Policy – Page 78 – International Cannabis Business Conference

Lawmaker Survey Finds Strong Support For Cannabis Reform In Guernsey

Written by Frank Schuler on July 7, 2022. Posted in Policy.

Guernsey is an island located within the English Channel off the coast of Normandy. It’s part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency. It’s likely not the first place that comes to mind when thinking about cannabis reform.

However, there is growing support for cannabis reform in Guernsey, including within lawmaker circles. The Guernsey Press recently analyzed survey answers involving lawmakers and their views about cannabis policy. Per the Guernsey Press:

Although some answers were nuanced or not particularly clear, we can work out that more than half of Guernsey deputies – Alderney representatives in the States were not involved – were supportive of the medicinal use of cannabis.

More than half were again supportive towards looking again at the way cannabis is regulated.

And about 40% were open to some form of legalisation of the Class B drug for personal use.

It’s always a nuanced thing when lawmakers express general support for cannabis reform, in that their support is just that – general. It doesn’t provide insight into what specific provisions they may support.

Do they support home cultivation? Do they support a regulated industry? There are a number of policy components that go into cannabis policy reform, and any number of them could result in a lawmaker switching from ‘supportive’ to ‘opposed.’

Still, the survey results from Guernsey are encouraging. It could definitely be worse, with the numbers flip-flopped. Thankfully, that is not the case.

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The German Cannabis Legalization Hearings

Written by Marguerite Arnold on July 5, 2022. Posted in Policy.

The several weeks-long hearing process has now come to an end. These are the takeaway high points

The hearings on the legalization of recreational cannabis are now a thing of the past. Announced in early June, they have now taken place and some clarity about the direction and timing of the German rec market is now emerging.

The first, most important takeaway is that Health Minister Karl Lauterbach and the Federal Drug Commissioner Burkhard Blienert (who will also keynote the International Cannabis Business Conference in Berlin in just a few weeks) have committed to making recreational cannabis a reality.

The importance of this commitment cannot be understated. Unlike US politics, the German federal government is more consensus-oriented. If two major leaders announce an initiative, chances are it will happen (although of course it does not always – see previous Health Minister Jens Spahn’s many pronouncements about the digitalization of healthcare). That said, Lauterbach also mentioned again that he had undergone a change in perspective about legalization unlike his counterparts in the Green and FDP parties – both of whom have been pro-legalization for quite some time now.

“The risks of the current situation are greater than the legal levy,” he said. “The coordinates have shifted in favour of legalization.” Blienart went a bit further than his boss. According to him, what is about to occur is a “paradigm shift” on the topic of cannabis.

For these reasons alone, the signs are here that what these two men have now pronounced will in fact occur.

The Timetable of Change

By autumn, according to Lauterbach, an overview paper discussing key points of the hearings (which were heard from 200 experts across a range of topics) will be released publicly. This in turn will lead to the drafting of the law to legalize recreational use. The actual debate and presumed passage of the bill have now been pushed back to the beginning of 2023. This means it is unlikely that an actual market will begin here before the beginning of 2024.

The intent, just like it was on the medical plunge, is to make this a four-year experiment that will be re-evaluated after the first period is over.

Other Key Takeaways

Industry sources have consistently spoken up about the need for a tax levy that allows legal cannabis to be price competitive with its black-market counterpart. There have been some discussions on how to manage the potency of product. One way that would not create regulatory but rather market control of price and potency would be to increase the price (and applicable tax) for products with a higher level of THC. This presumably also leaves the door open to a conversation beyond flower that moves quickly into both concentrates and edibles).

Beyond this, advertising is likely to be a part of the mix. A complete ban on the same will make it hard for the market to establish itself – and therefore is probably unlikely. This is especially true as German pharmacies, including cannabis specialty pharmacies, do not seem to want to be on the front lines of the rec experiment, unlike Switzerland.

Online sales are also likely to be verboten – at least at first.
Stay tuned. The results of the paper when published will have far more concrete suggestions as well as predict more accurately what will be both in (and out) of the now pending and absolutely historic law to make Germany, the world’s fourth-largest economy, a green and cannabis-friendly place.

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Employment Law And Cannabis In South Africa

Written by Marguerite Arnold on July 5, 2022. Posted in Policy.

An employment case over personal (and medical use) has caught the attention of a country in transition on cannabis reform

The issue of cannabis use and employment is a sticky one. For Americans old enough to remember it, mandatory drug testing for most kinds of employment became a reality in the late eighties and early nineties. Cannabis users, because of the length of time the metabolites stay in the human body, were affected the most.

Now, as the White House is criticized for subjecting its staff to zero-tolerance policies, but the states are moving forward on eliminating this kind of discrimination, the topic is starting to show up elsewhere and in jurisdictions where cannabis reform is moving forward on a federal level.

In South Africa, a woman has just lost a case before a Johannesburg Labour Court on the claim that she was discriminated against and fired illegally for using cannabis while not on the job. She worked in an administrative office position from which she was fired after she had repeatedly tested positive for use – albeit not during working hours. She also testified that she had used cannabis for both medical and spiritual reasons.

The court cited her lack of medical evidence as cause to deny her a discrimination claim as well as the existing zero-tolerance policy of the employer. More tellingly, however, the judge also ruled that to have ruled in her favour would have created a precedent that would impact the company unfairly.

Medical Use, Employment Policies and Reform

The timing of this case is certainly interesting, given the fact that South Africa is moving ahead with at least medical reform – and in a very big way. Beyond this, the country’s Supreme Court has ruled that personal use cannot be criminalized. This would, one would assume, also include negative repercussions in other areas of life – and labour law is also of course considered to fall under the civil rights section of every cannon of written law.

As a result, it may well become a bellwether case.

The ability to find a prescribing doctor in South Africa, as it is elsewhere, remains not only difficult but expensive. Yet courts (everywhere cannabis laws are reforming) are only slowly coming to this understanding.

The unwillingness in this case to set a precedent – and further under such conditions – seems destined to make sure that this will indeed be a case that is remembered. Namely as one which penalized someone for medical use – up to and including the loss of long-term employment.

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Isle Of Man Issues First Medical Cannabis License

Written by Marguerite Arnold on July 5, 2022. Posted in Business, Policy.

The island off the northwest coast of England is moving into the medical cannabis game

The Isle of Man, located to the west of the UK and approximately the same distance from England, Ireland, and Scotland, has just become a cannabis-producing country – even if for now still in theory. Namely, this self-governing island also considered a “possession of the crown” since 1828, has issued its first medical cannabis cultivation license.

The treeless island approximately 30 miles long and 10 miles wide is at an interesting crossroads when it comes to its economy. While fishing, agriculture and smuggling were all important parts of the economy in its past, these days offshore financial services, hi-tech manufacturing and tourism make up the majority of the island’s economy.

Cannabis is viewed by island authorities as another interesting opportunity.

Indeed, according to Enterprise Minister Tim Crookall, this development “represents the dawn of a new economic sector.”

An Interesting Path to Market

The progress so far on the island has been slow but steady. The applications to enter the industry were initially issued in June 2021. Unlike other places, the medical license was granted not by the Department of Health, but the Gambling Supervision Commission – which has been tasked to regulate the sector.

Medical cannabis is not yet available on the island, however a license to import and dispense it has also now just been granted – although this will also only be available to those with private healthcare coverage.

The Emerging British Cannabis Island Economy

One of the more intriguing aspects of this development is that cannabis cultivation projects are flourishing not on the mainland – but just off of it. This is true not only of the Manx cannabis cultivation project but what is going on just south of the UK on the Channel Islands. Medical reform is now done and dusted and Guernsey’s government is now openly considering a domestic recreational market.

Beyond this, it is far from inconceivable that such developments will not dovetail, at some point, with ongoing campaigns for broader medical access as well as the now booming CBD market and the nascent fully recreational one on the mainland.

It is easier to pass new kinds of legislation, like cannabis reform, in these smaller, semi-independent jurisdictions – and most of them need some kind of economic development project that will garner export sales to at least the British mainland.

For these reasons, it is likely that the islands around the UK will be hotbeds of forwarding cannabis reform for at least the next decade.

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Cannabis Related Political Prisoner? The Brittney Griner Case Goes To Court

Written by Marguerite Arnold on July 4, 2022. Posted in Policy.

The two-time Gold Medallist faces up to 10 years in prison for possession of less than 1 gram of cannabis. Critics are crying foul – calling this a trumped-up political case to swap prisoners

The cold war between the US and Russia may be hotter than it has been in decades over the Ukraine war. However, a cannabis-related case may be where one of the forces of détente and legalization shows what has changed in the world and what has not.

For those who have not been following the case, American sports star Brittney Griner arrived in Russia this February to play in the country during the American off-season. This is a common practice for many American sports players who can sometimes make more money abroad than they can at home.

Upon her arrival, she was arrested for possession.

Calling On the Biden White House

Griner’s wife has now made the charge that US officials, who did not reveal the case to the public until the beginning of March, have done very little to help her imprisoned spouse. In an interview with CNN, Cherelle Griner said that so far, the actions of American authorities had been insufficient. She also said she hoped to meet with Joe Biden because he has the power to repatriate her wife.

So far, Griner has no complaints about how she has been treated.

Prisoner exchanges for this type of crime and of course someone of this stature, are not uncommon between the two countries.

The great irony of course is that the Biden White House is struggling with its own cannabis policies right now, not to mention presiding over a country on the verge of recreational reform – if it can ever pass the senate.

The Great Criminal Injustices of the 2020s

It may well be, looking back at this period of time with a twenty to thirty-year rear-view mirror, that the continued criminalization and incarceration of cannabis users even as large sections of the world are now moving to at least medical cannabis reform, will be one of the worst injustices of this period of time.

It is of course not just Russia which is still threatening users with both criminal charges and jail time related to cannabis possession and use. Even in places like Germany, with recreational reform now pending in the legislature, over 185,000 individuals face criminal penalties for the same thing. In the US, cannabis-related arrests are clearly down, but too many people face the same issue.

The shadow from the War on Cannabis is long indeed.

Why Is It Taking So Long To Legalize Cannabis Cultivation In Italy?

Written by Johnny Green on July 4, 2022. Posted in Policy.

Formal talks to explore legalizing cannabis home cultivation nationwide in Italy are officially underway. Per Corriere delle Alpi as of last week (auto-translated to English), “The general discussion on the cultivation, sale and consumption of cannabis and its derivatives begins in the Chamber.”

Before cannabis enthusiasts and advocates around the world get too excited, it’s probably worth noting that what will unfold in Italy will likely be a long process, which if that does indeed prove to be the case, will be unfortunate. Cannabis prohibition policies as they pertain to home cultivation and any other facet of cannabis consumption, possession, and distribution are failed public policies. That is true both within Italy and everywhere else that prohibition exists.

With that in mind, lawmakers in Italy need to get on the right side of history and end prohibition. That’s an opinion that is not only shared by cannabis enthusiasts inside and outside of Italy, but also within judicial circles in Italy, including at the highest level (no pun intended).

Landmark Supreme Court Decision

In 2019 Italy’s Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling in which it struck down cannabis prohibition as it pertained to personal cannabis cultivation. The Court’s decision was fairly brief, being only one page in length, and containing the words, “at home, small-scale cultivation activities are to be considered excluded from the application of the penal code.”

At the time, the decision was hailed across the globe, and rightfully so. However, since the decision was rendered lawmakers have failed to pass a measure to codify the Court’s decision, as the decision left many unanswered questions, not the least of which is ‘what constitutes small-scale cultivation?’

The specific case that Italy’s Supreme Court reviewed and rendered a decision on back in 2019 involved an individual cultivating 2 plants. Does that mean that there should be a two-plant limit in Italy? More plants? Does the space in which the cannabis is being cultivated matter? Can the plants be cultivated in public view, such as on a balcony or in a backyard surrounded by balconies on neighboring properties? The Court’s decision was favorable, however, it’s up to lawmakers to firm it up and fill in the blanks.

Recent Referendum Sends A Clear Message

In 2021 activists in Italy made the most of a new provision for gathering signatures for referendums, gathering hundreds of thousands of signatures electronically in mere weeks in order to put cannabis legalization before the nation’s voters. The speed at which the signature-gathering effort reached its 600k+ goal was inspiring and spoke volumes about how much voters in Italy want to see an end to cannabis prohibition.

Unfortunately, despite gathering the necessary signatures, the referendum effort was blocked essentially at the last step of the process by Italy’s Supreme Court, which deemed the referendum measure to be unconstitutional. Once again, Italy’s Supreme Court put the issue squarely on national lawmakers.

How long the process will take to end cannabis prohibition in Italy, both for home cultivation and beyond, is anyone’s guess at this point. Activists have tried for a long time to get Italy on the right side of history and it has been slow going (not for a lack of effort!). With that being said, the domestic process to legalize home cultivation in Italy is not happening in a vacuum.

While Italian lawmakers continue to drag their feet several other countries in Europe and around the world are working towards not only legalizing home cultivation but also creating legal adult-use industries. As momentum continues to build outside of Italy, especially on the European continent, it will continue to add to the pressure directed at Italian lawmakers within Italy’s borders.

Indonesia Exploring Medical Cannabis Reform

Written by Frank Schuler on July 4, 2022. Posted in Policy.

Indonesia is home to some of the harshest cannabis penalties on earth. In fact, people can still receive the death penalty as a punishment for certain cannabis offenses in Indonesia.

Thailand, which shares a maritime border with Indonesia, recently implemented a new cannabis policy that significantly boosted access to cannabis, and people had to be reminded that if they brought cannabis into Indonesia from Thailand that they could be put to death.

Given that background and context, it was significant earlier this week when officials in Indonesia expressed a willingness to explore medical cannabis reform. Per Bloomberg:

Indonesian lawmakers will discuss a plan to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes, after a mother’s plea for the treatment for her child spread widely online.

Legislators will study the plan with the health ministry, parliament’s Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad said in a statement on Tuesday. Any changes would be done by revising the narcotics law, which bans the use of cannabis except for certain research purposes, he added.

Santi Warastuti went viral for joining Jakarta’s crowded car-free day on Sunday while bringing a placard that said, “Help, my child needs medical marijuana.” Her child has cerebral palsy. Dasco met Warastuti in Jakarta on Tuesday, and vowed to raise the issue with legislators who are deliberating the law.

Medical cannabis reform has swept the globe in recent decades, particularly in the Western Hemisphere and Europe. Asia has been much slower to reform its laws, although that is changing.

It’s likely a safe bet that if Indonesia does legalize cannabis for medical use, which is a huge ‘if’ to be sure, the policy that they implement will be extremely strict.

One thing working in every country’s favor in the region is Thailand’s new cannabis policy, which is demonstrating in real-time that reform is better than prohibition. Hopefully that is a fact that is not lost on lawmakers in Indonesia (and elsewhere).

Pakistan’s Ministry Of Science And Technology Is Forming Cannabis Authority

Written by Frank Schuler on June 29, 2022. Posted in Policy, Science.

Industrial hemp is legal in Pakistan, with the country harvesting its first legal hemp crop late last year. Unfortunately, all other forms of cannabis are still prohibited in the conservative country.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Science and Technology wants to change that. Despite Pakistan never allowing cannabis consumption in the modern era, the Ministry is ramping up a push to reform the country’s cannabis laws to permit some type of use. Per Pro Pakistani:

The Secretary of the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) said that Pakistan can generate $8 billion in revenue within four years by implementing a policy on cannabis.

He stated this during a meeting of the Standing Committee on Science and Technology under the chairmanship of Senator Shafiq Tarin.

The committee discussed that the government could earn $2 billion in revenue in a matter of months by developing a policy on cannabis use.

Based on the experiences of other nations, the projections and timelines being floated in Pakistan are likely a bit too ambitious. It will take time to successfully transition Pakistan from complete prohibition to a thriving industry capable of yielding billions in public revenue.

However, the fact that Pakistan is pursuing cannabis reform in any fashion is a good thing. Just as prohibition has failed everywhere else on earth, it’s a failed public policy in Pakistan as well.

Cannabis Use Increases Across The World

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

According to the UN, legalization and the Pandemic have increased use globally

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime has come to an unsurprising conclusion when it comes to cannabis use. Legalization and the Covid Pandemic have increased use.

According to the UN at least, this has also “raised a risk” of depression and suicide, although they also note that use among teenagers has not increased appreciably.

However, the causality between increased depression and cannabis use was not proven. In fact, cannabis users were lumped in with users of other drugs such as heroin, cocaine, and ecstasy.

Trying to claim that cannabis is directly responsible for causing an increase in generalized mental illness during unprecedented global events like a Pandemic is far from helpful. The entire world shut down. People’s livelihoods, as well as their working conditions, were profoundly disrupted. So was the ability to socialize.

This, rather than drug use of any kind is more likely to lead to depression than cannabis use. Indeed, it is also becoming clearer that cannabis use can actually help alleviate both depression and severe trauma.

However, this approach is an unfortunate and telling sign of where the bias about cannabis use lies at the international agency.

A Global Schedule I?

It is precisely this kind of prejudice that still confronts the entire discussion of cannabis reform. It is also why the discussion about moving cannabis from a Schedule I substance on a global basis is so critical. That said, it is also clear that this will not happen at an international level but rather at a sovereign and regional one.

This is also why the current discussion discussions in Germany right now about how to proceed given international treaties are so critical to further international progress. Some people are claiming that Germany cannot proceed with recreational sales because of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. However, this is profoundly circular logic. Indeed, at the last UN meeting on the topic, the discussion was to leave reform up to individual countries.

The reality is that cannabis is not a drug like cocaine or heroin. It is overdue that both national and international policy reflected this.

Sadly, until it does, the UN will continue to produce these kinds of reports.