Skip to main content

Author: Marguerite Arnold

Cannabis plant Cannabis plant Cannabis plant Cannabis plant Cannabis plant Cannabis plant

How Compliant Is Your Cannabis?

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Business.

The international cannabis scene is many things, but one thing is for sure as the industry heads into 2020 – regulation, inspection, and certification are in the room, and further in a way so far unseen in either Canada or Europe so far.

Why is this trend now clearly on the horizon for the next year, if not a few more beyond that?

Part of it has to do with cannabis as an industry and part of it has to do with much larger currents afoot in the form of global trade treaties. 

Europe Is More Highly Regulated

For those who have never visited the continent, and in particular for Americans, there are more regulations in the room in Europe compared to other parts of the world. These are designed to protect human health, no matter how frustrating the discussion about CBD and Novel Food is these days.

Further, this is not just a discussion about one certification or regulation, but many.

There are several big issues in the room beyond any one certification.

Harmonization Is Afoot Globally

In addition, the global discussion on “harmonization” is well underway. Basically, countries who trade food and medicine with each other want to know that their production, packaging and testing standards are more or less the same. 

This is absolutely true for any medical cannabis crossing the Atlantic or international border.

Bio and Organic Are In The Room

Bio means a great deal to Europeans – even if German farmers right now are peeved at the increasingly levels of regulations against certain kinds of pesticides, and bio is a watchword for the cannabis industry here.

However whose bio matches whose internationally is just as fraught a discussion as the one about GMP, and indeed frequently crosses over.

Cosmetics And Food Are In Some Ways Tougher Than Medical

No matter the difficulties on the GMP front, the recreational and lifestyle discussion remains a lot tougher. For one thing, authorities across Europe are playing semantics with cannabinoids. Namely in the more conservative parts of the continent (see Austria and Germany) authorities have gone so far as to say they do not see any positive effect of any part of the plant, or that cannabidiol, even when applied topically, is a strange new beast in the history of human consumed and applied products.

All of These Issues Will Still Be Here For Recreational Reform

None of these issues will disappear anytime soon. Food and medicine production is getting more regulated beyond cannabis. However, because the cannabis industry is the new kid on the block and because of the growing connection of the plant to health products if not a healthy lifestyle, expect this conversation to continue to shape and impact the industry. Everywhere.

europe europe europe europe europe europe europe europe europe europe europe europe

When Will Recreational Cannabis Reform Hit Europe?

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Politics.

For all the hopes and aspirations now in the air as the world rings out the year, what is in the cards for next year in Europe on the recreational cannabis front?

Here is the skinny – recreational reform, on a national level, will not be seriously considered, anywhere, until the end of 2021. Just ask the most forward thinking government in the EU right now – Luxembourg. 

It is unlikely that Switzerland (in Europe geographically, but not in the EU) will also not jump at the chance to pip Luxembourg at the post (although never say never in this industry).  Nor will Denmark.

However Switzerland, along with Denmark, has engaged on a path of “recreational trials.” For all of the forward thinking however, in EU regulation free Switzerland, anything with THC, prescription issued or not, has to be sold at a pharmacy. Denmark, also an EU outrider, will be reviving the former hippy drug market of Christiana.

Maybe it is just a style thing. Expect both countries to move more or less in step with Luxembourg.

Holland is also still moving to formalize its still gray market industry, but that is nothing new and has been going on for the last decade.

In the meantime, medical access and regulation of non THC cannabinoids, as well as how they are grown, extracted, and processed, will be the biggest issues that hit across the industry outside of medical, and will absolutely still be there after recreational reform becomes more widespread.

What Does This Mean For The Industry?

Don’t expect the spotlight on the supply chain to disappear any time soon. Indeed, the baseline for the recreational industry, certainly from the cultivation side, is being seeded now.

However, beyond that, it also means that the focus for the next two years will still be medical advocacy, patient access, doctor education, and cultivation spots which can beat both the Canadians and German cultivators now entering the room on price.

These are issues that traditionally, the “industry” as such has not done well on, and for good reasons. These are the realms of advocates and lobbyists, not business development specialists and marketers. 

The World Of EU Cannabis Is Still Opening

For all the doom and gloom, in other words, of the end of the year, the next decade of cannabis in Europe looks promising, even if on a slower path than elsewhere. That more deliberate pace, however, is in truth, planting the ground for an industry which will not be banned, but at least on the continent, will be more integrated, from the beginning, in existing regulations about all food, drugs, cosmetics and lifestyle associated consumer products.

Looking for a rec market in Europe, in other words? Chill, smoke a doobie, and wait 24 months.

europe europe europe europe europe europe europe europe europe europe europe europe

What Should Cannabis Investors Focus On In European In 2020?

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Business.

As the Weihnacht (Christmas) markets enter their second week auf Deutschland and the world prepares to say goodbye to the first decade of serious, if not modern, cannabis reform. Where is the European market heading next year and what should investors be looking for?

Particularly with all the drama going on in Canada, what is cooking where and what is worth evaluating for investment across the EU?

Regulations Are Still A Bear

While it is easy to get bullish on news that Luxembourg is pushing the recreational agenda in the middle of the continent, also remember that this is just a tiny country of about half a million people, which also must conform to the laws of the European Union around it.

Don’t expect anyone to launch a Cannexit – i.e. departure from the Union because of cannabis reform. Indeed, at least one country, notably North Macedonia, is using cannabis as a bid to enter the union, not leave it.

Don’t expect things to get easier on the regulatory front either, starting with the news that the EU is indeed making every country within the union give up certain kinds of pesticides. This is currently causing German farmers in general, far beyond cannabis, to literally protest in the streets of Berlin. The Tractor March notwithstanding, it behooves the cannabis industry to be in front of these regs, not behind them. Starting with the medical market but not limited to the same.

Novel Food is also in the room and will continue to confound the rest of the world outside Europe who do not get a grip on what this means about sourcing, production, and manufacturing far beyond the plant.

There Are Emerging Bright Spots

No matter the doom and gloom coming from the Canadian side of the room there are many bright spots developing across the map. The key here is to understand the regs and the temperature of the market. It is not enough for growers to want to produce cannabis. They have to meet several critical barriers, including obtaining a first license, before they are really worth anything. That said, there are projects underway from Portugal to Greece right now that are starting to fit that bill.

However, no matter how much the cultivators need capital, it is not, as everyone realizes, the raw plant that is where the “money” is. Distribution right now is the key to obtaining a spot on the map, and that means good sourcing and good contacts on the ground in the moving markets.

That still, largely, means Germany, but it is not inclusive of the same. The UK is opening glacially, Poland is coming fast, and do not, of course, forget either about sunny Spain or interestingly neutral and independent Switzerland.

Innovative cannapreneurs in all of these regions are progressing the discussion, if not moving their companies forward, no matter the setbacks, delays, and bickering about rules in the room.

Be sure to book your tickets for the best cannabis industry conference in Europe – the International Cannabis Business Conference held in Barcelona, Berlin, and Bern in 2020!

jamaica flag jamaica flag jamaica flag jamaica flag jamaica flag jamaica flag jamaica flag jamaica flag

Is The Caribbean And Latin America The New Source For “Canadian” Cannabis?

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Business.

Another cannabis comer outside the United States but in the American hemisphere has announced a shipment INTO Canada. Global Canna Labs, based in Jamaica, announced a 10kg (about 22 lb) shipment with the blessing of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture, and Fisheries last week. The company has a 270,000 square foot facility in Montego Bay.

Does this herald a new legit “Drug Economy” channel that Bob Marley could have only dreamed about? Especially with new regulations in place in Canada that require growers to have completed their grow farms prior to submitting an application, as well as a backlog in licensing, supply, and price, if not the overall seed to sale issues still plaguing the Canadian market?

To a certain extent, yes. The “Drug War” was always ferocious at the U.S. border because the economies of drug cultivation beat just about every crop grown south of the Rio Grande.

These days, swapping cannabis for coffee beans (at a minimum) is clearly on the minds of cultivators all over Latin America. It is cheaper, it is becoming legit, and there is still a huge demand if the right channels are tapped.

And while Canada is the first “target” for their exports, can the U.S. be far behind? It certainly seems to make more sense economically to be able to import within the same hemisphere rather than (as is also going on) across the Atlantic to Europe.

The Next “Trade War?”

While it may still seem laughable to those who realize that cannabis is still a banned and highly stigmatized substance in many countries still, let alone the high seas of international trade, there is a looming trade war shaping up on the cultivation front. Cannabis, for all its quirks and intrigue, is still a plant, and plants can and indeed are being increasingly commoditized in this space. Just like say, bananas. Or coffee. Or oranges.

And while at least in the U.S. this is still a long way off, states cannot even trade with each other yet. Expect this issue to be increasingly in the room.

In Europe, as of 2020, international trade is the only way to obtain cannabis from any country or hemisphere, and Germany, as the largest market, is drawing firms from all over the world, hoping to source its medical market.

The only “trade war” here, in other words, is companies, from all over the world, but also on the same continent, who cannot wait to get in – and start doing business.

Don’t miss the International Cannabis Business Conference in Europe next year in Barcelona, Berlin, and Bern!

colombia colombia colombia colombia colombia colombia colombia colombia

Colombia Enters Cannabis Oil Production

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Business.

Colombia has been on the map, certainly when looking at the cannabinoid world from Europe, for the last two to three years. Judging by the number of participants who show up at International Cannabis Business Conferences, at least from this part of the world, this is also not a casual discussion.

As of November, the game has clearly changed. For all of the talk about production in the country, up until now, all the licensed grows were for plants with less than 1% THC.

This has now changed. The country has issued its first license for the commercialization of “psychoactive” cannabis, in other words containing higher levels of THC. The recipient of the same, Khiron Life Sciences Corp. also announced that it would use the license to produce high THC extract to treat 15,000 patients via the Latin American Institute of Neurology and the Nervous System (or ILANS).

Beyond domestic distribution, what does this development bode for international markets?

While Germany is clearly on the minds of Khiron, a shrewd international operator with operations that already reach to the UK and Germany (including helping to supply cannabis for the British Project2021 project) this opens up other discussions a little closer to home in the same hemisphere. Namely, how long will it be before such companies also begin to look to both the Canadian and US markets?

Khiron, in particular, also has plans to supply Uruguay with whole-plant export, which is an ambitious move considering the country is the only one in Latin America and still one of less than a handful globally to legalize recreational use.

Nevertheless, it is this play alone which signifies that Khiron, along with others that clearly establish themselves in such geography, is looking at markets with high need and cost sensitivity.

How cost-effective cannabis oil from Colombia is in the European hemisphere as more local production begins to ramp up is another matter. See Greece, Portugal, and of course North Macedonia in the short term.

This question is still in the room of course, along with the acceptance of medical GMP standards for anything coming out of the American hemisphere in general, particularly in the aftermath of CannTrust.

Regardless, it is clear that as another early mover Canadian decides to revamp and retool, including putting both European and Canadian plans to expand on indefinite hold that Latin America will play an increasingly bigger role in the global cannabis market.

euros currency coin money cash euros currency coin money cash euros currency coin money cash euros currency coin money cash euros currency coin money cash euros currency coin money cash euros currency coin money cash euros currency coin money cash euros currency coin money cash euros currency coin money cash euros currency coin money cash euros currency coin money cash euros currency coin money cash euros currency coin money cash euros currency coin money cash euros currency coin money cash euros currency coin money cash euros currency coin money cash

Setting The Price For Medical Cannabis In Europe?

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Business.

The German government has just announced that it will buy at least 650 kilograms (1,433 pounds) of GMP certified, medical cannabis flower from “domestic producers” who won the tender lots. This means, in other words, that of the three Canadian companies who won the bid (Aurora, Aphria and Wayland/ICC/Demecan), the only domestic production that currently takes place is via the ICC facility in Eastern Germany.

This means that at least the short term winner, certainly on the price front, is ICC and Demecan.

Why?

It is the only one of the three that has certified production facilities in place. The other two producers, Aphria and Aurora, must import from somewhere else. 

However, this announcement makes things even more strategically interesting, as Aurora announced a much lower price to the Italian government – canceled bid nonetheless (that was for medical-grade CBD).

That alone undermines the price now set out by the German government – of €2.30 euros a gram wholesale – as the one to beat in Europe.

This also means that enterprising producers elsewhere now have a reference price to beat (and many of them can). Even with the price of transportation, this price is a calling card for those of Portuguese, Spanish, Greek and Polish extraction who have either entered or about to enter the game.

It also puts the decision to delay the export of North Macedonian flower in an even more interesting new light. No matter when the country decides to export, it has a world of opportunities on its immediate, European, if not German, doorstep.

With this number on the table, enterprising distributors now also have not only benchmarks for the first time, but an insight into the market that so far has only been acquired before by personal interviews of insiders on the ground.

Bottom line? The market is opening for low cost, imported flowers, and oil that can beat that price.

Combined with a reduction in the required mark-up imposed by German pharmacies this means that the retail cost of cannabis in Germany is in line for another fairly dramatic correction at point of sale, and while it may not quite yet beat the unregulated market, this means that cannabis priced certainly under €15 a gram will be available soon.

It also means that the high cost put on bringing in a new premium-priced product is finally beginning to normalize (although expect to see additional drops in price as rules continue to change around Europe). If nothing else, both Italian and Polish crops will further undermine the German reference price, to say nothing of the winds now blowing if not growing in Portugal, Spain, Greece, and other lower labour climes throughout Europe.

However, no matter the ultimate winners in the market from the business side, it also means that patients are beginning to have alternatives to either out-of-sight priced product only affordable with insurance coverage or the black market.

hemp plant field hemp plant field hemp plant field hemp plant field hemp plant field hemp plant field hemp plant field hemp plant field hemp plant field hemp plant field

Thai Government Opens Way For Citizens To Grow Their Own Cannabis – And Sell It Back To the Government

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Business.

In a unique twist to what is going on in Europe right now, the Thai government has suggested that it would soon pass a measure allowing Thai citizens to grow up to six cannabis plants at home. For now, at least, the government envisions an environment where such crops could also be sold back to the government for “medical use.”

According to Thai Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, “We have confidence that marijuana will be among the major agricultural products for Thai households. We are speeding up the changes. But there is a process.” The same minister also hinted as of September that families will be able to grow cannabis in their back gardens just like any other herb.

The announcement comes after the Thai government unveiled what it describes as the largest industrial-scale medical cannabis facility in Southeast Asia. University researchers from Maejo University planted 12,000 seedlings in September. The crop should be ready by March next year if all goes well.  

However, beyond just the crops planted there, the university is setting up to teach Thai farmers how to grow cannabis. Cannabis as an economic development tool is also on the agenda for political parties. The health minister’s party is currently suggesting that the sale of each mature plant, even grown in semi-professional cultivation circumstances, could fetch up to US$2,225 – meaning that families could earn $13,350 for their entire crop. 

The average annual Thai salary is about $8,200.

Of course the average Thai citizen, just like the average person, can not just go out and “grow medical” – certainly not that is integrated into formal pharmaceutical channels. Globally, there are high standards (that are also expensive to attain) before any substance, including cannabis, can be considered as a medical product. This certification process – also known loosely as GMP – is also the standard required internationally for medical exports beyond the existing international treaties that also govern the same.

 

medical cannabis medical cannabis medical cannabis medical cannabis medical cannabis medical cannabis medical cannabis medical cannabis medical cannabis medical cannabis

The NHS Legalizes Two Cannabis Based Medications

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Medical.

While the struggle for cannabis reform goes on in the United Kingdom, GW Pharmaceuticals is laughing all the way to the bank. At the beginning of the month, NICE (the friendly-sounding drugs advisory body) issued stringent and narrow guidelines for prescriptions of cannabinoid medication that sounded like they came from the last century.

Notably, NICE appeared only to issue guidelines for prescription of GW Pharma’s drugs – Epidiolex and Sativex. Also NICE specifically recommended that medical cannabis was not prescribed for chronic pain, any neurological condition outside of epilepsy, and both cancer and AIDS seem to be off the table, as well as conditions like glaucoma.

At least for now.

In a noted good development, GW is also now lowering the cost of the drugs, although total numbers of Lennox Gastaut and Dravet Syndrome patients (children) are just at the breakpoint for crossing over from “orphan” to mainstream drug.

Manufacturers are able to charge higher prices for orphan drugs because such drugs are not bought in bulk. There are about 8,000 children in the UK with these conditions. The treatment currently costs between ₤5-10,000 ($6-12,000) per patient per year.

That said, this is a narrow window of care. Many parents of children with epilepsy are importing drugs from the EU and Canada because Epidiolex either does not work as effectively or the effect tapers off. This amounts to thousands of pounds per month, per child.

Sativex will also be available, but only for MS patients. Previously the NHS had refused to cover the cost of the mouth spray (also very expensive), on the grounds that the cost was too high relative to the impact of the drug.

While the policy changes, in other words, benefit one company, it is likely that pressure groups, from patient lobbies to industry ones, will now have a basis to press forward for greater reform if not opening of the market.

But nothing comes fast here. In the meantime, British patients are indeed being tasked with keeping a “stiff upper lip,” when it comes to using cannabis to treat pain or indeed any other condition.

As with many things in the cannabis industry if not reform, there are frequently times when the hard-fought steps forward on acceptance of the plant as a drug take a few paces back too.

The British market is opening. But so far, those who must rely on public healthcare are being completely left out of the game when it comes to medical coverage for other conditions. Only 18 prescriptions have been issued so far in the last year per the NHS. A Freedom of Information Act request reveals that only 108 prescriptions have been processed privately.

It is estimated that 1.4 million Britons currently avail themselves of the black market to obtain their cannabis for conditions ranging from chronic pain to spasticity.

stethoscope doctor medical hospital stethoscope doctor medical hospital stethoscope doctor medical hospital stethoscope doctor medical hospital stethoscope doctor medical hospital stethoscope doctor medical hospital stethoscope doctor medical hospital stethoscope doctor medical hospital stethoscope doctor medical hospital stethoscope doctor medical hospital stethoscope doctor medical hospital stethoscope doctor medical hospital stethoscope doctor medical hospital stethoscope doctor medical hospital stethoscope doctor medical hospital

Australia Lets General Practitioners Prescribe Medical Cannabis

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Medical.

The UK and Australia might both be members of the Commonwealth, but their approach to medical cannabis so far could not be more different.

In the UK as of the beginning of the month, the NHS agreed not only to authorize just two cannabis drugs (manufactured by GW Pharmaceuticals) but also mandated that those prescribing the same must be specialists.

In Australia, in contrast, GPs have just been given the go-ahead to prescribe.

What a world of difference!

Why Is It So Important To Allow GPs To Prescribe Cannabis?

Doctors everywhere are still resistant to prescribing cannabis and legislation mandating that not only “doctors” but specialty doctors (like neurologists or oncologists) does not help. It creates at least an extra step for patients to obtain a prescription. And adds to the expense of care.

Making patients go to hospitals (as opposed to local clinics) also does not help ease access problems.

In places like New York, for example, this approach is beginning to trickle down in its own way. Community clinics in the Big Apple now do prescribe the drug. However, in Europe, the discussion is still way behind the times.

Australia at least seems to be forging a path only so far seen widely in Israel. Government reimbursed doctors will be able to prescribe the drug.

Why Is This Problem So Difficult In Europe?

Part of the problem is that while European healthcare is “comprehensive,” systems everywhere are bogged down with bureaucratic processes that deliberately slow down changes in care to make sure that they are cost-effective and work.

When it comes to the cannabis conversation, however, this means a fairly radical rethinking of even Euro healthcare provision.

Cannabis patients also tend to defy other chronically ill patients. With cannabis, formerly immobilized or fully disabled patients can more easily function if not better or fully manage their conditions. This also means that patients forced to obtain their drug illegally, can get better, faster and then lobby for change.

In places like Luxembourg and Denmark right now, that also might be on the cusp of changing. In Luxembourg in fact, the government is expanding its medical training program for doctors next year and increasing the budget for doctor training. Other places in Europe are not so progressive – at least at the moment. 

Most patients in Europe still obtain their drug the “old fashioned way.” Namely through grey and black market channels.