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Luxembourg’s Home Grow Legislation In Progress

Written by Johnny Green on . Posted in Archives, Policy.

The long-delayed legislation appears to be moving – perhaps in response to the dramatic announcement that the German government will legalize recreational use this year

During a Parliamentary “Question Time” last week, a Pirate Party representative, Sven Clement asked about the status of legalization of cannabis.

He was informed by Justice Minister Sam Tanson that work on this bill has been delayed due to the involvement of several ministries in the process. This includes the Ministry of Health whose priorities for the last two years have been the pandemic.

The good news? The first step – the long-delayed legislation permitting the cultivation of up to four plants at home, is about to be submitted to the Governing Council (consisting of the Prime Minister and a number of Ministers – similar to a British or American cabinet).

Luxembourg Cannot Ignore Its Neighbour – Much Less Its Electoral Promise

It was almost inevitable that Luxembourg would accelerate its long-promised and now delayed legalization plans after Germany announced that it would pass legislation authorizing a recreational cannabis market by the end of this year.

Apart from geographical proximity, Luxembourg has been poised at this point for the last several years – since the new government came to power in 2018. The ruling coalition however has never issued any more of a timetable than sometime before 2023.

Given, however, that the pandemic is receding, and cannabis reform has clearly continued to progress across the region (see Switzerland) there was little chance that the Luxembourgian government could fence sit indefinitely.

The Importance of Luxembourg on German Reform – And Vice Versa

Both countries seem, at this point, to be influencing each other. The new schedule in Luxembourg is undoubtedly being influenced by the recent German announcement. Luxembourg previously announced that its first foray into the entire discussion would be home grow. This in turn, however, has clearly ensured that home grow would also be on the menu on the German side of the border.

Home grow is going to be a tricky discussion just about everywhere. Namely, how will it be regulated, will patients be allowed a higher plant count than others, and will patient non-profits now be allowed to operate, serving multiple patients?

There is no way to determine these details yet. But they are clearly on the drawing board.

In the meantime, it is clear that Luxembourg is moving ahead on reform actively now. This means that by 2023, four European countries including not only Switzerland, but Malta, Germany and now Luxembourg, will have moved into the federal legalization camp.

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Legalize Cannabis Australia Party Obtains Record Results In Queensland Elections

Written by Johnny Green on . Posted in Archives, Policy.

The single-issue party is poised to gain its first senate seat in Queensland. Is recreational reform on the cards nationally?

Elections in Australia’s third most populous state, accounting for 22% of its landmass, may indicate which way the tide is running when it comes to legalization Down Under. Legalise Cannabis Australia is now running 7th in a six-seat senate race according to Australia’s ABC News.

According to The Guardian, the party has also done well nationally – picking up between 2 and 7% of the vote in most states.

This year, they have also received a record number of votes.

With 34% of the votes now counted, LCA has so far received 74,972 votes – an increase of 5% of the votes they received in 2019. Regardless of whether they win one of the seats, they will get government funding for exceeding 4% of the votes in Queensland.

Party president Michael Balderstone is a long-time advocate. He has been involved with the party since its founding in the 1990s – in New South Wales.

Pain Relief & Cost of Cannabis Are Pillar of Campaign

One of the main planks of the party is the efficacy of the drug – and the still prohibitive cost of the same for patients. They are advocating for patient home grow.

There have been 130,000 applications for medical cannabis in Queensland. More than double any other state. One of the reasons for this is that this is a popular state for retirees.

And despite the criticism that the increased vote for the party is just a protest vote, one thing is clear. Cannabis legalization is not static in Australia.

Home Grow – The Revolution

As more and more countries recognize the medical efficacy of cannabis, there is a decided trend toward home grow – even as the first step to legalization. This trend is being seen very clearly in Europe right now. Malta and shortly, Luxembourg will allow home grow. Germany is now probably going to include the same in its recreational plans to be announced by this summer.

There is an obvious logic to this. Medical cannabis is still far too expensive for most patients – no matter who pays for it. Allowing home grow will do two things. It will allow patients to offset the costs of their medicine. And it will spare governments the cost of covering it.

Regulating that infrastructure, however, may prove to be tricky. In Canada, where patient collectives created the basis for the legal recreational market, there is a perennial debate about reigning this in because of its impact on recreational sales.

Regardless, the genie is out of the bottle. And that revolution is now clearly global.

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Italian Ministry Of Défense Publishes Pre-Bid Call For New Cannabis Cultivation Companies

Written by Johnny Green on . Posted in Archives, Business, Policy.

The Ministry is trying to identify qualified cultivators to cultivate in Florence

The Ministry of Defense has just published an “expression of interest” to identify companies that are able and qualified to grow medical cannabis plants. The call was designed to increase production for domestic use with the aim of achieving self-sufficiency from a medical perspective.

A technical department has been set up to begin this definitive start to call for new tenders for medical cultivation. The direct link can be found here.

Qualifications are broken into four sections – with the first qualification being GMP certification.

  • Qualitative selection of candidates
  • Technical inspection
  • Confirmation of expression of interest
  • Invitations to apply (which is restricted)

Both existing farms and freelancers registered with the Chamber of Commerce, or the competent professional associations will be considered, providing that they have the right experience as well as an in-depth understanding of the current legislation. A valid insurance policy of at least 10 million euros will also be required.

The due date is June 27.

The Domestic Security Argument

The Italian decision to increase the domestic production of cannabis (by highly limited tender bid) certainly comes at an interesting time, particularly given pending recreational reform just across the border with Germany. While ostensibly just for domestic consumption, it is unclear if Italy wants to also position itself as a major exporter as other markets come online – particularly those like Luxembourg where for now, the only cannabis cultivation that is going to be allowed in the short term is home grow.

Beyond this, the moves seem to be the first in Europe where authorities consider cannabis so valuable that they are specifically setting up cultivation to meet so far unmet domestic supply – and further as a self-identity national security issue.

Just across the border in Germany, the three cultivators who won the first bid were deliberately instructed to grow far less than would be obviously needed. This is why the ex-im market aus Deutschland is so dynamic, not to mention important.

That said, this may mark a turning point for the discussion, not just in Italy, but across Europe. Supply chain security for both food and medicine has become a much hotter topic post Pandemic, with convoluted supply chains and a re-examination of national policies in shoring up as much domestic production as possible.

It is also, of course, a tacit admission of the huge job creation potential of the sector.

The Italians, in other words, are not just releasing a domestic agricultural tender. They might well be on the edge of a coming, new, and much overdue green flood that seems poised to take over Europe.

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Brazilian Medical Cannabis Consumption Increases 110% In One Year

Written by Johnny Green on . Posted in Archives, Business, Policy.

Consumption of medical cannabis products in Brazil increased by 110% in 2021 from 2020 according to study by BRCANN, the Brazilian Association of the Cannabinoid Industry

Brazil is moving rapidly into the global cannabis arena. Currently, the country imports 18 cannabinoid drugs. Beyond this, last year, 40,191 people filed permits to individually import cannabinoids for personal, medical use. The year before, only 19,150 applications were filed. And between 2015 and 2021, a total of 75,203 applications were granted.

Brazil is not so quietly now grappling with where to go with cannabis reform, even as medical use soars in the country.

The current president, Jair Bolsonaro, is vigorously and vocally against any kind of cannabis reform. However, he is being challenged on this stance, both by the populace itself and now by candidates challenging him in this year’s presidential race.

Given the changing climate, whoever wins will almost certainly be dealing with the issue of domestic cultivation and processing. Currently, there are only a few projects authorized to cultivate medical cannabis, and most of this is for research purposes.

This will probably start to change, particularly as it is much cheaper to cultivate cannabis domestically than to import it. Especially in a country like Brazil.

Questions About Sustainability

Brazil has a climate well suited to the cultivation of cannabis. However, there are a few looming problems in the entire legalization discussion.

The first is sustainability. Brazil is already facing record levels of deforestation. The outdoor cultivation of cannabis would, in all reality, increase the pace of the same unless effective regulation of the industry takes place. How likely that is in the current environment is debateable.

One of the primary causes of deforestation is the use of fragile rainforest land to cultivate illicit crops including drugs.

It is also highly unlikely that cultivation would occur only for domestic use.

A Latin American Revolution

Brazil may be one of the larger Latin American countries to consider cannabis reform, but it is far from the only one. That is what makes reform here inevitable, beyond the use of the drug for medical purposes by citizens.

That is also why the industry must be carefully planned and thought out.

An effective domestic program would have to create jobs and incentivize people not to grow crops on fragile land.

For this very reason, reform in this part of the world may have a much wider impact on the rest of the industry, which is struggling everywhere, with both costs and sustainability issues, starting with the cost of electricity.

But make no mistake about it. Reform is coming to Latin America and Brazil is just moving with the herd.

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Honduras Vice President Wants To Create 85,000 Cannabis Jobs

Written by Johnny Green on . Posted in Archives, Business, Policy.

One of the biggest selling points for reforming cannabis laws, for better or worse, is the industry component. Studies and polls have consistently found that more people support legalizing a taxed and regulated industry than just simply removing prohibition for personal use.

An example of this can be found in the results of a recent poll conducted in Australia. When asked if cannabis should be legal 50% of poll respondents expressed support for such a public policy shift. However, more people (55%) supported regulating the cannabis industry like tobacco and alcohol.

In a perfect world, people would support cannabis reform because it’s the right thing to do. In a less perfect world, some amount of voters need a societal financial incentive in order to support cannabis reform.

Job Creation

Recent history has clearly demonstrated that when the legal cannabis industry is allowed to operate, the industry can create a significant number of jobs.

For instance, the legal cannabis industry is responsible for creating over 151,000 jobs in Canada, and at least another 428,000 in the United States. You can compare those numbers to the number of jobs in other large industries and you will quickly see the job creation potential of the emerging cannabis industry.

Consider the fact that the United States Bureau of Labor and Statistics estimates that there are 285,980 hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists in the U.S.

The legal cannabis industry clearly exceeds that number. The cannabis industry’s job creation potential is even more impressive when considering that cannabis is still prohibited at the federal level in the United States.

Once the legal cannabis industry is permitted to exist in as many places as salons, the number of jobs in the legal cannabis industry will be exponentially greater than it is currently.

Honduras

The Vice President of Honduras has expressed a very strong desire to legalize medical cannabis in his country, seeming to be largely motivated by the industry’s ability to create jobs.

“First, what I propose is a project to generate employment and to generate foreign exchange for the country. I’m not thinking of legalizing marijuana, nor the medicinal part. There are simply two objectives: to generate employment, because -for example- 5,000 hectares generate 85,000 jobs and we have a deficit of half a million unemployed. Apart from that, it is a millionaire business, because the countries that are close to the equator have sun all year round, we have excellent lighting. So, the cost of production is low, it is so low that producing a gram costs 15 cents of a dollar and producing the same gram in Europe or the United States costs above 1 dollar.” Honduras’ Vice President Salvador Nasralla stated in a recent interview with El Planteo.

Honduras has a population of roughly 10 million people, with roughly 6.4 million of them being 18 years old or older. The unemployment rate among Honduras’ labor force is about 10%, so the creation of 85,000 jobs would provide a tremendous boost to the struggling country.

Cannabis reform is not imminent in Honduras, however, the country is definitely trending in the right direction. It will be a while before the country generates the number of jobs that Vice President Nasralla is hoping for, but any number of legal cannabis jobs is better than the current situation.

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Topical CBD Ointment Efficacious For Psoriasis According To Thailand Researchers

Written by Johnny Green on . Posted in Archives, Science.

Psoriasis is a skin condition that involves the development of a rash with itchy, scaly patches. The most common locations on the human body where psoriasis develops are the knees, elbows, butt, and scalp.

Unfortunately, it is still largely unknown what causes psoriasis. The current theory behind the cause seems to involve a combination of genetics and environmental issues, however, researchers are still trying to get to the bottom of it.

It is estimated that as much as two to three percent of the world’s population suffers from the condition. Fortunately, researchers in Thailand recently determined that CBD ointment may be an effective treatment for psoriasis. Below is more information about it via a NORML news release:

Bangkok, Thailand: The topical application of an ointment containing 2.5 percent CBD improves symptoms of psoriasis, according to the findings of a randomized, placebo-controlled study published in the Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venerology.

A team of investigators affiliated with King Chulalongkorn University Hospital and Thammasat University Hospital in Thailand assessed the twice daily application of either CBD or placebo over a 12-week period in 51 patients with mild plaque-type psoriasis.

Areas treated with CBD showed significant improvements compared to areas treated with the placebo. Researchers did not identify any adverse effects attributable to the use of CBD.

“Our results indicated a trend of favorable response in the treatment with CBD, which has emerged as a therapeutic option for psoriasis,” authors concluded. “These outcomes will pave the way for future studies on [the] therapeutic effects of CBD.”

Prior studies have previously shown that CBD may reduce certain types of skin inflammation, including erythema, pruritis, and acne.

Full text of the study, “Topical cannabidiol-based treatment for psoriasis: A dual-centered randomized, placebo-controlled study,” appears in theJournal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venerology.

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CBD Hemp Business Fair Is Coming To Spain

Written by Johnny Green on . Posted in Archives, Business, Entertainment, Policy, Science.

Cannabidiol (CBD) currently has the designation of being the most popular cannabinoid on earth. As proof of that claim, consider the fact that CBD is searched more often on Google than any other cannabinoid, including tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and that’s been the case since December 2016.

In addition to being queried more often on the world’s most popular online search engine than its cannabinoid counterparts, hemp-derived CBD is legal in far more regions of the planet compared to THC. It is estimated that the global CBD market was worth nearly 5 billion USD in 2021 and that it could be worth as much as 47 billion USD by 2028. That figure doesn’t include the global market for industrial hemp, which is set to experience a 33%+ compounded annual growth rate through 2030 according to at least one estimate.

You will be hardpressed to find an industry that is already worth billions of dollars and yet is still set to experience the level of exponential growth that the global CBD and industrial hemp industry will experience in the coming years. There is literally no better time to get into the CBD industry than right now, and a great way to do exactly that is to attend the upcoming CBD Hemp Business Fair in Barcelona on October 7-9, 2022.

Spannabis, the world’s largest cannabis trade show with more than 20 years of experience, is launching this amazing new event focused on CBD and industrial hemp. The fair is expected to have more than 100 brands present on a 12,000 square meter expo floor. Over 1,500 industry professionals and 15,000 visitors are expected to be in attendance over the course of the 3-day event.

CBD Hemp Business Fair will feature an event networking app that helps facilitate collaborations between exhibitors and event attendees before and during the event. The app is a very useful tool to promote companies, make appointments, and discover new potential clients.

The event’s showroom will feature demonstrations, presentations, and entertainment including cooking demonstrations and live music. The event will also include an outdoor food truck area, the CBD Champions Cup, and the CBD and Hemp Awards. If you want to get into the emerging CBD and hemp industry, or just want to learn more about its products and services, you do not want to miss this event!

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Will Luxembourg Beat Germany To Adult-Use Legalization?

Written by Johnny Green on . Posted in Archives, Policy.

Luxembourg’s Minister of Justice Sam Tanson announced in the Chamber of Deputies this week that a draft cannabis legalization bill is on its way, with the Council of Government expected to get its first look at the draft next month.

Even though the draft bill has yet to be introduced, some components of it were made public along with the announcement that the draft bill was looming.

The measure, which if approved would serve as the foundation of Luxembourg’s legalization model, is largely based on citizens’ right to home cultivation, although it seems to be unclear what the plant limit would be.

Furthermore, possession of 3 grams of cannabis or less would no longer result in a criminal penalty, and according to the previously cited local media coverage, ‘fines will be decreased.’ Is it really legalization if there is any fine, no matter how large or small the fine might be?

Delays In Luxembourg

For a time, it appeared that Luxembourg would become the first country in Europe to pass an adult-use legalization measure. However, that designation was ceded to Malta late last year when lawmakers there approved an adult-use legalization bill.

Unlike the only two countries where cannabis is currently legal for adult use (Uruguay and Canada) Malta’s legalization model does not include provisions for legal purchases through storefronts, pharmacies, delivery services, etc.

Rather, Malta’s legalization model is largely non-commercial, relying on private cannabis clubs and home cultivation by which consumers can acquire cannabis.

What Luxembourg’s final legalization model will look like is something that we will all have to wait for. However, if the details that are floating around right now ultimately prove to be the basis of the country’s legalization model, legalization in Luxembourg will prove to be less significant than if the country implemented a legalization model that is more in line with what is being pursued in Germany.

Legalization Effort’s Current Status In Germany

Germany recently announced that it would be speeding up its own timeline for legalization to as early as this summer, and the Bundestag’s budget committee recently issued an ultimatum to the nation’s Health Ministry to submit a passable recreational cannabis bill by the end of the summer or face budgetary consequences.

For a time it seemed unclear whether legalization in Germany would entail home cultivation, however, members of Germany’s current coalition government have indicated in recent weeks that home cultivation is a necessary component of a viable legalization measure.

Whether Luxembourg beats Germany to adult-use legalization or not is largely moot in many ways being that legalization in Germany appears to be just as imminent as in Luxembourg, both countries are expected to legalize home cultivation, and Germany’s legalization model will likely prove to be far more robust compared to Luxembourg’s.

All of that, of course, doesn’t even touch on the potential market size difference between the two nations. Luxembourg has a population of roughly 632,000 people. Germany has a population of roughly 83 million people. Germany also experiences over 10 times the level of tourism that Luxembourg does.

Even if Luxembourg allowed legal sales, which it doesn’t appear that it will, the country’s industry would pale in comparison to Germany’s.

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Israeli Medical Cannabis Seeds Legally Shipped To U.S. In Historic First

Written by Johnny Green on . Posted in Archives, Business.

In a historic first, medical cannabis seeds were legally exported this week from Israel to the United States according to Israel’s Agriculture Ministry. Last August Israel’s government reformed cannabis export laws to permit the legal export of medical cannabis seeds, with this week’s shipment to the United States serving as the culmination of many months of effort.

For many decades Israel has served as an international leader when it comes to medical cannabis research. After all, Israel is the home of famed chemist Raphael Mechoulam who is credited with being the first to isolate both CBD and THC back in 1963 and 1964 respectively. From the 1960s until fairly recently, Israel was one of the very few countries that even permitted large-scale cannabis research, let alone embraced it.

Heavily-Researched Cannabis Genetics

It’s not a leap to assume that Israel is sitting on some amazing cannabis genetics given the amount of research its scientists have conducted over so many years. What type of strain(s) were involved in Israel’s first legal cannabis seed exportation is unclear. Who will be on the receiving end of the shipment is also unclear. All that was referenced in the Israeli government’s announcement on that front was, “Upon arrival, the seeds will be examined by commercial hemp growers to verify their suitability for the US market.”

The specific seeds at the heart of this story sent from Israel to the United States originated from the BetterSeeds company. Per the BetterSeeds company’s website, “BetterSeeds makes use of genome editing technology (CRISPR-Cas9) in order to produce new varieties, incorporating game changing traits which are not today available across all crops due to the limitations of conventional breeding. Genome editing technologies make precise and rapid breeding possible by introducing specific, controlled and preselected changes in the plant genome.”

BetterSeeds produces more than just cannabis seeds and appears to produce seeds for nearly every type of major crop imaginable. I know that when I read ‘genome editing technologies’ it gave me a bit of heartburn, and I know that I am likely not alone in feeling that way.  However, the seeds that were sent to the United States are proprietary in nature, so we may never know for sure what they are and/or how they may have been altered in some manner.

A Small, Significant Milestone

This first-ever legal shipment of cannabis seeds from Israel out to the international community is worth keeping in context. It is essentially a test run to help ensure that the shipment can be performed and completed in a way that complies with regulations in both Israel and the United States, as well as within evolving international cannabis policy (at least to some degree).

“The shipment is an experimental and initial shipment, after which contacts will be made regarding the continued export. This is a historic step as part of the implementation of Government Resolution No. 4490, which was updated last August to include the export of medical cannabis seeds from Israel, and could lead to the opening of additional international markets for Israeli exports and significantly advance the medical cannabis industry in Israel.” the Ministry stated in its press release.

“The opening of seed exports in the field of cannabis is expected to strengthen Israel’s position as having knowledge and expertise in the field of seeds. In addition, increasing the range of exports and expanding it to cannabis products, will enable the deepening of existing markets and penetration into new markets while riding on the growing wave of demand for cannabis products with medical-health value. Moreover, Israel is among the leading countries in seed research and development in general as well as medical cannabis in particular, and cannabis seed exports are expected to attract interest from various researchers around the world and further strengthen the field of research.” the Ministry also stated in its press release.

Obviously, this is not the first time that cannabis seeds have been shipped from one part of the world to another. It’s quite likely, if not guaranteed, that seeds from Israel have specifically made it from Israel to the United States in the past, albeit illegally. Still, this is a big milestone for a country that is sitting on a wealth of knowledge, experience, and other valuable assets, including genetics. Hopefully it leads to a much larger global involvement for Israel within the emerging international cannabis industry.