State Of The Cannabis European Market On April 20, 2022

The market in Europe is poised for great things – but many obstacles remain

Here is the first thing to remember as you celebrate 4/20 this year in Europe. There is still a need for cannabis legalization marches to further reform – as are happening all over the EU this spring. The promise of greater legalization still hangs tantalizingly in the air, but there have been just as many setbacks as victories over the last few months.

Here is a quick roundup of some of them.

The Wins

The British have finally begun a federally regulated CBD market when the Food Safety Authority (FSA) issued a list of 3,500 products that may be legally marketed and sold in the country. This means, for the first time on this side of the Pond that CBD products may be integrated, legally, into everything from shop displays to “adverts” as the British call advertisements. Channel 4, one of the largest British TV channels, even invested in a CBD company.

In Europe, but outside of the EU, Switzerland is clearly also powering forward to implement the first federal recreational trial in the region.

In the meantime, according to a Europe-wide poll in the last couple of weeks, more than half of Europeans support the idea of full and final recreational cannabis reform.

The Bad News

Everyone is slow off the bat this year in proceeding with promised legalization reforms. The German government is signaling that its first proposal will not even be released publicly before late 2022 if not 2023. Portugal’s new government has yet to put forth a proposal to legalize as was widely anticipated last year from the old government. Luxembourg’s leaders are being equally cagey about implementing much-promised domestic reform. France is at a standstill thanks to national elections where a right-wing, anti-cannabis candidate may win the election over cannabis-shy Emmanuel Macron. And in Spain, the police just busted what they called “Europe’s largest cannabis plantation” growing industrial hemp (which is legal in Spain), destroying over $100 million of product in the process.

It is Time to Make Cannabis Legalization a Political Priority in Europe

For all the political compromises and ongoing criminalization of legitimate businesses to individuals – whether they are recreational users or patients – cannabis reform should not be pushed to a backburner. With rising inflation and stagnating economic growth thanks to both Covid and the Ukraine War, this industry promises green recovery, jobs, and much-needed tax revenue.

No is no longer an option. Cannabis reform, now!