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Tag: Spain

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New Medical Cannabis Industry Regulations Delayed In Spain

Back in June 2022 Spain’s Health and Consumption Commission of the Congress of Deputies approved an opinion of the Medical Cannabis Subcommittee which called for medical cannabis industry regulations.

Part of that approved opinion involved tasking the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products (Aims) to come up with a regulatory plan within 6 months regarding how it would implement the recommendations of the approved opinion.

That six-month deadline expired in December 2022, and here we are in 2023 and it’s still unclear when the plan will be released. Per El Espanol (translated to English):

The agency dependent on the Ministry of Health coordinated by Carolina Darias had a period of 6 months to prepare a document with recommendations so that the regulations have legal requirements and are “viable”. The problem? That document has not arrived. And we are already in 2023.

This means that Health has not met the deadlines and that the great project of Podemos -which the PSOE later embraced- to make medical marijuana a reality before the May elections is complicated.

The government in Spain failing to meet a mandated, cannabis-based deadline is not entirely unique. In October 2018 Mexico’s Supreme Court rendered a decision that deemed cannabis prohibition to be unconstitutional, and tasked lawmakers with passing a legalization measure within a year.

Clearly, lawmakers in Mexico did not meet that original deadline, and have also failed in meeting subsequent deadlines. What is going on in Spain is not an apples to apples comparison to what is going on in Mexico, however, it does highlight that when deadlines are not met it leaves cannabis advocates inside and outside of government scrambling to try to find ways to move the needle in the country where delays are occurring.

We will make sure to continue to keep a very close eye and to monitor the situation in Spain for signs of movement.

Spain

cannabis joint lounge social use space consumption

Could Malta’s Cannabis Club Licensing Model Benefit Spain?

As I often point out, Spain is home to one of the most amazing cannabis communities on earth, particularly Barcelona where we co-host the world’s largest cannabis superconference every year with Spannabis. Whereas cannabis communities are just starting to take off in many parts of the world, Spain’s community was thriving decades ago, and that continues to this day.

The backbone of Spain’s cannabis community is, of course, cannabis clubs. It is no secret that hundreds of cannabis clubs exist throughout Spain, with Barcelona being a particularly popular destination for clubgoers. Clubs are a great way to obtain cannabis and to socialize with like-minded people.

Cannabis clubs are unregulated in Spain, which can be confusing for many people being that there are so many of them. Cannabis clubs are tolerated to a large degree in Spain, however, that doesn’t mean that they are legal. It creates a catch-22 of sorts for cannabis reform advocates, in that the same thing that makes Spain so special (access to lots of clubs) is also the same thing that makes it hard to move the needle.

I have worked as a cannabis activist for a long time and so much of the enthusiasm behind cannabis reform efforts I helped with was predicated on boosting personal freedom. In Spain there seems to be an understandable enthusiasm gap, in that people already experience a great amount of freedom. That, combined with world class cannabis, makes it difficult to get people fired up.

With that being said, cannabis reform still needs to occur in Spain so that selective enforcement is eliminated and that the domestic industry can reach its full potential. Cannabis club operators should be able to get licenses like any other business, albeit with industry specific regulations. Eliminating the uncertainty by regulating clubs would help the situation in many ways.

So what is going to move the needle in Spain? One thing that may yield some movement is legalization elsewhere, such as in Germany. However, Germany’s legalization model doesn’t appear to include clubs, at least not at this time, so it may not be enough of an ‘apples to apples’ situation to raise enough eyebrows in political circles in Spain.

One thing that I am very interested to see unfold, and whether it has any policy butterfly effect on Spain, is the rise of cannabis clubs in Malta. Malta passed a national adult-use legalization measure late last year, making it the first country in Europe to do so.

The measure was largely built on the premise of consumers obtaining their cannabis from non-profit cannabis clubs. The only other way for adults to obtain cannabis is to cultivate it themselves or be gifted it. As we previously reported, Malta is expected to start accepting applications for non-profit cannabis clubs in February, which is obviously not too far away.

It is unclear right now how long it will be after applications are initially collected before the first regulated club is opened, however, things do seem to be moving along. Once Malta officially rolls out its cannabis club licenses, and sets up all of the processes and regulations pertaining to it, it will have created a blueprint for other countries to mimic, including and especially Spain.

I don’t necessarily expect lawmakers in Spain to see it as Malta potentially stealing cannabis tourism away from Spain, but rather, that they will hopefully see that regulating clubs can be done and that Spain could potentially do it in a more economically stimulating way. Only time will tell if that proves to be the case or not.

malta, Spain

cannabis bud leaf plant

Cannabis Bust In Spain Highlights Need For Legalizing Cannabis, Not Continued Prohibition

If you are like me, then you read headlines over the weekend regarding a large cannabis operation bust in Spain. The bust was touted in mainstream media coverage all over the globe as being ‘the largest in Spain’s history.’ According to media coverage, the bust involved roughly 32 tons of cannabis (roughly 64,000 pounds). Or as the BBC put it, “equivalent to more than five adult African elephants.”

To be fair, the bust did involve substantial quantities of cannabis, however, there’s a lot of context that was left out of mainstream media coverage. I don’t know if it was intentional or not, but most of the mainstream media coverage that I read regarding the bust seemed to be straight out of a reefer madness communications guide, which is why I assume that cannabis prohibitionists around the world are pointing to coverage of the bust as some kind of ‘justification’ for continuing prohibition.

The fact of the matter is that this latest bust in Spain will do nothing to curtail the unregulated cannabis market in Spain or Europe in the grand scheme of things. Thirty two tons of cannabis may sound like a lot, but it is hardly enough to supply ‘all of Europe’ as some media coverage seems to imply. The total population of adults in Europe is measured in hundreds of millions, whereas the total reported amount of grams involved in this bust in Spain is measured in the tens of millions, meaning that if the cannabis involved in the bust was provided evenly to adults throughout Europe every adult would get a tiny fraction of one gram. From that perspective, the unregulated market share of this operation is being greatly overexaggerated.

Furthermore, the cannabis involved in this bust may not even all be usable cannabis. How much of the overall weight being reported involved cannabis stems and water leaves? All of the cannabis at the site of the bust may have been technically illegal, however, that is not the same as saying that all of the cannabis involved was truly going to make it to consumers. This bust was significant in size, however, when put into proper context, it’s likely not as big of a deal as some may think.

Cannabis prohibition does not work, which is why the void created by this bust will be quickly filled by other people. The only way to properly mitigate the unregulated market in Spain, Europe, and the rest of the world is to end cannabis prohibition and work to transition cannabis sales into a regulated market. Thankfully, we now know that the concept works being that it’s successfully occurring in more and more jurisdictions around the world, and on a much larger scale compared to what was involved in this latest bust in Spain.

Using the State of Oregon as an example (it is where I live), in just the month of October 2021 alone over 5.5 million pounds (or roughly 2,750 tons) of regulated cannabis was harvested according to the agency that regulates the industry here. That is one state, in one month, and for those that are unaware Oregon is one of the less-populated legal markets in the United States. All of that cannabis is in a regulated system that prevents diversion to the unregulated market, and speaking as a consumer here, I have had no need to search out unregulated sources for several years now because going the regulated route is so much better from a convenience and selection standpoint.

Make no mistake – the cannabis industry is going to exist in Spain and other countries in Europe whether cannabis is legal or not, it’s merely a matter of if that industry will be run by organized crime or government regulators. Lawmakers in Spain are currently making a conscience decision to let cannabis consumer and patient dollars go to organized crime instead of to regulated businesses and the funding of things that everyone in society benefits from, such as public works. Lawmakers in Spain are currently making a conscience decision to let organized crime decide the working conditions of cannabis industry employees instead of workplace safety regulators.

And just as that is true in Spain, it is also true wherever else cannabis prohibition still exists both within the European continent and everywhere else around the world. The bust in Spain is a reminder that cannabis prohibition does not work, and that there is a better way to handle cannabis policy. Spain’s cannabis is world-class, and it’s beyond overdue that the nation adopt a public policy and regulatory framework that embraces the nation’s favorite plant instead of criminalizing it.

Spain

Cannabis regulation in Spain

Why Is Spain Sanctioning People For Cannabis Use?

Spain may not have the highest usage rate when it comes to cannabis on the European continent, however, it does sanction more cannabis users compared to its European counterparts according to a new statistical analysis.

The statistics of the European Observatory collected data provided by various European countries in regards to cannabis sanctions. The data was not for trafficking or cultivating cannabis, only cannabis use.

Even though Spain ranks third among European countries for cannabis use rates, it is first in issuing sanctions to consumers, and second place isn’t close. Per Publico:

Spain is the country in Europe where the use of cannabis is sanctioned the most, and by far , despite the fact that it ranks third in consumption, according to data from the 2022 report of the European Drug Observatory. Such is the difference that in Spain 43% of administrative or criminal offenses have been imposed -depending on the country’s legislation- committed in Europe for consumption or possession of marijuana. And the Citizen Security Law, better known as the Gag Law, has a lot to do with it.

According to the article in Publico, the Czech Republic and France have the greatest cannabis consumption rates in Europe. Compared to the Czech Republic, Spain issues 62 times more sanctions for cannabis use. That’s not 62% – it’s 62 times as many.

Cannabis is easily accessible in Spain, either via a club or a local dealer, and that has been the case for quite a while now. With cannabis reform spreading across the European continent, Spain needs to get it in gear and get on the right side of history.

Malta became the first European nation to pass an adult-use legalization measure late last year, and Germany is trending towards legalization. Countries like Denmark and Switzerland already have adult-use pilot programs.

Spain would be wise to take its rightful spot as a continental cannabis industry leader by passing reform measures. Cannabis prohibition is a failed public policy, and that is true in Spain just as it is true everywhere else.

Spain

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Spanish General Counsel Of Official Colleges Of Physicians Plans To Train Doctors In Cannabis Care

The formal approval of cannabis for medical purposes in Spain has created a demand to train doctors in prescribing medical cannabis

The Spanish General Council of Official Colleges of Physicians has announced plans to train doctors to prescribe medical cannabis. This endeavor however is not something specific to cannabis reform, but rather incorporates cannabis into already existing training programs for new medicines in general.

There is no date set for the initiation of the new program.

The Urgent Need for Doctor Training and Education

The need for doctors who understand how to administer cannabis as medicine has never been more urgent. As recreational reform how hangs in the balance in multiple European countries, how the drug interacts with the human body is an issue that still needs to be better understood – no matter the intention of the user.

There are several reasons for this. The first is, of course, medical. Most mainstream physicians do not understand how to administer cannabis – and specialists tend to err on the side of extreme caution – leaving many medical users without enough medicine. The additional issues include ending discrimination that still exists against medical cannabis users – such as prohibiting them from receiving organ transplants – to understanding how cannabis interacts with the human body.

The second reason, however, is clearly because additional reform is on the way. “Recreational users” will mushroom across Europe – many of whom are actually patients but do not realize it.

The Status of Cannabis Legalization in Spain

Spain pioneered the idea of cannabis clubs – the model for which has shown up internationally – and most notably, in South Africa. For the past decade, clubs have been established across the country and are now present in most Spanish cities. Barcelona remains the centre of club culture and where most of the country’s clubs are located.

Beyond this, Spain has issued five licenses for medical cultivation at a federal level, the last being issued just this year.

In addition, hemp cultivation is legal across the country – but only for industrial use.

The formal recognition of medical cannabis is an important step here – but it clearly won’t be the last. Training doctors in cannabis care is an important part of the process to normalize the use of the plant as a medicine.

Spain

pharmacy

Medical Cannabis Coming To Pharmacies In Spain?

Spain has long been home to one of the most vibrant and amazing cannabis communities on earth. Cannabis is relatively easy to acquire, and it’s some of the best cannabis on earth.

Unfortunately, Spain’s cannabis policies have yet to catch up to what is actually happening in society in the European country. Despite cannabis clubs being located in many parts of the country, they are still considered to be operating in a legal gray area at best, or outright illegal at the national level at worst.

Medical cannabis policy is particularly wonky in Spain, in that there are licensed medical cannabis producers, however, they are currently only allowed to export their products or use them to supply research.

Completely legal safe access has remained elusive in Spain, however, that appears to be changing soon, at least to some extent. Per LaCerca:

The medical cannabis subcommittee of the Congress of Deputies has given its endorsement this Tuesday to the regulation of this substance for therapeutic purposes with the votes in favor of PSOE, United We Can, Citizens, PNV and PDeCAT, the abstention of ERC and Bildu, and the vote against PP and VOX.

One of the most important novelties in the conclusions of the subcommittee is that the door is opened to the dispensing of medical cannabis in community pharmacies, as demanded, for example, by United We Can and more groups on the left.

The PSOE has had to give in on this point, since they limited it to hospital pharmacies. The final text establishes that the distribution will be with magisterial formulas with standardized cannabis extracts or preparations, which should be delivered “from the health system pharmacy network, preferably in hospital pharmacies and exploring the alternative of community pharmacies that can meet the requirements.

What is currently being proposed in Spain will serve as a band-aid versus being a comprehensive overhaul of the nation’s approach to medical cannabis.

Even if medical cannabis products were available at every pharmacy in the country, the types of products being proposed, ‘standardized cannabis extracts and preparations,’ are only helpful to a small percentage of suffering patients.

Furthermore, the list of qualified conditions currently being floated out there is very limited. A vast majority of patients are likely to keep going the same route that they have in the past when it comes to acquiring medical cannabis in Spain.

Spain

Madrid Spain sunset

Spain On The Verge Of Medical Reform But Many Questions Remain

The Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party introduced a bill to legalize medical cannabis – but many advocates claim it won’t change the status quo

The home of the cannabis club is now considering medical cannabis reform. A bill to legalize medical use was introduced on May 30.

The legislation intends to create access in hospital pharmacies for a limited number of conditions – and further via prescriptions from medical specialists. Beyond this, it will require medical cannabis patient data to be stored at the Spanish Agency of Medicines and Medical Devices (AEMPS).

The Spanish Health Commission is currently debating the bill and is scheduled to approve the bill, plus any amendments they make, by June 23. If the legislation gets through this step successfully, the text of the bill will be delivered to the government who is expected to approve it into law by the end of June.

What Changes?

Spain has cannabis clubs that have developed in the grey areas of the law – much like the coffee shops in Spain. However, as advocates point out, this legislation will do little to draw patients into a legal, regulated medical market. For starters, only three health conditions will be approved for medical cannabis. Flower will not be allowed.

This means that the vast majority of patients will still be left in limbo.

Beyond this, there are no calls to revise the current situation regarding local production. Namely, all cannabis produced under EU GMP regulations must still be exported.

As a result, it is unlikely much will change in Spain (for now).

A Basic Holding Action

One of the great ironies about the Spanish situation is that it is a country where there is actually more “freedom” to access flower cannabis than just about any other European country except Holland. Beyond this, the country has one more GMP cultivation license than Germany – but none of this is slated for use by resident Spaniards.

In effect all this new legislation does is create a tiny window for legal medical cannabis treatments that are too expensive to access for most – along with prohibitive medical bureaucracy that will prevent even legitimate patients from seeing a sympathetic doctor.

The bottom line is that the Spanish government is actually doing the minimum necessary to ensure that it keeps in step with its European partners on the medical front while continuing to push not just medical users but the entire recreational industry into the margins.

Spain

Cannabis regulation in Spain

The Pending Spanish Paradox

The Spanish government is finally voting to legalize medical cannabis at the end of June – but only for exporting cultivators

The land of the cannabis club is moving forward, albeit frustratingly, on medical cannabis reform. Namely, if everything goes as planned, the Spanish government will finally vote to legalize the cultivation of medical cannabis at the end of June. Further, they will also issue (more) licenses for EU GMP cultivation. There are currently four – and the Spanish authorities have steadfastly refused to issue any more for the past five years (at least in the past) citing concerns that they will just be resold.

It would appear those days are over. However, the basic rules for the market will remain the same. Firms may be able to gain cultivation licenses more easily, but everything they grow they must export.

That is not a real change from the status quo now. In fact, it could be argued that this is just a federal vote to preserve the status quo.

Patient access will not be any easier – and presumably could be worse – because patients will have to go through the formal medical system – or the clubs. Cost will remain a major impediment.

Just Like Holland and Greece Used to Be

No matter how far the now pending proposals push the conversation, it is an inherently limited one. Namely, this is a cynical proposal to pass legislation that won’t change what already exists now. Cultivation licenses might be more available – but they will still only be accessible to those with the budgets to set up EU GMP facilities. And as Greece found out, setting up an infrastructure to attract foreign investment in cultivation and extraction only goes so far when the sole business model is to supply those out of the country.

In fact, it appears that Spain is currently on track to have a two-tiered production model. The pharma grade one – and the grey market one that services the clubs. This also did not work in Holland.

Why Is Spain Lagging Behind on Reform?

There is only one answer for why the Spanish government has consistently failed to forward the industry in an environment where approximately 90% of the population believes that at least medical cannabis should be legal. And that is that the government has not learned the lessons seen in other legalizing countries (even though they will be establishing a panel to explore that specifically as of the end of this month).

It is also obvious that the country is in a holding pattern – waiting for Germany to flip the switch to recreational. Once that happens, given the amount of German money in the Spanish economy, it may be that Spain will follow. They are certainly not leading.

Spain

cbd hemp business fair

CBD Hemp Business Fair Is Coming To Spain

Cannabidiol (CBD) currently has the designation of being the most popular cannabinoid on earth. As proof of that claim, consider the fact that CBD is searched more often on Google than any other cannabinoid, including tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and that’s been the case since December 2016.

In addition to being queried more often on the world’s most popular online search engine than its cannabinoid counterparts, hemp-derived CBD is legal in far more regions of the planet compared to THC. It is estimated that the global CBD market was worth nearly 5 billion USD in 2021 and that it could be worth as much as 47 billion USD by 2028. That figure doesn’t include the global market for industrial hemp, which is set to experience a 33%+ compounded annual growth rate through 2030 according to at least one estimate.

You will be hardpressed to find an industry that is already worth billions of dollars and yet is still set to experience the level of exponential growth that the global CBD and industrial hemp industry will experience in the coming years. There is literally no better time to get into the CBD industry than right now, and a great way to do exactly that is to attend the upcoming CBD Hemp Business Fair in Barcelona on October 7-9, 2022.

Spannabis, the world’s largest cannabis trade show with more than 20 years of experience, is launching this amazing new event focused on CBD and industrial hemp. The fair is expected to have more than 100 brands present on a 12,000 square meter expo floor. Over 1,500 industry professionals and 15,000 visitors are expected to be in attendance over the course of the 3-day event.

CBD Hemp Business Fair will feature an event networking app that helps facilitate collaborations between exhibitors and event attendees before and during the event. The app is a very useful tool to promote companies, make appointments, and discover new potential clients.

The event’s showroom will feature demonstrations, presentations, and entertainment including cooking demonstrations and live music. The event will also include an outdoor food truck area, the CBD Champions Cup, and the CBD and Hemp Awards. If you want to get into the emerging CBD and hemp industry, or just want to learn more about its products and services, you do not want to miss this event!

barcelona, cbd hemp business fair, Spain

hemp cannabis flower plant garden outdoor

Putting ‘Europe’s Biggest Cannabis Farm’ Bust Into Context

Historically, I have always shied away from writing about cannabis busts. Having been present at no less than 3 no-knock raids in my youth, and having guns pointed at my face during the course of the raids, I know firsthand how traumatic the experience can be. Many members of my family have also been subjected to the practice due to cannabis prohibition.

With that being said, there was a recent cannabis bust in Europe that I felt was worthy of discussion. The bust occurred in rural Spain, and international media coverage ran with the claim that it was the ‘biggest cannabis farm’ in Europe. The numbers involved were definitely significant – over 415,000 plants ‘worth up to €100m.’ Per Sky News:

Police have raided what is believed to be Europe’s biggest cannabis farm in Spain.

Officers destroyed 415,000 hemp plants, worth up to €100m (more than £83m) at a plantation in the rural northern region of Navarre.

Around 50 tonnes of the plant were being dried in a warehouse to be processed into cannabidiol (CBD) – a non-psychoactive compound increasingly used to treat health conditions including anxiety and insomnia.

If you are like me, then you locked in on that last sentence in the cited media coverage. The plants involved were not high-THC strains. Rather, they were hemp plants and were being cultivated for the sole purpose of producing CBD products.

CBD is legal in Spain, yet, cultivating cannabis outside of very limited circumstances is still prohibited. Cannabis can be cultivated for making textiles, producing seeds, and for medical research purposes in Spain. In all of those instances, a government license is required, and it appears that the farm where this bust occurred did not have a license.

The number of plants involved in this case in Spain may seem like an enormous amount, however, it’s important to put the operation into context. The entire operation was roughly 166 acres in size. As far back as 2015, at least one farm in the United States had an operation that was nearly twice the size of this one in Spain, and it was operating legally.

According to data from 2019, at that time nearly two dozen countries in Europe had legal hemp industries that cultivated more than 166 acres. France alone had over 44,000 acres (converted from hectares) of agricultural land dedicated to cultivating hemp according to the previously cited data. If the people in Spain operating the farm at the heart of this article were doing so without a license, so be it.

However, when people read sensational headlines involving hundreds of thousands of plants ‘worth up to 100 million euros’ it’s important for people to keep in mind that it was hemp plants being cultivated for CBD purposes and that there are legal hemp farms out there that completely dwarf the size of the farm in question in Spain. Always make sure to sidestep the reefer madness propaganda and keep things in perspective when reading media coverage.

Spain

International Cannabis Business Conference Barcelona 2022

Barcelona Cannabis Superconference 2022 Was Particularly Special

For many years Spannabis served as the largest cannabis gathering on planet earth, well before cannabis went mainstream and even before the emerging legal cannabis industry even existed. People came to Barcelona year after year from all over the globe to celebrate the cannabis plant and the community that surrounds it.

After a brief hiatus, Spannabis came back last month and once again the event teamed up with the International Cannabis Business Conference to form the world’s largest cannabis superconference. By many measures, the superconference was the first truly global cannabis event to take place in 2022. Anyone that attended the events will be quick to tell you that the atmosphere was electric and it was amazing to see old friends and make new ones.

For the International Cannabis Business Conference specifically, over 1,000 people attended the event in total. Lawmakers, regulators, entrepreneurs, investors, and industry service providers from 80 countries attended the B2B conference, along with dozens of expert speakers that covered a range of important topics during their presentations. Below is a recap video from the International Cannabis Business Conference’s YouTube channel, where videos of the panels can also be viewed courtesy of Marihuana Television:

One thing that was very evident throughout the conference is that while many industries have had to scale back or even stall completely in recent years, the cannabis industry is not one of them. The legal cannabis industry is larger than ever before and operates in more jurisdictions than ever before, so it’s not exactly shocking that the excitement level in Barcelona was enormous. You could see it on everyone’s faces and sense it in their enthusiastic conversations.

The future of the global cannabis industry is extremely bright, particularly on the European continent where the cannabis industry is expanding at a rapid pace. That is especially true in Berlin, Germany where the next set of International Cannabis Business Conference events will take place this July. The Berlin Global Investment Forum will occur on July 18th, 2022, with a VIP reception being held the night before. This investment-focused summit will bring together international investors and cannabis companies looking for capital while providing a forum for exchange in the key areas that the market needs most – real data and available capital.

After the Global Investment Forum, the International Cannabis Business Conference’s flagship B2B event begins its 2-day curriculum of keynote speakers, presentations, and expert-led panels. Both events will be the ideal place for cannabis entrepreneurs, investors, and industry service providers to network with each other as well as network with leading international cannabis policymakers from around the globe.

Below is footage of a panel from last year’s International Cannabis Business Conference in Berlin featuring representatives from Germany’s major political parties, the first panel of its kind at the time. The panel discussion occurred a mere weeks before Germany’s 2021 election. The results of German’s election that year, and the Traffic Light Coalition that came out of it, are the driving force behind adult-use cannabis legalization in Germany right now.

It’s just one of the many examples of why people should attend the International Cannabis Business Conference in Berlin this year. Tickets are available at this link here.

barcelona, Europe, Spain

spain flag

Spanish Medical Cannabis Subcommittee Holds First Hearing

Spain is a truly amazing place, especially when it comes to being a cannabis consumer. The European nation is absolutely beautiful, and cannabis is very easy to acquire if you know where to look.

Barcelona, where we recently held our first conference of the year, is a particularly fantastic place to be a cannabis consumer. Barcelona is home to more private cannabis clubs than anywhere else in Spain.

Unfortunately, Spain’s cannabis laws are in need of a lot of improvement. Cannabis may be decriminalized in Spain, and cannabis may be easy to acquire, however, many suffering patients still need better access to medical cannabis and selective enforcement needs to be mitigated via setting up a legal, equitable industry framework.

A key subcommittee tasked with exploring medical cannabis reform and regulations finally met in Spain, which will hopefully help yield future movement. Per ConSalud.es (translated to English):

The subcommission for the purpose of carrying out experiments in the regulation of cannabis for medicinal use , created in the Congress of Deputies to study a possible regulation in Spain, has hosted the first session of appearances on Tuesday. As approved by this commission a few weeks ago, there will be 26 experts who will tell their experience on this matter until the end of June.

Among the most outstanding is that of Manuel Ibarra Lorente , head of the Drug Inspection and Control Department of the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products (AEMPS) , who has provided the technical vision of the regulatory body in Spain, of its possible regulation. of the authorized clinical trials with cannabinoids and about the doubts that currently exist.

During the subcommittee meeting, Ibarra expressed doubt regarding the notion that “cannabis has multiple therapeutic benefits in many other indications: relief of chronic pain, prevention of nausea and vomiting, as an appetite stimulant, reducing depression, anxiety or disorders of the dream.”

Ibarra is pushing for a very controlled and regulated medical cannabis industry in Spain, and even then, only after a considerable amount of further research is conducted. Hopefully fellow committee members are listening to other sources, and not solely relying on Ibarra’s opinion.

It would be a much faster and more efficient approach if Spain relied on the enormous body of research that already exists to form its policies, as well as model the successful policies in countries that have already launched national, regulated medical cannabis industries, including Canada which has also legalized adult-use cannabis sales as well.

Spain

International Cannabis Business Conference

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