry steps up to the plate.

It is imperative that governments hear from the industry at this juncture.

Trials, including to see how cannabis might help longer-term on preventing future pandemics, are absolutely required.

We are all responsible.

The International Cannabis Business Conference will return to Europe this summer.

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The Legend Of Brownie Mary – And Implications For The Corona Pandemic

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Medical.

Mary Jane Rathbun was a legendary cannabis activist. As a hospital volunteer in San Francisco during the height of the AIDS epidemic, she became known for baking and distributing cannabis brownies to AIDS patients at San Francisco General Hospital. Along with Denis Peron, Rathbun also helped pass San Francisco Proposition P in 1991 and California Proposition 215 in 1996. She was also instrumental in setting up the San Francisco Buyers Club – the first medical cannabis dispensary in the United States.

She was arrested three different times during this process, helping to bring interest and attention to the issue of both AIDS and cannabis legalization. Globally.

Although Rathbun is no longer here (she died in 1999), her legacy lives on.

As of last week, 21 years after her death, cannabis dispensaries across the United States, in states like Illinois, California and New York have deemed cannabis dispensaries as essential as pharmacies and thus allowed to stay open.

On The Front Lines Of Pandemics

Bravery is still required of those in the cannabis industry. Starting with figuring out how to serve patients in the best way. Especially in an environment where changing laws and times still do not really protect either cannabis patients or the industry.

The first is clearly to observe rules of operating in the pandemic applicable to all businesses. The second is to think of ways to help your clients. Home delivery is of course just one option. But so is finding ways, after the immediacy of the pandemic is over, to push forward greater cannabis reform and to support medical trials about the efficacy of cannabis as a viral and neural protectant. For the protection of both the industry and patients.

Cannabis as a drug (both as narcotic and antiviral) is in the room right now as much as governments want to pretend that it isn’t.

From AIDS to Corona – What Has Changed?

There has been a change in the way cannabis is viewed, but there is still a long way to go. And sadly, cannabis is still considered, at least officially, as a drug that is on the side-lines. 

As the world recovers and gets back on its feet if not properly back to business, the industry itself as well as advocates and patients need to make sure that cannabis is elevated to its proper place legally as well as in medicine cabinets – not to mention global laws about the classification and use of this drug.

Sick people are not criminals – nor is the cannabis industry illegitimate – at any place and in any country, that legitimately tries to help them.

The International Cannabis Business Conference will resume its conference schedule this summer.