Author: Marguerite Arnold

london bridge england united kingdom britain london bridge england united kingdom britain

UK’s Lack Of Comprehensive Cannabis Policy Criticized

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

A Report Launched by UK Minister for Science, Research and Innovation criticizes a lack of coordinated policy on “cannabinoid innovation”

The UK government is criticizing itself in a new report to be launched by the Minister of Science, Research, and Innovation – namely calling on the government to turbocharge cannabis innovation rather than continuing to take a disinterested approach to the sector.

It also explicitly criticizes the approach so far.

According to the report, “It is not sustainable or acceptable for the [UK] Government to continue to take an uncoordinated, disinterested or laissez-faire attitude to the sector as a whole, as it has done since the cannabis sector’s 2018 inception.”

The 24-page document quotes leading industry players, academics, patients, consumers, and investors.

Beyond being critical of the progress so far, however, the report also lists twenty ways in which the UK can create a best-in-class cannabis sector.

Commissioned by the Centre for Medicinal Cannabis and the Association for the Cannabinoid Industry, the report was authored by Professor Christopher Hodges, a well-known regulatory expert, and thought leaders. The work will also be launched with a speech from George Freeman, a member of parliament and the minister of the agency which is ultimately responsible for the report.

It is, as a result, the first-ever ministerial address about the cannabis sector in the UK.

Evolving By Accident

According to the report, the market has “evolved by accident, without coordinated government action or a coherent strategy to steward it to maturity.” They further offer some interesting findings including that 1 in 7 Britons use cannabis for medical if not health reasons and that 64% of the population believes that scientific study of cannabinoids should be supported by the government.

A New Regulatory Schemata

Arguing that the framework established by the report would create a global advantage for post-Brexit Britain, Professor Hodges, an Emeritus Professor of Justice Systems at the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies at Oxford, also calls for specific changes that could be made quickly and easily.

These include allowing GPs to prescribe medical cannabis rather than specialists, modernizing the Proceeds of Crime Act, creating a national patient registry, and updating the rules about farming hemp. The report also calls for the creation of a “stewarding authority” to implement the suggested reforms as well as govern and guide the sector forward.

Through these suggestions, the report authors hope to create jobs, attract more investment, and secure both political support and public recognition.

Feeding Cannabis To Poultry Instead Of Antibiotics

Written by Marguerite Arnold on June 29, 2022. Posted in Business, Policy, Science.

Thailand is not just distributing free cannabis plants, but also finding innovative ways to incorporate the plant into other industries

Thailand is moving quickly into the international cannabis industry – and for several reasons beyond just legalization.

The first of course was the announcement of the distribution of a million cannabis plants to its citizens.

The second, which is garnering international attention yet again, may revolutionize livestock farming. Namely a farming community in Lampang in northern Thailand is treating its chickens with cannabis instead of antibiotics.

Researchers from the Chiang Mai University Department of Animal and Aquatic Sciences have now released the first data from this unique experiment. Fewer than 10% of the 1,000 chickens have died since cannabis was introduced into their feed in 2021. Beyond this, the mortality rates for chickens who are fed hemp is approximate to feeding them more expensive (and dangerous) antibiotics.

The experiment included giving chickens hemp with 0.4% THC (rather than 0.2% legalized by the Thai government as of this June).

The birds are now fetching price the price – or about $1.50 per pound – from customers who want organic meat that is antibiotic-free.

Why Did This Make a Difference?

Thai researchers are confirming that cannabis has bioactive compounds that not only create better metabolic activity and overall health but also help improve immune systems.

So far, the study has been in “screening test” mode. Now the researchers will look at whether cannabis can help protect chickens against bird flu and other severe diseases.

Anecdotally this has also been found to be true in people too.

The Impact on The Meat Industry and Beyond

Antibiotics are routinely given to farm animals who are later slaughtered for their meat. This has the long-term effect of creating increased antibiotic resistance in humans – giving rise to fears about superbugs that are resistant to the modern arsenal of antibiotic treatments.

As a result, the use of such drugs in food animals has also created trade wars – particularly between Europe and the United States – the latter of which routinely uses antibiotics in its meat farming practices.

If the Thai study continues to find that higher THC hemp can prevent viral outbreaks, it may revolutionize the global meat industry.

It also may impact the world of antibiotics – both in food – and potentially in places like hospitals where outbreaks of bacteria are a serious concern.

Antibiotics are not without side effects. Neither is their widespread use. This trial in Thailand, in other words, could well have global and long-lasting implications.

cannabis plant flower cannabis plant flower cannabis plant flower cannabis plant flower cannabis plant flower

Home Grow Europe?

Written by Marguerite Arnold on June 21, 2022. Posted in Policy.

Several political initiatives are moving forward in multiple countries that would give European citizens the right to grow their own – what are the opportunities and pitfalls?

Home grow is a controversial topic in the cannabis industry just about everywhere. On one hand, it is the legal loophole that began to establish the industry in places like Canada (and one presumes European countries like Luxembourg). On the other hand, it represents considerable competition to the nascent medical and recreational industry. After all, if people are growing their own, they won’t buy it.

The cost of cannabis, especially for patients who use far more of it than recreational users, is one of the biggest reasons this entire discussion remains politically relevant. This is especially true in places like Germany – where theoretically at least, sick patients should be able to get their meds covered for a co-pay of about $11 a month. Many – if not still the majority of those who should qualify – are not or just falling out of the system altogether.

However, it is clear that the debate has progressed significantly in Europe. Mention home grow even a few years ago in an industry event in Germany and one would be looked at as a dangerous “radical.”

Now the government is again considering the same as Luxembourg and Portugal move towards legalizing limited home grow, Italy has a legal precedent set by its highest court, and Germany tries to figure out how to incorporate this idea into the recreational system they are now holding hearings on. Patient home grow briefly became legal here in 2016 before the medical law was passed in 2017.

How Do Patients Fit In?

One of the most important reasons for legalizing home grow is patient need – especially at a time when most doctors are still not educated about cannabis – and the sickest patients are still struggling with access on the cost front.

However, so far in Europe at least, this is not a discussion that has gotten much traction. Indeed “home grow” has been a topic that is mostly focused on those who want to use the plant for “recreational” purposes. Growing four to five plants in an indoor grow box will not create enough cannabis for patients. It is, however, plenty for the average occasional rec user.

Beyond this, the idea of having legal non-profit patient collectives has not entered the discussion (so far). In Spain the clubs are “non-profit,” but they are not targeted to patients but rather the general cannabis-using public.

However, the reality remains that without some kind of relief, or at least recognition that patients need to not only use more cannabis to manage their conditions, but also grow more, any reform that excludes this reality will continue to put the sickest and most vulnerable people in danger of being criminalized merely for being sick.

Spain flag Spain flag Spain flag Spain flag

Spain On The Verge Of Medical Reform But Many Questions Remain

Written by Marguerite Arnold on June 21, 2022. Posted in Policy.

The Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party introduced a bill to legalize medical cannabis – but many advocates claim it won’t change the status quo

The home of the cannabis club is now considering medical cannabis reform. A bill to legalize medical use was introduced on May 30.

The legislation intends to create access in hospital pharmacies for a limited number of conditions – and further via prescriptions from medical specialists. Beyond this, it will require medical cannabis patient data to be stored at the Spanish Agency of Medicines and Medical Devices (AEMPS).

The Spanish Health Commission is currently debating the bill and is scheduled to approve the bill, plus any amendments they make, by June 23. If the legislation gets through this step successfully, the text of the bill will be delivered to the government who is expected to approve it into law by the end of June.

What Changes?

Spain has cannabis clubs that have developed in the grey areas of the law – much like the coffee shops in Spain. However, as advocates point out, this legislation will do little to draw patients into a legal, regulated medical market. For starters, only three health conditions will be approved for medical cannabis. Flower will not be allowed.

This means that the vast majority of patients will still be left in limbo.

Beyond this, there are no calls to revise the current situation regarding local production. Namely, all cannabis produced under EU GMP regulations must still be exported.

As a result, it is unlikely much will change in Spain (for now).

A Basic Holding Action

One of the great ironies about the Spanish situation is that it is a country where there is actually more “freedom” to access flower cannabis than just about any other European country except Holland. Beyond this, the country has one more GMP cultivation license than Germany – but none of this is slated for use by resident Spaniards.

In effect all this new legislation does is create a tiny window for legal medical cannabis treatments that are too expensive to access for most – along with prohibitive medical bureaucracy that will prevent even legitimate patients from seeing a sympathetic doctor.

The bottom line is that the Spanish government is actually doing the minimum necessary to ensure that it keeps in step with its European partners on the medical front while continuing to push not just medical users but the entire recreational industry into the margins.

Study Finds That Aerosolized Cannabis Significantly Reduces Pain Levels

Written by Marguerite Arnold on June 21, 2022. Posted in Science.

Cannabis inhalers are not necessarily a new technology, however, they are definitely newer than some other consumption methods. It’s an emerging technology in the cannabis space.

Many medical cannabis patients would likely prefer to use an inhaler versus smoking cannabis, and I am sure that many medical professionals would prefer that patients use inhalers as well.

Researchers in Israel recently conducted a study involving a specific type of cannabis inhaler to measure its efficacy on pain among neuropathy patients. Below is more information about it via a news release from NORML:

Haifa, Israel: The administration of aerosolized cannabis via a novel inhaler is associated with long-term pain reductions in patients with neuropathy and other chronic conditions, according to data published in the journal Pain Reports.

Israeli investigators assessed the efficacy of cannabis delivered via a novel metered selective dose inhaler (The Syqe Inhaler) in a cohort of chronic pain patients. The mean daily stable dose used by patients in the study was 1.5 mg of aerosolized delta-9-THC.

Use of the inhaler over a period of several months was associated with reduced pain scores and improvements in patients’ quality of life. Some patients reported mild side-effects (typically dizziness and sleepiness) at the onset of the study, but few participants continued to report these effects throughout the duration of the trial.

Authors concluded: “Medical cannabis treatment with the Syqe Inhaler demonstrated overall long-term pain reduction[s], quality of life improvement[s], and opioid-sparing effect[s] in a cohort of patients with chronic pain, using just a fraction of the amount of MC [medical cannabis] compared with other modes of delivery by inhalation. These outcomes were accompanied by a lower rate of AEs [adverse events] and almost no AE reports during a long-term steady-state follow-up. Additional follow-up in a larger population is warranted to corroborate our findings.”

According to recently compiled survey data, nearly one in three chronic pain patients report using cannabis for treatment management. Among patients in US states where medical cannabis access is permitted, over 60 percent are qualified to use it to treat pain.

Full text of the study, “Long-term effectiveness and safety of medical cannabis administered through the metered-dose Syqe Inhaler,” appears in Pain Reports. Additional information on cannabis and chronic pain is available from NORML.

hemp-cannabis-flower-plant-garden-outdoor hemp-cannabis-flower-plant-garden-outdoor

Brazilian Superior Court Approves Cannabis Home Grow For Patients

Written by Marguerite Arnold on June 21, 2022. Posted in Policy.

The South American country is following a trend increasingly seen in Europe in allowing patients the right to grow cannabis at home

It is not just in Europe where home grow is a la mode these days. Last week, Brazil’s highest court voted to allow home grow and oil extraction after three patients took their case to the Superior Court.

Brazil has moved forward relatively significantly on the cannabis reform front. After allowing GMP production domestically and medical products to be imported into the country, the issue of formal medical reform is now a topic in the pending presidential race.

As a result, the Superior Court’s decision to allow ill patients to grow their own plants and extract oils from them is significant. It means that even if pharmaceutical producers setting up shop to export to the rest of the world never distribute their products domestically, Brazilians with chronic conditions can access cannabis medicines – even if they cannot afford the expensive imports.

This puts the country ahead of others – including many in Europe like Germany – where patient home grow is still a contested and highly controversial topic.

Sustainable Cannabis?

One of the more interesting implications of the home grow decision in Brazil is how the country will regulate this part of the industry. One of the larger problems facing the country right now is rainforest deforestation – including by drug gangs who ship their products internationally. Patient “home grow” might well become a highly unsustainable crop that is grown in conditions that destroy this valuable resource.

Because there is no legislation, only litigated court decisions at this point, further regulatory guidelines on what (and how much) patients can grow without running afoul of drug trafficking charges are going to be a necessity.

The good news is that the majority of presidential candidates are willing to go on record supporting more or less comprehensive medical reform. If the sitting president Jair Bolsonaro loses this election, there is a good chance that his replacement will formalize the court’s decision into formal guidelines.

Beyond this kind of advancement, however, do not look for any radical move on the recreational front – at least not for the next couple of years.

In the meantime, however, patients will be safe from prosecution as the country figures out where it will sit in the internationally legalizing league of cannabis nations.

luxembourg flag luxembourg flag luxembourg flag luxembourg flag

Luxembourg Presents Draft Law On Cannabis Legalization

Written by Marguerite Arnold on June 21, 2022. Posted in Policy.

Last week, Luxembourg unveiled its draft recreational cannabis bill – but what comes after home grow?

Citing the German government’s decision to move forward on the legalization of cannabis for recreational purposes, the Luxembourg government unveiled its own draft proposal. The bill is intended to create a law allowing every Luxembourgian over the age of 21 the right to use cannabis in private, for recreational purposes.

Adults in Luxembourg will also be allowed to grow up to four plants in their own apartments or houses – but the plants cannot be visible in “public spaces.”

Home grow proposals, however, are at least this summer, starting to open up interesting conversations in countries from Portugal and Italy in the EU to Brazil in Latin America.

Is That All?

Limited home grow is certainly an improvement to the status quo. Currently fines for cannabis use in the public range from 250-2500 euros. The legislation would lower these fines (to no more than 500 euros).

The Minister of Justice however has also described the legislation as the “first stage” of implementing the promise of the liberal-green-social democratic alliance that made the promise to legalize cannabis by 2023.

The second step would, according to government sources, create a national production and supply chain that would also be under government control and auditing.

Home grow, black market, legit market

Getting rid of the organized crime link to the black market is increasingly a reason to legalize cannabis that is showing up in political discourse now all over Europe. Portugal, for example, is also now moving forward with implementing a law that would allow people to grow up to five plants.

The reality is that most people – whether they are patients or casual users, prefer to buy their cannabis commercially. That is why the home grow proposals now floating around Europe are important – but clearly only a precursor to the legit, regulated, and recreational market. The questions about how to implement commercial retail recreational cannabis however is only really beginning – and not just in Luxembourg.

In Canada, where the right to grow at home for medical purposes was established at the Supreme Court level at the turn of the century, patient collectives currently pose the largest threat to the legitimate industry there is. This is why similar developments in Europe will be interesting to watch – especially where medical use is legal but may or may not be covered by insurance.

This is also why, in all probability, home grow for medical use will probably not be decided legislatively but rather through the courts.

Home grow may be politically a la mode right now – but the really hard questions are still being left off the table everywhere.

Ten New German Government Positions For Cannabis Legalization Announced

Written by Marguerite Arnold on June 15, 2022. Posted in Policy.

The government has budgeted ten new positions to oversee the legalization of cannabis

If there is a “sure thing” in the world of German politics, it is when budgets are involved in pending policy. That is why, given all such signs this spring, cannabis legalization is pretty much assured – even if the details are not.

Earlier this spring, the Bundestag budget committee threatened the Ministry of Health that it would withhold its PR budget if a passable bill were not introduced by this summer. Now it appears there is even more movement on the fiscal side of things. Namely, during federal budget discussions, ten positions have been funded to oversee the process of legalization. Two are within BfArM – the medicines and medical devices agency that currently oversees the medical market – and eight are within the Ministry of Health.

In doing so, Germany seems to be taking a page out of the Canadian model to date. Currently the government’s “Cannabis Agency” is located within BfArM. However, this agency is an “independent authority” within the Ministry of Health’s “portfolio.” The Cannabis Agency was set up in 2017 as the government authorized the cultivation of medical cannabis domestically and then launched a tender bid for licenses for the same.

The process was also an almost complete disaster. The issued bid was for a tender that was too small for demand, and lawsuits dragged the selection process out for almost two years.

At least this time, the government is not making noises about excluding German citizens and firms from the process.

What To Expect

While details so far have been missing in action, there are a few developments which seem assured. The first is that private dispensaries will be licensed – and the people who run them trained in basic narcotics handling techniques. Whether dispensary employees will have to go through some kind of pharmacy training does not seem so outlandish.

The second thing to expect is that this process is going to be highly bureaucratic – and if the medical tender was any indication – may end up in court. There are several reasons for this, starting with the possibility that the first domestic cultivators and distributors for the recreational market will be drawn from the ranks of those who already have licenses.

If this is the case, there is also every possibility that the entire process will be sued again – starting with challenges under anti-monopoly legislation.

Regardless, there is perhaps one sure thing in all of this. Expect the unexpected. More developments soon.

The Pending Spanish Paradox

Written by Marguerite Arnold on June 15, 2022. Posted in Policy.

The Spanish government is finally voting to legalize medical cannabis at the end of June – but only for exporting cultivators

The land of the cannabis club is moving forward, albeit frustratingly, on medical cannabis reform. Namely, if everything goes as planned, the Spanish government will finally vote to legalize the cultivation of medical cannabis at the end of June. Further, they will also issue (more) licenses for EU GMP cultivation. There are currently four – and the Spanish authorities have steadfastly refused to issue any more for the past five years (at least in the past) citing concerns that they will just be resold.

It would appear those days are over. However, the basic rules for the market will remain the same. Firms may be able to gain cultivation licenses more easily, but everything they grow they must export.

That is not a real change from the status quo now. In fact, it could be argued that this is just a federal vote to preserve the status quo.

Patient access will not be any easier – and presumably could be worse – because patients will have to go through the formal medical system – or the clubs. Cost will remain a major impediment.

Just Like Holland and Greece Used to Be

No matter how far the now pending proposals push the conversation, it is an inherently limited one. Namely, this is a cynical proposal to pass legislation that won’t change what already exists now. Cultivation licenses might be more available – but they will still only be accessible to those with the budgets to set up EU GMP facilities. And as Greece found out, setting up an infrastructure to attract foreign investment in cultivation and extraction only goes so far when the sole business model is to supply those out of the country.

In fact, it appears that Spain is currently on track to have a two-tiered production model. The pharma grade one – and the grey market one that services the clubs. This also did not work in Holland.

Why Is Spain Lagging Behind on Reform?

There is only one answer for why the Spanish government has consistently failed to forward the industry in an environment where approximately 90% of the population believes that at least medical cannabis should be legal. And that is that the government has not learned the lessons seen in other legalizing countries (even though they will be establishing a panel to explore that specifically as of the end of this month).

It is also obvious that the country is in a holding pattern – waiting for Germany to flip the switch to recreational. Once that happens, given the amount of German money in the Spanish economy, it may be that Spain will follow. They are certainly not leading.