An amendment that came into effect on January 5 places strict restrictions on hemp production in Portugal and puts the country’s nascent industry at risk. Different stakeholders are now stepping up to demonstrate the illegality of the process.

Humberto Nogueira, vice-president of the Portuguese Industrial Hemp Trade Association (ACCIP), said that a number of provisions appear to be specifically concerned with ending the hemp flower trade.

The most alarming rule, according to him, is the one that prohibits the transport of hemp flowers from the farm where they are grown – which amounts to banning the trade in one of the plant’s most valuable components.

“There is no legal basis to limit trade in the entire hemp plant,” Humberto Nogueira said of the restriction. “At the same time, it limits the profitability of producers and farmers, which translates into a decrease in hired labor and fixed and seasonal jobs. “

The amendment also bans the cultivation of hemp indoors and in greenhouses, requires growers to establish at least 0.5 hectares, and sets restrictions on the use and handling of cultured seeds, all of which are a deterrent. for hemp farmers and processors, said Humberto Nogueira.

The amendment does not provide a legal basis to interfere with the farming practices of hemp, which is a legal, certified and subsidized agricultural crop in the European Union (EU), ACCIP Vice-President specifically suggesting that the rule on the minimum area for growing hemp overrides a general rule of the Institute for the Financing of Agriculture and Fisheries (IFAP) which sets 100 square meters as the minimum for standard crops.

“The requirement of a minimum area of ​​0.5 hectares to obtain permission to cultivate industrial hemp is a limiting factor for thousands of small farmers in Portugal”, nor does the amendment provide any justification for them. sanctions related to non-compliance with this provision, according to Humberto Nogueira.

“In general, there is clearly in the new ordinance an intention to completely eliminate the chances of producers to obtain profitability with the hemp flower, regardless of the purpose that the buyer of the harvest will give to the product”, he said. declared Nogueira.

Officialized on December 31, the Polynesian Hemp Union (SPC) wants to put in place a legal framework to develop the hemp sector and therapeutic cannabis in Polynesia.

The creation of this association follows an increasingly growing demand from local actors and is also “in the continuity of the official actions of the Country”, explains Philippe Cathelain-Tauotaha, president of the SPC, such as Cap 2025 where cannabis was part of the country’s recovery plan, or even the letter from President Édouard Fritch sent to Emmanuel Macron to “open up the possibility of cultivating cannabis for therapeutic use” in Polynesia.

“We set up this association to bring together all the local players who would be interested in the emergence of this new sector, which is that of cannabis. There are projects that are going to happen. The local government aims to produce cannabis, to meet the needs of France, in particular. There is also a great need for CBD in France, but also locally, where we are in demand. This union will therefore make it possible to federate all these project leaders and to be able to consult and work together to develop the sector well ” also explains Philippe Cathelain-Tauotaha.

Barely constituted, the SPC has already collected 60 membership applications from farmers who want to be the first to benefit from a probable legalization of therapeutic cannabis. The association already brings together several project leaders, including Karl Anihia from Tahiti Herb Culture, an association which campaigns for the legalization of cannabis.

“The union is reserved for professionals, project leaders, so you have to be licensed and have a project. We will study everyone’s requests. By integrating this union, it will be possible to participate in the various works and discussions that we are going to initiate, and to give its opinion ”.

The Polynesian Hemp Union will focus on economic actions and relations with project leaders. The details ” will be directed towards the Tahiti Herb Culture association which is in the process of creating a Cannabis social club ”, indicates the president of the Union.

Cookies, the iconic cannabis brand from California, recently announced that they will be opening stores across Europe, the first being in London and Vienna.

The iconic American brand builds on its partnership with Israeli cannabis company Intercure, which has already opened a Cookies flagship store in Tel Aviv. Together, the two companies will open Cookies branded CBD and medical cannabis stores, with a view to transforming them into pharmacies to serve the growing European cannabis market. Intercure operated Cookies stores in Israel with a similar business model.

The first Cookies store is slated to open in London in the spring, although there are no details on where to open. The company has announced that in order to keep red tape as much as possible, it will start by selling only its own brand of CBD products, with the pharmaceutical portion of the business to be opened up as UK regulations evolve. .

Discussing the deployment and initial product offering with BusinessCann, Intercure CEO Alexander Ravinovitch said, “Vaping is a very important part of the strategy, so we will also be launching some high quality products for vaping. Ultimately, and as its licensing and regulations develop, Intercure plans to evolve these stores into what we call a pharmacy base. Once the regulations are in place, we will also be able to serve the patient community with products that are high in THC. We will start with medical products and we have a wide range of them. We believe that in the UK and Austria there is huge potential and support for Cookies branded products. “

Mr Ravinovitch went on to highlight how the UK medical community must first build confidence in cannabis as a safe and effective treatment if the UK is to replicate the success of the Israeli medicinal cannabis market.

“We believe that what happened in Israel, the process that we have seen here in Israel coming from the tight, ultra-medical and very strict regulations, and the opening and building of trust within the communities of doctors and patients, will occur in Europe. “

He went on to say, “Regulations are very important. Regulation goes hand in hand with support from physicians and the physician community. And I think once you’ve got the right regulations in place and the medical communities have enough confidence in BPF medical cannabis products, we’ll likely see the same trends in all of the major territories. Israel is a few years ahead of all other international markets and truly represents the future of international cannabis. The local competitive landscape is very active there, and we have seen growth from the start. This sort of paved the way for support from the physician communities, and also from the patient side. “

On his Instagram, Berner, founder of Cookies, also specified that a store would open in Portugal.

Since January 1, 2022, Czech doctors can prescribe medical cannabis via electronic prescription and no longer only on a secure physical prescription, up to a maximum of 180 grams per month.

From January to November 2021, more than 99 kg of medical cannabis were prescribed in the Czech Republic to some 4,370 patients, a hundred times more than in 2015, when the use of medical cannabis was introduced for around 30 patients. . Currently, around 200 doctors are authorized to prescribe medical cannabis in the Czech Republic.

Based on the new laws, private companies will now also be able to cultivate cannabis under the same conditions as any other medical substance. The Czech health ministry expects this change to increase competition and lower the price of medicinal preparations containing cannabis, which are 90% covered by public health insurance.

Until now, the National Institute for Medicines Control (SÚKL), which manages the National Agency for Medical Cannabis, has purchased a certain volume of cannabis from a supplier selected on the basis of a public procurement procedure. .

Changes also for hemp. The new law now defines industrial hemp as containing up to 1% THC. The Chamber of Deputies adopted this provision despite the negative position of the Senate and the Minister of Health towards it. Cannabis extracts or tinctures containing less than 1% THC will also not be considered narcotic substances and may be marketed freely.

In January 2021, Czech lawmakers rejected a proposal to legalize the production and consumption of cannabis for adults, an issue that is regularly debated and continues, as in other European countries, to divide the world. public opinion.

Italian hemp growers will soon be able to receive up to 300 euros in public aid per hectare. The Minister of Agriculture has just signed a decree to help so-called “minor” agricultural sectors, which therefore include hemp. In all, the sector will benefit from a plan of three million euros. A boon for Italian hemp growers, who are already far ahead of their European competitors.

” The decree provides for aid per hectare equal to 300 euros, within the limit of 50 hectares. It also concerns research on new varieties of hemp, for methods of rapid THC control and on mechanization. Finally, we provide assistance to companies which invest in the post-harvest of hemp and in installations for drying, cleaning products, scutching ”, precise to Canapa Industriale the deputy Giuseppe L’Abbate, who worked on the decree.

MP and Minister Stefano Patuanelli “Believe firmly in this culture with a thousand industrial, pharmaceutical, construction and food uses and not just fun as some would like to belittle it ”. He hopes this new money will help ” strengthen synergies between operators in the sector, create a system, and improve production by focusing on research ”.

Italian hemp is already ahead

In the future, these public subsidies could strengthen the advance of Italian hemp. At the industrial level, several regions are already relying on bioplastics, obtained from the fiber of the plant. In terms of cannabinoid production, Italians are the only ones in the European Union (EU) who can grow hemp with 0.6% THC. This allows a more highly dosed CBD than elsewhere.

Logical consequence: many French CBD sellers are supplied in Italy. Especially since the Court of Cassation allowed flowers to be sold in France if they are imported from an EU country. Calabria, in the south of Italy, is even nicknamed by some “the valley of the CBD”. This is what recently showed a report from Special Envoy, on France 2.

Another example of Italy’s weight in this industry? The director of EIHA, the lobby responsible for promoting hemp to European institutions, is called Lorenza Romanese. And she is Italian.

Justice is inflicting another setback on the world of CBD. To change the law around the legality of cannabidiol, the French Association of Cannabinoid Producers (AFPC) had referred the matter to the Constitutional Council. According to the chanvriers, French law does not define precisely enough what a “narcotic” is, which allows the government to include CBD in this box. So, still according to the PSAC, the law would be unconstitutional.

But the Constitutional Council is not of this opinion. In its decision rendered this Friday, the Wise Men decide that “The contested provisions, which do not infringe any other right or freedom guaranteed by the Constitution, are in conformity with the Constitution. ”

Reaction to Newsweed from François-Guillaume Piotrowski, President of the PSAC: “It’s not a loss, but it’s a disappointment. “

This decision had nothing to do with the recent government order banning CBD flowers. But the producers and traders were still impatiently awaiting it. A favorable decision would indeed have led Parliament to modify the law, to precisely define a narcotic. This would surely have made it possible to prove that CBD is not one, as claimed by the World Health Organization.

“It opens up interesting perspectives”

Despite this setback, the CBD world is trying to make do with bad luck, good heart. If we look in detail, the decision of the Constitutional Council “Opens up interesting perspectives”, judge the lawyer Frédéric Scanvic, who had brought this file for the PSAC.

“The Constitutional Council went to look for odds and ends in the law to define a narcotic. He tells us that it is a substance with a harmful effect on health and an addictive effect. To my knowledge, no study has found CBD to be harmful and addicting. So I draw the conclusion that it is not a narcotic ”, he smiles.

“The decision gives us grain to grind”, confirms François-Guillaume Piotrowski. With Master Scanvic, they now turn to the Council of State. This time, the objective will be directly to attack the decree of December 30, banning CBD flowers. To have it canceled, they will file a summary suspension next week, on the grounds of the economic emergency.

It’s a nice little jackpot for American public finances. Since 2014, sales of recreational cannabis have brought in $ 10.4 billion in taxes, for the coffers of the 18 states that have legalized. It is the result of a calculation of Marijuana Policy Project (MPP). This pro-legalization lobby has added up all the tax data for each state, supporting sources so that everyone can verify.

MPP calculations only include recreational cannabis, not medical therefore. And they start in 2014, since it was on that date that Colorado became the first US state to legalize cannabis for adults. However, it is not this state that has won the most taxes; this is California.

The State of Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego have collected $ 3.1 billion in taxes… in just 4 years! Alongside him, Washington State (not to be confused with the capital, Washington DC) and Colorado complete the podium. The first brought 3 billion into its coffers in eight years of legalization. The second, 1.7 billion.

Between 9 and 37% tax depending on the state

Calculations of Marijuana Policy Project also show the large difference in taxation depending on the state. In France, we have the same tax everywhere, the VAT. In the United States, as it is a federal model, the states decide. Some tax cannabis little, especially to compete on the black market. Others prefer to tap more heavily, especially to redistribute to schools or social justice programs.

The champion is surely Washington State. Located in the far northwest of the country, theEvergreen State recovers 37% of cannabis sales to fuel its budget. There, cannabis already brings in more to the state than alcohol. And this made it possible to unlock $ 600 million, in particular to help low-income families who cannot afford a mutual insurance fund.

Another champion: California. For an ounce (28 grams) of cannabis, the state levies $ 9.25 in taxes. To this is added 15% excise, a special tax, and 7.25% VAT.

New York, too, is rubbing its hands. Although sales have not yet started, MPs and Senators have agreed to a tax backed by the THC level of the products. This could therefore vary between 12 and 35%. To this will be added a VAT of 13%.

Conversely, others have chosen a more liberal model. Alaska, for example, charges $ 50 in taxes for an ounce, which typically sells for around $ 300. Michigan takes around 16% in taxes. The same goes for Oregon, with 17%.

Glass Pharms proudly announces that it has raised 22 million pounds (26 million euros) to create the very first cannabis farm ” carbon neutral ‘. This 2.5 hectare indoor grow site will be located in the south of England. The cannabis produced on site will be heavily dosed with THC, and intended for pharmaceutical companies.

To produce without polluting, the British company promises a “Green electricity”. Its production “Transforms waste food into energy all year round and avoid releasing methane, a powerful greenhouse gas ”. This is the principle of anaerobic digestion: the decomposition of organic matter creates biogas, methane. This can then turn into heat or electricity.

In addition, Glass Pharms claims to have a “Significant solar energy production” on its site, which should supply 40% of the electricity. It will be used in particular for LED lamps, which consume a lot of energy. Finally, the company promises that it will use each resource in ” closed circuit “. For example, “The excess heat and carbon dioxide will be used to heat, cool, or feed our cannabis plants”.

Cannabis, a very polluting agriculture

To verify all these promises, the British company assures that the production site will be approved. This will allow it to validate its “carbon neutral” status. “We will create a secure supply chain, and at the same time, we are part of the UK’s goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050,” congratulated the CEO of the company in the press release.

On its website, Glass Pharms also sends a small tackle slipped to its competitors. “We don’t need to rely on offsets to claim our carbon neutrality”. A reference to the Canadian giant Hexo, which promises to be carbon neutral … by not changing its production model, but by planting trees.

Cannabis companies are gradually becoming aware of the ecological weight they represent. Even if many perceive the plant as “green”, its industrial cultivation is very polluting. A recent study from Colorado shows that producing one gram of cannabis is like burning more than a liter of gasoline.

The Ananda company is launching a clinical trial to use Nantheia ATL5, a drug high in CBD, to treat people addicted to opioids. Colorado-based biotech just got the green light from Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the highest American health authority. This clinical trial will be conducted by California University UCLA.

Nantheia ATL5 is a capsule that contains 100mg of CBD. It would serve as a substitute for opioids to treat chronic pain. If this clinical trial is conclusive, this drug could then join Epidiolex. To date, GW Pharma’s liquid solution is the only authorized CBD drug, both in the United States and in the European Union.

“The authorization to conduct a clinical trial further strengthens our goal of developing CBD as a therapy for several diseases”, welcomes Sohail Zaidi, CEO of Ananda. For her part, psychiatrist Edith London, who will lead the trial, welcomes a “Key step in finding a solution to the opioid crisis”.

Opioids kill 50,000 people a year in the United States

The situation is indeed particularly serious. This class of drugs – like Fentanyl or Oxycodone – mimics the effects of opium. These capsules are primarily useful for treating pain. Except that they are particularly addictive, and deadly in high doses. Result: 50,000 deaths per year. President Donald Trump therefore declared a public health emergency in 2017.

Logically, the FDA has a lot of hope in Nantheia ATL5. In this drug candidate, the high-dose CBD could soothe the pain. As we know, the molecule is particularly interesting for its anti-inflammatory side, without being psychoactive. It would therefore mimic the analgesic effect of Fentanyl or Oxycodone, without risking an overdose. While high-dose CBD can be dangerous for the liver, it is nothing like the opioid disaster.

Proof of the enthusiasm: the clinical trial will be fully funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). This American public agency fights precisely against dependence on hard drugs, such as opioids. This funding is part of the $ 3 million released by the US government to use cannabis as a substitute for opioids.

The Quebec government could announce this Thursday the obligation to present a vaccine pass to access cannabis and alcohol stores. This is the information reported by the Journal of Montreal and confirmed by The Press. A strong incentive to force cannabis users to go through vaccination to buy their favorite products.

The Quebec Minister of Health is holding a press conference at 11 a.m. (5 p.m. French time) and will unveil these new measures.

In the French-speaking Canadian province, cannabis is sold exclusively by the Société Québécoise du Cannabis (SQDC). This 100% public company is a subsidiary of another public entity, the Société des Alcools du Québec (SAQ).

“The SAQ had some discussions with the government on this subject. If the latter goes in this direction, we will apply this health measure as we have done with all the other measures deployed since the start of the pandemic “, states the company in an email to Press.

Fear that consumers will turn to the black market

After the device “a joint against a vaccine” set up in the United States, the center-right Quebec government of François Legault could well invent another principle: “no joint without vaccine”. Cannabis stores are not particular places of covid-19 contamination. But their clients are often young. And between 12 and 15% of young Quebecers are not vaccinated.

However, some fear that this measure is counterproductive. Instead of pushing cannabis enthusiasts to a vaccination center… they could go back to the black market. There, there is obviously no vaccination pass. This would be a real step backwards, since the legal market in the “Belle-Province” is doing very well. Two out of three cannabis purchases are made in shops and no longer on the street.

For the time being, we have no details on the outlines of the “no joint without vaccine” measure. For example, Quebecers do not know if stores will ask for the vaccine pass at the entrance or at the cash desk, or if it will also apply to online orders. Because the SQDC delivers their customers to their homes.

“The government decides to cross the Rubicon. It is a controversial decision, which will cause a lot of reaction, prognosis Olivier Bourque, who reveals this information in the Journal of Montreal and spoke on QUB radio. Since the start of the pandemic, the SAQ and SQDC have been considered essential businesses, necessary for Quebecers. ”