ICBCC-admin, Author at International Cannabis Chronicle

Research Is Picking Up For Cannabis And Covid

Written by ICBCC-admin on January 18, 2022. Posted in Archives, Science.

There are several studies and now a UK trial is planned to examine the efficacy of cannabis on Covid. What gives?

Since the beginning of the Covid 19 Pandemic, there have been growing claims, although not backed by research or trials, that cannabinoids can affect Covid. On the face of it, it makes sense, as cannabis has marked anti-inflammatory properties.

However, up until now, such claims have been mired in controversy, simply because there had been no formal research backing it up.

Medical Trials Are Underway

That appears to be now formally changing.

At the beginning of January, Oregon State University released research that revealed that hemp compounds, used via a chemical screening technique invented at the university, show the ability to prevent the virus that causes COVID-19 from entering human cells. The research shows that CBGA and CBDA bind to the SARS CoV-2 spike protein, thereby blocking a critical step in the infection process in humans. This “spike protein” is the same drug target used by the current Covid vaccines.

Beyond this announcement by the OSU College of Pharmacy, which was covered globally, an Australian company, BOD, has just announced a UK trial to use cannabis to treat long COVID symptoms. The company was given leave to test its CBD products by the UK’s Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Agency. 30 trial participants have already been recruited.

The Big Ifs

There are many in the industry who are looking at the development of such research with extreme skepticism. After all, this is hardly the first time such claims have been made. What appears to be different this time, however, is that there is the beginning of medical data and trial research to back them up.

However, those hoping that perhaps this development might immediately aid full cannabis reform might find themselves sadly disappointed, even in the UK. The best this might do is formalize the medical use of CBD, which has already been accomplished, and the cannabis used in turn would have to be EU GMP certified to qualify as a medical product. It is also unlikely that such pronouncements impacted the recent French decision to allow flower sales along with the rest of its CBD market (that has more to do with EU law).

Regardless, what this has done has again focussed the attention on the importance of (at least) formally and fully decriminalizing the medical use of cannabis. And this in turn will lead to greater reform, even if not in the next 12 months.

Covid

Spanish Cannabis Reform: A Rumble On The Horizon

Written by ICBCC-admin on January 11, 2022. Posted in Archives, Policy.

The entire cannabis conversation has moved forward, dramatically, over the last year in Europe. Where does this leave Spain?

As anyone who has watched the American market, in particular, jolt slowly forward over the last seven years is beginning to see, there are similarities to what is going on in Europe now. Nothing is exactly the same of course, and the reform on the table here is sovereign rather than state. Regardless, there are indeed curious parallels afoot.

Even leaving Switzerland out of this (as it is outside of the EU), Germany has now joined the list of nations to put cannabis reform on its legislative “to do” list along with Portugal, Malta crossed the line and even France has now formalized its CBD market. In this context, the issue of Spanish reform looms large. This is even more true as Holland formalizes its cultivation market nationally and Luxembourg begins to dip its tentative heels into the seed market.

Spain, particularly given the fact that its industry is organized roughly in a cross between what Holland is (coffee shops as the focus of the retail trade but a yet formally legal cultivation network) and what Switzerland is rapidly shaping up to be, is now on the hot seat to begin to formalize this entire discussion. This is even more true given what is about to happen right next door in Portugal.

Where Do Things Stand in Spain?

The issue of reform is even more pressing given the kinds of danger those who run the clubs still face. Albert Tió, the man given credit for kicking off the entire club discussion in Spain, is still serving jail time. Yet those in both Barcelona and the Basque region (the area of the country with the second-highest concentration of clubs), have bravely fought on through the Pandemic to establish a formal industry, not to mention the federal and even EU level reform that must precede it.

Cannabis is technically decriminalized in the country. GMP grade cannabis production is also taking place (four licenses to do so have been issued by the national medication agency here).

However, the grey zones are rapidly becoming less attractive for an industry that has both survived if not thrived in the Pandemic and further, seen significant progress just over national borders within the same region.

Indeed, both Spain and Greece are front and centre for announcements of further reform, and activists if not the flourishing industry are well aware of the same, not to mention what is afoot in Central and South America. That is why for many their new year’s resolution in 2022 is cannabis reform now, en españa.

Spain

France Formalizes Its CBD Rules – But The Fight Is Just Beginning

Written by ICBCC-admin on January 11, 2022. Posted in Archives, Policy.

The country issued new guidelines right before the new year – but while it spells good news for manufactured products, cultivators are up in arms.

In a significant move for not only France but a wider European conversation beyond that, the French authorities moved to formalize rules on CBD at a national level at the end of 2021. That they did so at the very end of the year, on December 30, has not quelled the already bubbling controversy.

Here is why. Broadly, the French Ministry of Solidarity and Health issued an order to implement Article R. 5132-86 of the Public Health code which now authorizes the CBD market. There are some winners in this – namely every producer who does not sell flowers directly (which includes herbal teas). The losers? Every cultivator and product producer who sells the leaves directly to the public, even though the regulation also allows the increase of THC in hemp cultivation from .02 to .03% as well.

That is a huge segment of the market – not only from a cultivator but also retail sales perspective. The professional organization of CBD Purveyors, the Union des Professionals du CBD, has stated that flower sales are currently 70% of their market, and of course is leading the charge against the new flower sale ban.

Importance In the Discussion

This is not the first time the strange path to legalization in France has sparked attention. The country has been moving achingly slowly forward to recognize medical use. In the meantime, CBD is being lumped, as it is in places like Germany, in an odd place where the raw flower is frequently also banned, outright. In Deutschland, hemp tea has also been on the front end of legal fights over the last few years that are still unresolved, even in the face of recreational reform simply because cannabis remains in the German Narcotics Act.

That said, the fact that now France (and Switzerland) have clearly amended their Narcotics Acts to allow the sale of both CBD and in Switzerland’s case THC, also spells an end to futile arguments on the German side of the border about how difficult dealing with this issue is. Namely, all that must be done is to do it, and further in a way that now three European countries have now done. See Malta.

It was also France where the Kannavape case (which this is also the direct result of) created a European precedent on the cross-border sale of CBD (and further for smoking).

It is in other words, no matter how strangely piecemeal, France, where the CBD market for Europe may first be nationally defined, despite all the kicking and screaming.

France

Adult-Use Sales In Germany May Go Beyond Pharmacy Distribution

Written by ICBCC-admin on January 11, 2022. Posted in Archives, Business, Policy.

Germany is currently home to Europe’s largest legal cannabis industry. Part of that is due to Germany’s population of roughly 83 million people and part of that is also due to Germany being home to the fourth-largest economy on earth.

Another contributing factor is Germany’s approach to medical cannabis policy and the nation’s medical cannabis industry framework. Germany has embraced the medical cannabis industry in ways that most other countries have yet to do, both in Europe and abroad.

Every passing year results in Germany’s medical cannabis industry becoming larger, and that is being accelerated by domestic cannabis production. Initially, Germany imported all of its medical cannabis products which resulted in Germany being the world’s largest importer of medical cannabis (over 9,000 kilograms in 2020 alone).

Germany is no longer the largest importer of medical cannabis. Israel recently took over that title. However, the industry is as strong as ever, and when Germany legalizes cannabis for adult use and launches an adult-use industry in the near future, the nation’s emerging cannabis industry will be enormous.

Hints Of Regulations

Germany’s Federal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP) recently participated in an interview during which he provided quite a bit of insight into what Germany’s eventual adult-use cannabis industry may look like.

The governing coalition previously indicated a desire to legalize cannabis for adult use, and part of the policy change would include regulations for adult-use sales. Below are additional emerging details via Radio Eins (translated from German):

The goal agreed by the SPD, Greens and FDP in the coalition agreement is clear: “It should be legally possible for adults to buy cannabis in licensed shops,” said the Minister of the German Press Agency. This could be pharmacies, for example, “but we may also continue to draw the circle”. A prerequisite could be a “required expertise of the sales staff”. This would enable the salespeople to “provide information about the products and counteract risky cannabis use, especially in the case of recognizable addicts”.

For him, as Minister of Justice, it is clear: “If there are shops that are legally allowed to sell cannabis, then there must also be producers who are allowed to grow and sell it legally”. Possession must then also be legal for adults up to a maximum limit to be stipulated in the law. And cannabis will be “subject to some form of taxation, like other consumer products”.

Adult-Use Cannabis Taxation

Cannabis taxes were also discussed during the interview, and the Minister indicated that he was not worried about taxation making it harder to compete with the unregulated market.

As long as the taxation is not too burdensome, most consumers will not care about higher prices up to a point. The benefit of being able to go into a fixed location during set business hours to choose from a variety of products in a legal setting is well worth an additional cost within reason.

Germany

Spain Needs To Take Its Rightful Place As A Global Cannabis Leader

Written by ICBCC-admin on January 6, 2022. Posted in Archives, Policy.

Spain, particularly Barcelona, has been home to a vibrant cannabis community for many years. Cannabis is very easy to acquire throughout most of Spain where roughly 1 out of every 10 adults consumes cannabis annually, and it’s no secret that Spain has long served as the top destination for world-class Moroccan hashish.

When it comes to cannabis clubs, Spain has some of the best on the entire planet. Home to roughly 47 million people, Spain is also home to hundreds of cannabis clubs with a majority of them operating in the Barcelona area. The clubs are private and require a membership, however, they are extremely popular and most people have been able to join if they are willing to jump through the necessary hoops.

Barcelona is one of the most beautiful cities on earth, and we are very excited to once again be teaming up with Spannabis to put on the world’s largest cannabis superconference this March. Barcelona is a hotbed for cannabis clubs due to a 2016 regulation approved by the Barcelona City Council which permitted cannabis clubs to operate in the city.

Unfortunately, that regulation was overturned in 2021 by Catalonia’s Superior Court, leaving Barcelona’s entire social cannabis club scene in a state of limbo. Technically, such clubs are considered to be illegal under Spanish law, however, with so many cannabis clubs already in operation shutting them all down is likely to prove to be an impossible task. Even if some get shut down, more will presumably open up.

Lawmakers Need To Accept Reality

Cannabis prohibition does not work, and there is zero evidence that it stops humans from consuming the cannabis plant. Instead, people just do it in the shadows, all the while living in fear. This also applies to cannabis clubs. The clubs in Spain serve a vital function for suffering patients by providing them safe access, and they provide a safer alternative for consumers compared to many other substances that are legal in Spain, including and especially alcohol. Prohibiting them will not make them go away. Rather, it will just make them less safe.

Spain is world-famous for its cannabis, its cannabis community, and specifically, its cannabis clubs. Rather than sticking their heads in the sand and acting as if the clubs will go away, lawmakers in Spain need to embrace cannabis clubs and let Spain take its rightful place as a global cannabis industry tourism leader.

Such a move would create jobs, generate public revenue via fees and taxes, and eliminate any costs to taxpayers that are tied to enforcing cannabis club prohibitions. Cannabis clubs are going to exist in Spain no matter what. Spain might as well regulate them and reap the benefits from doing so.

Spain Needs Adult-Use Legalization

Full adult-use cannabis legalization has obviously failed to pass in Spain as of this article’s posting. For many years it was easy for lawmakers in Spain to drag their feet, to refuse to take action, and to point their fingers elsewhere. That approach is going to be harder to stick with as cannabis legalization spreads across the European continent.

At the end of 2021, Malta became the first country in Europe to pass an adult-use legalization measure. Malta’s legalization model will include legalizing cannabis clubs, which will serve as the primary source for people to acquire cannabis beyond cultivating it themselves. Luxembourg, Italy, and Germany are all on the cusp of legalization. Certain jurisdictions in Switzerland and the Netherlands are participating in a legalization pilot program. All of that reform puts pressure on lawmakers in Spain to step up.

Spain is at a vital crossroads right now. Lawmakers in Spain can continue to cling to failed cannabis prohibition policies and only allow a very limited medical cannabis industry to operate, or they can embrace the emerging cannabis industry and benefit in ways that many other countries cannot due to how well-known Spain is for cannabis. Only time will tell which one it ends up being.

Spain

British Food Standards Agency To Publish CBD Guidelines

Written by ICBCC-admin on January 4, 2022. Posted in Archives, Policy.

The regulatory agency is about to release a guide of legal CBD products in the UK market

Sometime in the next few weeks, the British Food Standards Agency (FSA) will publish details about the CBD companies and products allowed to remain on sale in the UK market.

The move comes as 210 applications for CBD products are still in consideration. Late last year, the FSA claimed that the reason this document is almost 9 months late is because of the ‘quality of applications” was lower than expected.

It is now expected that the FSA will potentially issue several documents. One is a public list of validated products, the second is a list of applications for products likely to be approved.

While it is a frustrating process for all involved, it does create, at last, a formal regulatory and approvals infrastructure for CBD products specifically.

This puts the UK ahead of several other countries at least on a regulatory front. This includes Germany, where CBD is still technically regulated under the German Narcotics Act (although CBD products are on sale in the country). It also includes Italy and France, which just issued national guidelines for the cannabinoid on December 31.

What Next?

The decision by the FSA could be the regulatory peg that the developing industry in-country hangs its hat on. This will, for the first time, allow a conversation to proceed that well may become the first regulatory schemata for the entire British industry. This in turn may help other cannabinoids, like THC, become more accepted.

So far, tragically, on the THC front, the British government has put the brakes on including medical cannabis as a covered prescription under national healthcare. As a result, the only medical cannabis available in the country is imported and further, not accessible to anyone who cannot afford both the medication and the prescription costs.

The Future of The British Cannabis Industry

It is unlikely that moving events on the continent are going to pass the UK by. Germany has just announced its intention to move forward with full boat recreational cannabis. Luxembourg, Malta, and presumably Luxembourg will all move forward in this year. Beyond this, the French have finally begun to accept CBD as a legitimate cannabinoid.

It is unlikely the Brexited British will sit this one out entirely.

How fast further reform will come, however, is still very much in the air. The silver lining of this cloud, however, is that cannabis reform has moved another step forward in the UK.

Britain, CBD, United Kingdom

Switzerland’s Federal Court Decriminalizes Minor Possession Of Cannabis

Written by ICBCC-admin on January 4, 2022. Posted in Archives, Policy.

The Federal Court of Justice has just ruled in favour of decriminalizing possession of up to 10 grams of cannabis

In a move that is well-timed – namely right before the new Swiss recreational cannabis trial begins, the Swiss Federal Court of Justice has decriminalized minor possession of cannabis. The ruling is in support of a District Court of Zurich decision in 2016 when a student refused to pay the fine for possessing 8 grams.

News moves quickly in the cannabis world these days. In Zurich, the City Council has already taken an official stance on decriminalization based on the court’s ruling.

Why Is This Important?

There are several reasons why this development is important.

The first is that supposedly, technically, and legally, this puts a damper on fines for minor possession, hopefully for the last time. The police were supposed to stop issuing fines four years ago. Despite this, the Zurich police at least have said they will still “report small quantities” even though individuals can now no longer be fined.

However, beyond this, the implications are major both domestically and right across the border, starting with the idea that a European country (even if not in the EU) will take steps to amend its national Narcotics Act. This in turn will provide a guide for (at least) Germany which will have to do the same thing as soon as it passes some kind of recreational reform.

Where Switzerland Goes…

While every country will implement cannabis laws in different strategies and time periods, one thing is for sure. Switzerland may be outside of the EU, but its evolving marketplace may well prove to be more of a template for other countries now moving towards cannabis legalization than either Holland (within the EU) or North American examples (the U.S. and Canada).

This is important for several reasons, starting with the fact that right over the border in Germany, there is already a fierce debate about the form that the German retail cannabis market may take. Switzerland’s approach, namely backing distribution into pharmacies and social clubs, may well in fact be a model that Germany also adopts, at least initially.

Beyond this, however, it is conceivable that at least German legislators may well take another page out of the Swiss legalization book – namely starting a recreational “experiment” rather than full boat market all at once.

No matter what happens in the coming months, however, Switzerland at least, is clearing the books of outdated laws, and becoming a model in this regard for countries in the EU to follow.

Switzerland

Removing Cannabis From The German Narcotics Act – Is It A Pipe Dream?

Written by ICBCC-admin on December 28, 2021. Posted in Archives, Policy.

Thailand has just done it, why can’t Germany?

With all the celebratory hoopla that came with the news that Germany would, finally, after experimenting with the medical question during the last four years of the Angela Merkel headed, CDU led government, now move with the new Traffic Light Coalition into the future that includes recreational reform, have now come the inevitable questions.

Namely, for all the excitement, those on the regulatory and legal side of the coin have already been raising red flags about how quickly all of this could move – even if the government does enact formal adult-use legislation next summer or fall.

Namely, cannabis is still listed in the German Narcotics Act. And this still trips up even the CBD industry here. See, if nothing else, the embarrassing police raid on a national grocery store in Munich that may (or even may not) have been selling THC-free, CBD cookies and other “cannabis” products (as advertised by the store themselves) just this year.

However, as Thailand has just proved, this legal doom and gloom may be a bit displaced. See what just happened here. Namely, the government just removed cannabis from their national narcotics act completely.

Is This Realistic in Germany?

There will, no doubt, be a great deal of discussion about how to proceed with a recreational market while preserving the status of cannabis (even the flower) as a medical substance.

Here is the difference between how things are proceeding in Germany vs. Thailand. The first is that in Thailand, the government has allowed a waiver of GMP standards for medical cannabis if it is grown domestically. Local farmers are allowed to deliver plants directly to hospitals.

This seems highly unlikely aus Deutschland, home of the modern pharmaceutical industry (along with the U.S.), birthed in the 1930s.

However, one should not entirely count this kind of development out. Indeed, just over DACH border, in Switzerland, authorities are (sort of) doing the same thing as the Thai government with the advent of their own recreational trial. Namely, they are also waiving both EU GMP and Novel Food regulation on early-stage, trial products for adult use market products.

These, however, in turn, will first be distributed via pharmacies, which themselves are under strict national and international regulatory rules, even if Switzerland is outside of the EU.

Beyond this, the Czech Republic also seems to be going a similar route. So, the idea the Thai government is now implementing is not unknown here.

That said, given the amount of money the government itself stands to make from recreational licensing, it is unlikely. And many questions remain about how the Germans will in fact proceed. It is also unlikely that the plant will be removed from the Narcotics Act completely, but rather provisions made for its use in both medical and non-medical situations, the latter of which could easily resemble the alcohol industry. Then again, this being the cannabis industry, it is impossible to predict what the path will actually be, even after the establishment of the market itself at least on the federal regulatory level.

Germany

The World From Here: Cannabis Reform Europe Roundup 2021

Written by ICBCC-admin on December 28, 2021. Posted in Archives, Policy.

The discussion has moved forward increasingly faster this year, in large part after September because of the new German government’s decision to enact federal recreational reform as of 2022

In every revolution, there is a tipping point in time – and on the topic of recreational cannabis reform and Europe, this is indeed that moment.

Significant reform is now in the offing in several European countries, beyond Switzerland, starting of course, with Germany. The pace-setting country is in this space in part because of its population and rich economy. It is also clear because of recent political developments that include the decision in 2017 to move forward on federal medical reform as well as the newly announced decision by the newly formed Traffic Light Coalition to enact recreational reform as early as next year.

Beyond Germany, of course, there have been, particularly in the last quarter of the year, significant announcements, and progress reports all over Europe. Malta just announced that they are in fact the first mover on a recreational market in the EU, with Luxembourg likely to be a hair’s whisker behind with a market that at least at first, looks remarkably similar.

Portugal is also not out for the count – with a government snap election pushing back the inevitability of reform here as well – now almost certain to be reintroduced next year if only to keep pace with the Germans. Italy is also likely to move forward with at least a reform that allows home grow if not like Luxembourg and Malta, the public sale of seeds.

In the Czech Republic, the increased blending of medical and recreational markets (namely the use of GACP rather than GMP cannabis in the medical market) is also a model that is likely to have some kind of impact on blended markets going forward. See Switzerland as the prime European example of the same, even if not in the EU.

Do not forget that Greece is still also moving forward on the development of its medical market, as is neighbour to the north, North Macedonia.

Spain is also likely to finally move forward on some kind of regulation of its coffee shop trade, particularly as Holland also moves, however slowly and painfully, to a national model of regulatory reform and procedure.

Denmark is also likely to announce the details of its own recreational trial too, especially as the medical market continues to take shape.

In short, 2021 has been much like the U.S. in 2012 where two American states – Colorado and Washington State, voted to create recreational markets. The difference, of course, is that all this reform in Europe is of the federal kind.

Regional Reform & The Outliers

There are still a few larger fights on the horizon, both on the sovereign and then of course regional level. Outliers even in the medical discussion include not just France but Poland as well as other countries particularly in the eastern part of the region.

On a regional level, expect recreational reform to move far more slowly. There is still wide disagreement on the implementation of this kind of guidance even in the low THC, hemp market.

Regardless, the cannabis genie is out of the bottle here, as of this year. And no matter when actual sales now begin to happen, it will never be stuffed back.

Europe

Author: ICBCC-admin