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French Medical Cannabis Legalization Is Not Expected In 2024

Written by Hazel Norman on . Posted in Policy.

France’s government is expected to refrain from recommending national medical cannabis legalization after the European nation’s medical cannabis experiment is over.

In March 2021, France launched a limited medical cannabis experiment involving between 2,000 and 3,000 suffering patients with the goal of gaining insight to possibly craft national medical cannabis policies and regulations. Initially slated for a two-year period, France’s medical cannabis experiment was eventually granted a one-year extension and is set to end in 2024.

According to domestic reporting, the 2024 Social Security Financing Bill (PLFSS) will not include provisions to legalize medical cannabis nationwide due to a lack of support by the Macron administration.

The French medical cannabis experiment received initial approval from the federal Senate back in 2019, however, the launch of the trial was delayed until the spring of 2021 due to various reasons. Cannabis producer LaFleur was eventually selected as the cultivator for the program and has supplied participating patients since the launch of the experiment.

Limited cannabis access is not a new public policy concept in Europe, with limited adult use cannabis commerce now permitted in parts of Switzerland, and soon, the Netherlands. Germany is another jurisdiction that is working towards launching adult-use pilot programs.

France is somewhat rare in that most European nations now permit medical cannabis access. France, on the other hand, has historically been much more hesitant to reform its medical cannabis policies.

If the French government does not adopt national medical cannabis reform at the conclusion of the experiment, and the pilot program does not receive another extension, medical cannabis patients will have no safe access to their medications. Instead, they will be forced to either go without medical cannabis or obtain their medical cannabis from unregulated sources.

CBD products containing less than 0.3% THC are legal in France, however, many suffering cannabis patients require treatment regimens involving products that have higher levels of THC.

According to data analyzed by the French Observatory of Drugs and Addictive Tendencies, roughly 10.6% of France’s adult population has consumed cannabis within the last year, and 47.3% have reported using cannabis at least once in their lifetimes.

German Parliament

Slowing Down Legalization In Germany Is The Wrong Move

Written by Hazel Norman on . Posted in Policy.

A coalition of SPD ministers from Hamburg, Thuringia, and Lower Saxony are trying to slow down cannabis policy modernization efforts in Germany. Germany’s current legalization effort was historically led by Germany’s Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD). If the coalition of SPD state ministers have their way, Minister Lauterbach’s bill will never become law.

What is currently being proposed is a multi-phase plan to modernize Germany’s adult-use cannabis policies. The first phase, which was approved this year by Germany’s federal cabinet, would legalize the personal cultivation, possession, and use of cannabis.

Additionally, the first phase would eventually permit noncommercial cannabis clubs to operate. The clubs would be subject to a host of regulations, including caps on the number of members they can have. Individual consumers would also be restricted to only possessing one membership at a time.

While Germany’s federal cabinet approved the first phase measure, it is now being considered by members of the Bundestag and it’s very likely that provisions of the bill will evolve, and not in a manner that the coalition of SPD state ministers are hoping for.

Unlike the SPD state ministers, who feel that the current measure being considered is too liberal, many members of the Bundestag have expressed publicly that they feel the current measure is too restrictive.

The second phase of legalization according to Minister Lauterbach’s proposal would involve permitting regional adult-use cannabis commerce pilot programs, similar to what is in operation in Switzerland and being considered in the Netherlands. Although, Germany’s pilot programs are expected to be conducted on a larger scale than compared to its European counterparts’ programs.

A cannabis pilot program, in theory, provides national lawmakers the opportunity to collect data at a local level in order to be better suited to craft national cannabis laws and regulations. Full national sales are not within the scope of the current legalization effort in Germany, although there’s a lot of the process left to be completed and anything is possible.

Germany’s Health Minister participated in ongoing discussions with the European Union regarding cannabis policy, and Minister Lauterbach indicated that national sales would run afoul of EU agreements. Malta and Luxembourg have passed national legalization measures, however, they do not include provisions for national sales.

Slowing down the process in Germany is unacceptable. If anything, it needs to be sped up. Cannabis prohibition is a failed public policy, and regulation is a more sensible approach. Canada is proving that right now, and it would be wise for Germany and every other country to modernize their own cannabis policies.

Cannabis Seminary For Doctors And Nurses To Be Held At University Of Ljubljana

Cannabis Seminary For Doctors And Nurses To Be Held At University Of Ljubljana

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

Check out the upcoming event at the University of Ljubljana titled ‘Hemp and its Active Ingredients in Healthcare III’ on October 11th and 18th, 2023. The event is co-organized by the Research Nature Institute and is the third education seminary of a series involving doctors and nurses from the faculty at the University of Ljubljana.

The first day of lectures will discuss examples of good practices for nurses and doctors in Slovenia and abroad. Topics will include dosage recommendations, destigmatizing cannabis, and the treatment of neurodevelopmental syndromes.

The second day of presentations will explore potential issues and harm-reduction techniques for consuming cannabis for medical purposes. Attendees will hear for the first time how successful the clinical treatment of multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s, and Alzheimer’s disease is in Uruguay. Below is the event’s program:

Wednesday, 11/10/2023 – hybrid 

16:00 – 16:05 Welcome address
16:05 – 16:45 Education of health workers on the use of cannabis and cannabinoids for medical purposes: literature review
Jasna Kovač, mag. dr. care, Pediatric Clinic UKC, MEDCA
Tatjana Lončar, B.Sc. med sestra Gynecology Clinic UKC, MEDCA
16:45 – 17:25 US Nurses Journey to Reduce the Stigma of Medical Cannabis ( Maureen Smyth, BSN RN, Certified Cannabis Nurse educator (USA) – ZOOM)
17:25 – 17:35 Break
17 :35 – 18:15 Treatment of neurodevelopmental syndromes with cannabidiol and medical cannabis (Prof. Dr. David Neubauer, MD)
18:15 – 19:00 Dosing – Developing a Cannabis Dose-Effect Hypothesis / “The Dosing Project – developing a Cannabis Dose-Effect Hypothesis« (dr. Jean Talleyrand, MD (USA) – ZOOM))

Research and findings in medicine
Wednesday, 18.10.2023 – hybrid

16:00 – 16:40    Kanabinoidi pri zdravljenju raka, primer glioblastoma (prof. dr. Tamara Lah Turnšek (NIB))
16:40 – 17:20    Problematic Cannabis Use of Medicinal Cannabis (dr. Ilya Reznik, MD – ZOOM)
17:20 – 17:30   Odmor
17:30 -18:10    Can Cannabis treat endometriosis (dr. Lumir Hanuš – ZOOM)
18:10 – 18:50  Therapeutic implications of cannabinoid actions in the brain and neurodegenerative diseases. A clinical perspective in Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease. (dr. Raquel Peyraube, MD (Urugvaj) – ZOOM)

The event will be moderated by journalist Mr. Gorazd Rečnik, who will lead the discussion and enable the lecturers and guests to ask questions online.

The seminar is intended for the general public, experts, health workers, politicians and officials, who will make future decisions in the field easier with the acquired knowledge.

Lectures will be held in Slovenian and English.

METHOD OF IMPLEMENTATION – hybrid:
– live  at the Faculty of Medicine, Zdravstvena pot 5, Ljubljana  or
– in an online environment.

CO-ORGANIZER : RN, Institute for Nature Research, Development and Quality Assurance of Natural Medicines, with which the Faculty of Health UL has been actively cooperating for many years, is a research and educational institution.

APPLICATION

REGISTRATION

30 EUR with VAT (exclusively for both days).

The content of the education is to obtain points from the ZZBNS and the Medical Chamber of Slovenia.

Participants receive certificates.

For more information about individual lectures and lecturers, write to vesna.osojnik@zf.uni-lj.si, call 01 300 11 65, or go to: https://www.zf.uni-lj.si/si/arhiv-obvestil-cvu/1295-konoplja-in-njene-ucinkovine-v-zdravstvu-iii

thailand flag thailand flag thailand flag thailand flag thailand flag thailand flag thailand flag thailand flag thailand flag thailand flag thailand flag thailand flag

Changes Expected To Be Made To Thailand’s Cannabis Policy

Written by Johnny Green on . Posted in Policy.

In June 2022, Thailand’s government made a fairly substantial shift in how it approaches cannabis policy. At the time the policy change was hailed as ‘legalization,’ however, it’s worth noting that what was legalized was low-THC cannabis.

Still, it was a historic shift for a nation located in Southeast Asia where some of the harshest cannabis policies on earth are also located. Every household in the entire country became eligible to sign up to legally cultivate low-THC cannabis plants. It’s the first time in the history of the world that such a public policy was implemented at a national level.

For a time things seemed to be very exciting in Thailand. As part of the rollout of the new law, Thailand gave away over 1 million cannabis seeds directly to households that signed up to cultivate cannabis. The government even gave out low-interest loans to help aspiring cultivators get their operations started.

The Health Ministry largely led the charge for cannabis policy modernization in Thailand, however, a broad spectrum of government agencies in Thailand entered into an agreement to do their part to push Thailand’s emerging cannabis industry forward. Unfortunately, the honeymoon period appears to be over, as captured in the X post below:

A cannabis and hemp regulation bill sponsored by the Bhumjaithai Party passed its first reading in parliament in June, and ministries in Thailand are forming a committee to review the measure and will eventually provide their own recommendations.

“Whether we continue with the present draft or develop a new one, I insist there must be laws to control cannabis use,” said Public Health Minister Cholnan Srikaew according to Bangkok Post. “Using cannabis for recreational purposes must be forbidden. The improper use of cannabis will lead to dangers for users.”

The cannabis policy discussion in Thailand will now largely focus on what constitutes medical cannabis use versus ‘recreational’ use. It’s not a new discussion within the global cannabis community, as many advocates around the globe feel very passionately that all cannabis use is medical to some degree.

As with any public policy change, the devil will be in the details, and how long the process will take is anyone’s guess. Furthermore, it will be interesting to see how meaningful any changes prove to be, as enforcement could prove to be difficult after so much has transpired. It’s an interesting situation from a public policy standpoint, to say the least.

Canada Cannabis Flag

Prevalence Of Cannabis Use Among Canadian Youth “Unchanged” Per New Data

Written by Johnny Green on . Posted in Policy.

Canada is home to the largest cannabis public policy and regulation experiment in history. Canada became the first G-7 nation to pass a national adult-use cannabis legalization measure in late 2018 and still remains the only G-7 nation to do so.

Joining Canada on the list of legalized nations are Uruguay, Malta, and Luxembourg. However, Canada is the only country on the list that permits sales to anyone of legal age regardless of residency status.

Consumers in Canada are afforded the most robust options for obtaining cannabis by legal means, including dispensaries, delivery services, mail delivery, cannabis clubs, etc. Leading up to the implementation of legalization cannabis opponents issued numerous warnings specific to youth consumption. By all measurements, doomsday predictions have not materialized.

One talking point that cannabis opponents touted leading up to legalization in Canada was that ‘legalization would increase youth consumption rates.’ It’s a popular talking point for cannabis opponents everywhere that cannabis reform is being considered, including medical cannabis reform.

But what does the math say? Health Canada conducts a survey every year to gauge, among other things, how many people report having consumed cannabis.

According to the 2019 survey, the results of which were released in 2020 (bold font added for emphasis), “In 2019, 40% (12.0 million) of Canadians aged 15 years and older reported ever smoking cannabis. The prevalence of ever smoking cannabis was 25% (699,000) among youth aged 15 to 19, 55% (990,000) among young adults aged 20 to 24, and 39% (10.3 million) among adults aged 25 years and over.”

The results of the 2022 Health Canada survey were recently released. According to the survey’s authors (bold font added for emphasis), “In 2022, 39.5% [95% CI: 38.3, 40.7] (12.7 million) of Canadians aged 15 years and older reported ever smoking cannabis, unchanged from 2021…The prevalence of ever smoking cannabis was unchanged among youth aged 15-19 years at 20.1% [95% CI: 18.4, 21.8] (424,000), and adults aged 25 years and older at 40.2% [95% CI: 38.8, 41.6] (11.1 million).

For contextual purposes, the reference to “unchanged” in the 2022 survey results is in regard to the previous year’s (2021) survey results. According to the Canadian government’s own data, between 2019 and 2022 reported lifetime cannabis use declined by nearly 20% since legalization.

That statistic is significant given the fact that cannabis policy modernization efforts are gaining steam across the world right now, and a big hesitation expressed by many voters and lawmakers relates to concerns regarding youth consumption rates.

Canada provides the best cannabis public policy data to analyze given the robust consumer options in Canada, and as you can see from the survey results, regulation appears to be better at curbing youth consumption rates than prohibition.

Cannabis Plant

European Parliament Member Shares Pictures Of His Cannabis Plants On Social Media

Written by Hazel Norman on . Posted in Policy.

A member of the European Parliament (MEP) recently posted pictures of cannabis he is cultivating for personal use. Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan, MEP for Ireland Midlands North West, shared the following image and message to X/Twitter:

The social media post was overwhelmingly well received based on the replies to the tweet, although there were a handful of comments from people asking why the MEP was posting the content. MEP Flanagan is a long-time proponent of cannabis reform.

Some of the comments questioned how the MEP was not facing charges for the cultivation, however, as other platform users pointed out, MEP Flanagan is based out of Brussels where limited personal cannabis cultivation is not a criminal offense.

The discussion surrounding the social media post by a sitting MEP touches on a larger ongoing continental discussion regarding the need for cannabis policy modernization. What MEP Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan is doing on his balcony is something that every responsible adult should be able to do, regardless of which European nation they are based in at the time.

Currently, only Malta and Luxembourg have passed national adult-use measures that expressly permit personal cannabis cultivation, possession, and consumption. Germany is currently working to pass a national measure, and regional pilot programs are being launched in Switzerland and the Netherlands.

European cannabis reform is taking on a different form in Europe compared to the Western hemisphere. Canada and Uruguay have passed national legalization measures with robust consumer options, whereas European reform is largely based on personal cultivation.

‘Cannabis light,’ which is cannabis containing a low amount of THC, is legal in many parts of Europe, however, those products are considerably different compared to what is available in truly legal markets such as Canada.

The Netherlands Flag

Limited Legal Cannabis Sales Expected To Launch In The Netherlands This December

Written by Hazel Norman on . Posted in Business, Policy.

A long-awaited cannabis public policy experiment is reportedly set to launch on December 15th in two different municipalities in the Netherlands. Limited cannabis sales will be permitted at certain coffee shops in both Tilburg and Breda this winter according to the nation’s cabinet.

Health Minister Kuipers previously announced back in February that Tilburg and Breda would likely be the first of what will eventually be ten municipalities to participate in what is essentially an adult-use cannabis commerce pilot program, similar to what is already underway at the local level in Switzerland.

Germany is also expected to incorporate regional pilot programs into its legalization model. It’s a concept that is gaining in popularity in many European countries that are ramping up cannabis policy modernization efforts.

In theory, permitting local adult-use sales will provide government policymakers and regulators data to examine in order to be better suited to craft eventual national cannabis policies and industry rules and regulations. The concept is in line with continental and international agreements.

The launch of pilot programs in the Netherlands comes after a series of delays, and it wasn’t until the recent announcement that the nation’s government appeared to have backed off of its hardline stance that pilots could not begin until there were at least three cultivators.

Currently, only two cultivators are ready to supply the coffee shops in Tilburg and Breda, yet an exception was made to prevent further delays. Two more licensed cultivators are expected to start providing cannabis to the nation’s pilot program in February 2024. If everything goes as expected with the pilots in Tilburg and Breda, at least eight more municipalities will also launch pilot programs.

Additionally, at least one district in Amsterdam is expected to also become part of the cannabis public policy experiment which will permit coffee shop owners to sell a limited amount of cannabis to adults, although during the ‘start-up phase’ coffee shops are also allowed to sell ‘tolerated products’ from their unregulated suppliers.

Officials in the Netherlands have the authority to shut down the cannabis public policy experiment at any time if ‘abuses’ are found, which is a subjective measure. However, the cultivation facilities and outlets will be watched closely and local officials are optimistic that the experiment will succeed.

“With this start-up phase in Brabant we can gain first experiences, detect teething problems and gather the knowledge to perfect the experiment. In this way, we can make a flying start with the large-scale experiment.” stated Breda Mayor Dr. Paul Depla back in February (translated from Dutch to English).

Hemp Leaf Hemp Plant Cannabis Sativa

Compassion Should Be The Goal Of Medical Cannabis Reform

Written by Johnny Green on . Posted in Policy.

The goal of medical cannabis policy modernization efforts should be obvious – to help suffering patients. If a suffering patient benefits from one or more medical cannabis therapeutics, and the medical professionals treating the patient deem the consumption of such therapeutics to be safe, then the patient should be able to pursue legal options.

Unfortunately, many medical cannabis programs around the world fail to truly put compassion at the heart of their efforts. Instead, lawmakers and/or governments in some countries have implemented medical programs that only help a tiny percentage of suffering patients.

The limited usefulness of the programs is due to various factors that will be discussed below. It is worth noting that some legal access to medical cannabis is technically better than outright prohibition for all. However, for suffering patients who are not able to legally access medical cannabis due to a program’s limitations, outright prohibition may as well be the law of the land.

As countries around the globe continue to work to modernize their cannabis policies, it’s important for advocates to push for key provisions within their borders. Suffering patients deserve meaningful safe access, not performative ‘reform.’

Keep in mind that cannabis prohibitionists in many countries have read the writing on the wall and abandoned hope of keeping prohibition in place. Instead, they are now pivoting to doing everything they can to set up medical cannabis programs for failure, which is obviously not good for patients or governments.

Qualifying Conditions

A nation’s medical cannabis program is only as good as the number of health conditions that a suffering patient can qualify under to legally enter the program. Humans suffer from a wide variety of conditions, and a growing body of peer-reviewed research demonstrates that cannabis therapeutics can help treat a significant number of them.

It should not be up to a politician and/or government bureaucrat to decide which suffering patients get safe access to their medicine and which ones do not. The sensible, compassionate, and humane way to determine if a patient would benefit from cannabis therapeutics is to let the medical professionals who are treating them decide.

Authorized Approvers

Another key component that largely contributes to a medical cannabis program’s success or failure involves the list of people/entities that can approve a patient for a nation’s medical cannabis program. Some countries only permit certain medical doctors to do it, or require medical professionals to obtain a special license. That approach is typically counterproductive.

A country could have every favorable medical cannabis policy provision in place, and yet if everything has to funnel through a select group of professionals that may or may not let their personal biases get in the way, there’s always the chance that problems can arise. Some doctors will refuse to even consider medical cannabis due to stigma.

For many suffering patients, a primary physician is not even who they see for a vast majority of their appointments, particularly in rural areas. Allowing true medical professionals beyond just medical doctors to approve patients ensures that all suffering patients have more options when seeking approval.

Variety of Medications

A big mistake that some countries make when passing medical cannabis reform measures is only permitting patients to use one or a handful of cannabis therapeutics, typically synthetic pharmaceutical cannabis medications. Such medications are expensive, and only help a limited number of patients.

Additionally, countries will sometimes only permit one or two cultivators, which is always a recipe for supply hiccups. If only one cultivator gets a license, and it turns out that they are not as qualified to cultivate cannabis as they claimed and/or issues arise at their facilities, it obviously affects a whole nation’s program. It typically also limits the types of cannabis that are available for research purposes.

Patients are going to seek out the types of cannabis medications that provide them relief, whether that comes from a regulated or unregulated source. For safety and effectiveness purposes, it’s obviously better for patients to obtain medications from regulated sources, however, that’s only possible if a variety of medications are legally available. The supply of legal medical cannabis products must match what patients are actually needing.

Reasonable Regulations

Every reasonable cannabis advocate recognizes the need for certain medical cannabis regulations such as licensing, inspections, and product testing. Such regulations ensure that patients are being provided safe and effective medicine.

Due to stigma, a lack of understanding, and/or outright sabotage, some countries that have passed well-meaning medical cannabis reform measures have witnessed their programs fail by every measure due to their medical cannabis programs getting crushed by regulations.

Nations need to ask themselves ‘what problem are we trying to fix’ when pushing for individual medical cannabis regulations, coupled with ‘does this regulation balance addressing a potential problem with the needs of suffering patients?’ Far too often it seems like no one is truly thinking when passing some medical cannabis regulations that are now found around the world.

Home Cultivation

Allowing suffering patients and/or their caregivers to cultivate medical cannabis gives some policymakers and regulators heartburn, yet, it is a vital component of a successful medical cannabis program. Nations that do not permit home medical cannabis cultivation will always experience gaps in patients receiving their medicine.

Home cultivation alone is not enough to ensure consistent safe access to medical cannabis, just as only allowing medical cannabis to be sold through pharmacies is not enough. Permitting home cultivation of a handful of plants is part of a comprehensive approach to safe access. It allows patients to completely control what goes into their medicine and provides an equitable way for all suffering patients to obtain some level of cannabis therapeutics.

International Cannabis Business Conference Bled Slovenia

Cannabis History Is Made In Slovenia At International Event

Written by Hazel Norman on . Posted in Business, Entertainment, Policy, Science.

The International Cannabis Business Conference was held in Bled, Slovenia last week on September 7th and 8th, with a VIP reception held the night before the event. The two-day event was dedicated to emerging international cannabis science and technology.

Among the speakers at the conference, which is part of a series of cannabis events held around the world, was Dr. Metka Paragi, the current Secretary for Health of the Slovenian Prime Minister’s cabinet. Dr. Paragi, a leading international microbiologist, welcomed attendees of the first-ever International Cannabis Business Conference held in Slovenia.

She provided a brief overview of current usage rates in Slovenia, as well as discussed the level of support for policy modernization efforts in the region. Dr. Paragi also provided an update on the current state of cannabis policy and research in Slovenia. It marked the first-ever presentation at an international cannabis conference by a current officeholder at that level of government.

Dr. Metka Paragi International Cannabis Business Conference Bled Slovenia

In addition to Dr. Paragi, presentations at the two-day science and technology conference were made by:

  • Lumír Hanuš – Chief Scientist, Lumir Lab, Asana Bio Group LTD
  • Prof Dr. Tamara Lah Turmšek – Biochemist, Researcher, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana
  • Peter Homberg – Partner, Dentons, Head of European Cannabis Group
  • Ngaio Bealum – Conference Master of Ceremonies
  • Alex Rogers – CEO & Executive Producer, International Cannabis Business Conference
  • Božidar Radišič – Project Manager and Founder, Research Nature Institute

International Cannabis Business Conference Bled Slovenia

At the conclusion of the event, the International Cannabis Business Conference hosted one of its infamous after-parties, which was headlined by none other than Slovenia’s most famous and loved artist, Magnifico.

Magnifico International Cannabis Business Conference Slovenia 2023

Below are links to media coverage of the event:

Delo

SI21

Dnevnik

RTV Slovenia

24UR

STAznanost

Jutro na Planetu

Make sure to check out the upcoming event at the University of Ljubljana titled ‘Hemp and its Active Ingredients in Healthcare III’ on October 11th and 18th, 2023. The event is co-organized by the Research Nature Institute and is the third education seminary of a series involving doctors and nurses from the faculty at the University of Ljubljana.

To find out more, please visit: https://www.zf.uni-lj.si/si/arhiv-obvestil-cvu/1295-konoplja-in-njene-ucinkovine-v-zdravstvu-iii