Skip to main content
mexico flag mexico flag mexico flag mexico flag mexico flag mexico flag mexico flag mexico flag mexico flag mexico flag mexico flag mexico flag mexico flag mexico flag mexico flag mexico flag mexico flag mexico flag

Cannabis Legalization Advances In Mexico’s Senate

Written by Johnny Green on . Posted in Politics.

Mexico has been on the cusp of legalizing cannabis for adult use since late 2018 when Mexico’s Supreme Court issued a ruling that struck down cannabis prohibition as being unconstitutional.

As part of the decision, Mexico’s Supreme Court mandated that lawmakers pass legislation that implemented the Court’s ruling and create a regulated adult-use cannabis industry.

Multiple extensions had to be granted because lawmakers in Mexico failed to meet the initial one-year Court deadline, as well as subsequent deadlines.

Some of the deadlines could not be met due to COVID, however, part of the blame lies squarely on lawmakers that have failed to get on the same page. Fortunately, there is movement in Mexico’s Senate, as reported by Marijuana Moment:

A bill to legalize marijuana in Mexico moved another step closer to final floor consideration in the Senate on Tuesday.

While the chamber approved the legislation last year, it then passed in revised form in the Chamber of Deputies last month and was sent back to the Senate for final consideration. On Tuesday, a second Senate committee advanced the amended legislation, with one more panel set to take it up before it moves to the floor.

The Second Legislative Studies Committee approved the bill one day after the Justice Committee cleared it. The next stop for the proposal is the Health Committee, which could happen as soon as Wednesday—setting up potential action by the full body on Thursday.

Many times lawmakers in Mexico have indicated that they ‘have it’ when it comes to getting a measure to the finish line just for the claims to fizzle.

At this point, it’s best to be cautiously optimistic. If Mexico finally legalizes cannabis for adult use before any other country beats them to it, Mexico will be the third country to legalize recreational cannabis behind Uruguay and Canada.

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

New York State Officially Legalizes Cannabis For Adult Use

Written by Johnny Green on . Posted in Politics.

The State of New York has officially legalized cannabis for adult use after a long, hard-fought battle by cannabis advocates. New York is a very, very big domino to fall, and will hopefully lead to more reform not only in the United States but also in other countries.

Below is more information about today’s historic event courtesy of a press release from our friends at NORML:

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo today signed The Marijuana Revenue and Taxation Act (MRTA) into law, which legalizes and regulates an adult-use commercial marijuana market in New York State, and also permits those over the age of 21 to cultivate personal-use quantities of cannabis in their own homes.

The provisions specific to the personal possession of marijuana took effect upon signing.

“I just signed legislation legalizing adult-use cannabis,” Governor Cuomo said in a statement. “The bill creates automatic expungement of previous marijuana convictions that would now be legal. This is a historic day. I thank the Leader and Speaker and the tireless advocacy of so many.”

NORML Executive Director Erik Altieri stated, “This signals an end to the racially discriminatory policies that have long made the Empire State the marijuana arrest capital of the United States, if not the world. This stops police from annually arresting tens-of-thousands of New Yorkers for low-level marijuana offenses, the majority of whom are overwhelmingly young, poor, and people of color.”

NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano added, “The passage of this legislation will not only have serious economic and social justice ramifications for its nearly 20 million residents, but it no doubt will have ripple effects across the nation and arguably also within the halls of Congress — providing further pressure on federal lawmakers to amend federal law in a manner that eliminates the existing inconsistencies between state and federal cannabis policies.”

Six percent of US House members represent New York State, and seven percent of all Congressional House Committee and Subcommittee Chairs are from New York.

Empire State NORML Deputy Director Troy Smit said, “It’s taken a great amount of work and perseverance by activists, patients, and consumers, to go from being the cannabis arrest capital of the world, to lead the world with a legalized market dedicated to equity, diversity, and inclusion. This might not be the perfect piece of legislation, but today, cannabis consumers can hold their heads high and smell the flowers.”

The Act established a process for the licensed production and retail sale of marijuana to adults. Regulators would license delivery services and on-site consumption facilities. Retail sales will be taxed at nine percent, plus up to a four percent local tax, as well as an additional tax based upon THC content. Localities that do not wish to have cannabis retailers in their neighborhoods can opt out, but they will not receive tax revenues if they choose to do so. The Act also provides expungement relief for millions of residents with past cannabis convictions on their records.

Forty percent of tax revenue will be directed toward communities disproportionately impacted by cannabis prohibition. Provisions in the MRTA seek to award half of all business licenses to social equity applicants.

france flag france flag france flag france flag france flag france flag france flag france flag

French Medical Cannabis Public Policy Experiment Is Underway

Written by Johnny Green on . Posted in Medical.

At one point France had one of the worst cannabis policies in Europe, with personal possession carrying a penalty of jail time and thousands of dollars in fines.

Fortunately, that changed recently and now cannabis possession is decriminalized and carries a much lower fine. It’s obviously not as good as outright legalization, but it’s certainly an improvement compared to the previous policy.

The nation-wide decriminalization policy change came after a public policy experiment in which certain parts of France instituted a temporary decriminalization policy, and after that proved to be successful, the policy was enacted across France.

Another cannabis-related public policy experiment is underway in France, this time focusing on medical cannabis. Per ABC:

France’s government launched a two-year nationwide experiment with medical marijuana Friday with a view to its eventual legalization.

Some 3,000 patients around the country will be given medical cannabis treatments and their health will be monitored by the national medicines watchdog, the Health Ministry said in a statement. The first prescription was issued Friday at the Clermont-Ferrand University Hospital in southern France.

The goal is to gather data about the effectiveness and safety of therapeutic marijuana, and to prepare eventual logistical circuits for future distribution, the ministry said.

If lawmakers and regulators in France take a truly objective approach to this experiment, it’s virtually guaranteed that the experiment will prove to be successful.

After all, a number of countries have already legalized cannabis for medical use, including and especially in Europe. If medical cannabis can work in those countries, then so too can it work in France.

The suffering patients in France deserve to have safe, legal access to a proven medicine, and to be governed by cannabis policies that are based on science, logic, and compassion.

cbd oil cbd oil cbd oil cbd oil cbd oil cbd oil cbd oil cbd oil cbd oil cbd oil cbd oil cbd oil

CBD Is No Longer A “Narcotic” In Slovakia

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Medical.

The country becomes the last in the EU to remove cannabidiol from its national list of “psychotropics” and to legalize its use.

While there are often kudos paid to being “first” – in anything, and far from cannabis – there are also those who deserve attention for taking the tortoise route – especially when they finally get there. Slovakia has now joined the rest of the EU and finally seen the light on CBD.

As of March 18, the Ministry of Health submitted a proposal to legalize CBD on the grounds that according to the UN, CBD is not listed as a psychotropic medicine. The European Commission also decided the same last fall – but those are just the details in the weeds of all of this.

That said, because the country is also now watching what the EU will do on extracts and oils, it is also clear that there is starting to be a movement at the sovereign national level to normalizing the entire cannabis conversation – even if it starts with CBD. And that further, failing input from the democratic process domestically (citizens and advocates), the EU will begin to play an increasingly important role in setting policies that affect the entire industry and in every country in Europe.

Why Is the EU Level Bureaucracy Increasingly Important for Reform?

For those who are less than enthused about bureaucracy generally, the prospect of “reform” at the EU level, especially on this issue, is a groan fest. This particular part of the world is the least democratic, most paper-strewn, rules-driven part of the planet. Federal U.S. politics look “easy” compared to this. 

Anyone with any experience in waiting for the EU-level coordinated Covid vaccine to roll out any time soon (in other words everyone) can understand viscerally what the holdups have been on the cannabis front.

However, just like the overdue attention, those at the top of things are getting on the vaccine discussion, the cannabis conversation now brewing is fundamental and increasingly inescapable.

The issues of homogenizing the market, on standards, from simple hemp and CBD oil to medicine and beyond that, full and final reform are finally on the table.

Slovakia, in other words, might be the last to recognize what CBD actually is – but it is coming at a time when further discussions, and of a watershed kind – not just in one European country – but all of them – are taking place. And it is, of course, long overdue.

Be sure to book your tickets now for the International Cannabis Business Conference investor forum in Austin and of course, when the International Cannabis Business Conference returns to Berlin in July!

Spain flag Spain flag Spain flag Spain flag

Is Spain On The Verge Of Regulating Cannabis Clubs?

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Business.

As a monumental challenge to the current law loses in Strasbourg, organizers including political parties are challenging the government to regulate the sector (as well as fully legalize it).

Things are continuing to bubble in Spain over the regulation (and by definition legalization) of the entire Spanish cannabis club conversation.

As Albert Tió now spends his nights in jail for the foreseeable future after losing his case in Strasbourg, a call has gone out for a new federal discussion about the role and formal acceptance of cannabis as well as the infrastructure and industry that has grown up here in between the weeds. Namely, a senator, Geroa Bai, has now introduced the idea of the regulation of the industry, as well as the legalization of limited home grow.

The introduction of the same is far from its passage. The battle here has been particularly nasty for several years and on the legal, federal level. With a losing case at Strasbourg, it is also clear that the entire access conversation will have to go through the legislature rather than the courts – which is perhaps the biggest takeaway of the Tió case.

With the activist now serving active jail time (even in a Pandemic) the entire conversation has taken another turn. The industry does not need any more martyrs (and is hardly short of them at this point to begin with). Free Albert Tió, however, is a bit more visceral a slogan than a faraway club closing or tangling with the fuzz over supply.

Post-Pandemic Economic Activity

Given the prevailing winds in Europe, including successful court challenges from the commercial and patient side as well as a map for recreational reform in three countries (Holland, Switzerland, and Luxembourg), there is zero-way Spain can sit this out much longer. The reality is that legalizing the entire infrastructure would also create a legitimate source of taxable income that every government coffer is absolutely starved for.

Just like in other places, the economic benefit argument (don’t forget the employment question beyond this) is increasingly stronger every day the pandemic stretches on. And in the interim, important legal cases are starting to show up on the map (including in Germany). 

In the meantime, expect national legalization and regulation bills to start showing up all over the map. And even if, as in Spain, they might fail for the next few years, the inevitable dawn is beginning to break in a systematic way over the cold, bleak landscape of prohibition in Europe.

Be sure to book your tickets to the next International Cannabis Business Conference events!

Isle of Man Isle of Man

Covid Pandemic Puts Isle Of Man Medical Cannabis Program On Hold

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Medical.

Authorities have delayed a program to authorize doctors to prescribe cannabis describing it as “low priority” during the Pandemic.

The islands around the UK are having a quiet cannabis revolution. Places like the Channel Islands of Guernsey and Jersey and indeed the Isle of Man (off the southern tip of the UK) are moving forward to enact reform of at least the medical kind as green economic development if not critical healthcare for island residents. Unfortunately, plans to enact reform on the Isle of Man have just hit a snag. Health Minister David Ashford has said that the plan is still “on the agenda” but pushed because of the Pandemic.

Ashford said that there were “greater priorities” than introducing new cannabis legislation to the island. Ashford also cited reticence of GPs to prescribe the drug was also an issue.

Currently, per UK law, only specialists can prescribe the drug. This means that the initial visit and screening process is also much more complicated for both patients and the NHS. On a small island, this process gets even tougher.

Critics have suggested that this program should go ahead on schedule anyway and indeed have cited the model followed on the island of Jersey where a small number of general practitioners who operate out of clinics, can prescribe.

Untangling a hundred years of prejudice

Delaying the inevitable, and for any reason, appears to the watchword of just about all authorities, wherever they are, on the topic of reform. This has been true for most of the Pandemic, despite noted successes on a global level and the EU one (see the WHO decision and the European Commission decisions).

Regardless, it is also clear that reform is going to be in the air this spring and in several different ways. Doctors themselves are hardly above the din (in both the UK and Europe). The resulting pressures is forcing the conversation forward, even if, as in this case, step by step and painfully. And with plenty of delay.

And while these circular arguments are still in fashion (no reform equals no doctor education), they are becoming thankfully, rather rarer.

The Intersections of Covid and Cannabis

As the Pandemic drags on and governments repeatedly drop the ball on rolling out Covid medication, more and more focus is coming to bear on the process of cannabis legalization and, at minimum, why at least medical cannabis reform is not rolling right along with it. Including the increasing realization that cannabis might impact Covid symptoms.

Be sure to book your tickets now to the International Cannabis Business Conference conference for investors in Austin as well as the return of the International Cannabis Business Conference to Berlin this summer!

London London London

Cannabis Stop And Searches To Be Examined In London

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Politics.

The UK may be having a Black Lives Matter moment on the issue of stop and search by the police looking for “illegal drugs” including cannabis.

Move over Meghan and Harry! The Mayor of London is doing his part to further race equality in the UK and even more, where the same intersects with cannabis. Namely, Sadik Khan has drawn up plans to eliminate the practice of the Metropolitan Police of stop and search on the suspicion of the same.

Much like the U.S., more attention is being paid to how minorities are treated by the police right now in the UK. This includes the fact that minorities are stopped and charged more often. And suspicion of drug possession is the most common reason given by British police officers for the search in the first place.

In addition, as broken by the Guardian newspaper, there is apparently at least one other major police force outside of London which is considering curbing the reason for a stop and search in the first place.

Time for A Change on Minorities and Cannabis Everywhere?

No matter how much times change, they still seem to stay the same. In the 1930s, cannabis use (including of the medical kind) was used to stigmatize both black people (in the United States) and Jews (in Germany). Ever since the association with race and cannabis use has blotted an issue that is again finally rising to public awareness.

The review by Khan follows a report by the police inspectorate that revealed that almost half of all stop and searches in England and Wales have been carried out by the Met police. The question now firmly in front of lawmakers in cash-strapped times is whether this is really an effective use of the police force’s time.

The Met is also setting a target to recruit 30% of its new officers from minority populations, rising to 40% as of next year. According to Khan, “It is crucial that our communities feel they are properly listened to and concerns about the disproportionate use of police powers acted upon if we are to improve the trust and confidence among all Londoners.”

Make sure you get your International Cannabis Business Conference tickets now for the upcoming investor conference in Austin and the return of the International Cannabis Business Conference to Berlin this summer!

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

European Cannabis Association Is Working Towards A Harmonized Regulatory Framework

Written by Johnny Green on . Posted in Business, Medical, Politics.

Cannabis is medicine. That is a phrase that has always been true, yet was not always reflected in public policy. The cannabis plant was prohibited across the globe for many years and subjected to a tremendous amount of negative propaganda and stigma.

Fortunately, the truth about the cannabis plant and its wellness properties could not be contained forever. Activists across the planet worked extremely hard to cut through the propaganda and get the facts out to society regarding medical cannabis.

Myth after myth was debunked. As public awareness about medical cannabis spread, so too did cannabis reform victories and compassion and healing as patients started to gain safe access to medical cannabis.

Few if any medications are as dynamic as cannabis-based medicines. As tens of thousands of peer-reviewed studies have found, the cannabis plant can be used to successfully treat a number of conditions. Those studies are also backed up by the personal experiences and testimonials of countless patients.

Medical cannabis is now, thankfully, being embraced by more and more countries throughout the world, including and especially in Europe. The medical cannabis industry is booming on the European continent, with domestic markets ramping up, as well as imports and exports.

With that being said, Europe’s medical cannabis industry is still in its infancy by many measures. As of right now, policies across the continent are a bit of a patchwork of sorts and there is not a balanced framework in place for medical cannabis products like there is with other legal medicines.

Getting the right Europe-wide medical cannabis framework of policies, rules, and regulations in place is vital to the future success of Europe’s medical cannabis industry. Europe is home to roughly 750 million people, many of which will benefit from safe access to medical cannabis. Those suffering patients deserve to have a medical cannabis industry that helps them as much as possible, and that will only happen if entrepreneurs are operating in a business environment that is conducive to helping them succeed.

That’s where the European Cannabis Association (ECA) comes in. ECA recently launched and will focus on consulting and helping European lawmakers and regulators craft standards for the production of medicinal cannabis, among other things.

“The use of medical cannabis has a very high potential and it has become one of the most important economic topics in recent years. Nevertheless, there is still no harmonized regulatory framework that governs the trade in medical cannabis at the EU level.” stated ECA member Peter Homberg. Homberg is the Head of German Life Sciences Practice at Dentons, as well as Head of the European Cannabis Sector Group at Dentons.

“The ECA addresses exactly this area and offers support in consulting and developing uniform standards for the production of medical cannabis. In particular, the ECA informs its members about the current EU framework conditions in the field of medical cannabis, stays in contact with and influences on policymakers and regulatory bodies with the aim of achieving appropriate framework conditions in particular on a European level, represents the European medical cannabis industry in an international environment, develops and supports international networks and organizes and realizes industry conferences.” Homberg went on to say.

Getting the right medical cannabis framework in place in Europe is vital because it will steer the young industry well into the future. Initial rules and regulations will inevitably change, however, those changes will presumably be incremental and a future complete overhaul will be unlikely. Lawmakers and regulators need to get it right the first time.

A collective industry voice will be key to the ongoing regulatory framework process. Cannabis opponents and uneducated skeptics will no doubt have a seat at any regulatory table, and they will certainly have collective voices lobbying all over Europe. That lobby presence has to be met with a credible collective voice representing the medical cannabis industry.

Membership to the European Cannabis Association is open to all stakeholders in the medical cannabis industry, whether they are large companies or small and medium-sized enterprises, including start-ups. Interested parties can find out more, including how to join ECA, at EuropeanCannabisAssociation.com.

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

Greek Parliament Considers New Cannabis Investment Bill

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Politics.

A draft law proposes to ensure the regulation of a safe medical cannabis market at home and for exports.

Greece is steadily moving forward on improving both its investment and regulatory climate to encourage more production of cannabis in the country for export and to normalize cannabis medications from elsewhere.

The draft law of the Ministry of Development and Investment seeks to ensure a regulatory schema for the medical industry. This will include accepting European-wide marketing authorization (so producers do not have to seek individual approval in Greece if approved elsewhere). The restriction on the state monopoly control of products is also coming to an end.

National Distribution

The implications of the bill start with domestic distribution. Producers will be able to distribute domestically through a normalized pharmaceutical channel. This means that they can distribute directly to pharmacies, treatment centres and hospitals.

It also means that Greek producers finally will be able to meet international requirements to export internationally – namely the medical program domestically will fall under the rubric of the national medicines’ agency, which is a first, big requirement for export.

The Export Market Is Calling

The bill stipulates that the production of finished products in 30-gram packets will be permitted. This is a clear bid to enter the European medical market elsewhere (including Germany). The production of such product will also be allowed, regardless of how such products are used in the export country – either as a raw, intermediary, or finished product.

One of the more interesting aspects of this approach, of course, is that it also sets Greece up as a potential producer for not only medical markets but of course, the recreational ones that are now beginning to plan for on-the-ground rollout. See Luxembourg and Switzerland in particular.

The Nevada of Europe?

Greece represents an interesting turn of events for the industry across Europe. Not only is the investment and other climate right for this kind of industry, but the tourist potential from abroad, especially from Europe, is high. Health insurance “travels” here. That means that a German patient-tourist living in Greece, could get a medical cannabis prescription written by a local doctor and get it covered by an insurer at home.

As the Pandemic restrictions continue to lift, and the major issues with access at home continue, it is not unrealistic to expect to see longer-term tourists or even regular, quarterly visits for patients looking for ways to treat their condition more cheaply than they can at home.

For the most up to date information on investment opportunities across Europe, be sure to book your tickets now for the return of the International Cannabis Business Conference to Europe this July!