A recent survey conducted by the German daily Die Welt among 35 German cities shows that at least 11 cities are willing to participate in future local experiments in the regulated sale of cannabis for recreational purposes, as was proposed in April this year.

Interest from 11 German cities to participate in experiments

Frankfurt am Main was the first region, together with Offenbach, to announce its intention to submit a joint application as a model region. Shortly afterwards, the green-red coalition in Munich also made a similar request. This displeased the state government, led by the CSU, which is in principle opposed to experimentation and legalization.

Other cities are also considering applying. Bremen has announced that it is open in principle. Hanover is also showing “very great interest”, a spokeswoman said. Bonn is “positively opposed” to the project, while Tübingen, Leipzig and Schwerin could offer to participate in principle, but have not yet made an official decision.

For some cities, it is already clear that they absolutely do not want to participate. These include Nuremberg, Freiburg, Aachen, Essen and Eisenach.

The following cities have not yet expressed interest: Hamburg, Cologne, Dortmund, Düsseldorf and Stuttgart. They want to wait until the exact legal conditions for model regions of the federal government are established. We can therefore expect the number of interested cities to increase in the coming months.

The district of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg in Berlin had already applied for a pilot project with the Federal Institute in 2015 and the Land of Berlin in 2019. In both cases, this was rejected. The State of Berlin finally sued the authority in 2021. The procedure is still ongoing and could be short-circuited by the arrival of the legalization pilot projects.

Aurora and Ethypharm have again been selected by the French Direction Générale de la Santé (DGS) as exclusive suppliers of dried medical cannabis flowers for the end of the French therapeutic cannabis experimentation which has been extended until March 2024.

“We are delighted to have been selected once again to continue supplying high quality dried medical cannabis flower to the French pilot program. Driven by our goal to open the world to cannabis, Aurora continues to work hand-in-hand with government officials, doctors and pharmacists to reduce stigma and further develop medical markets across Europe,” said Dr. Axel Gille, President of Aurora Europe.

Aurora and Ethypharm signed an agreement to serve the French pilot program, led by the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM), in October 2020, leveraging the expertise of both parties.

Under the terms of this exclusive partnership, Aurora provides medical cannabis, along with EU GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) compliant manufacturing and logistics support. Distribution and pharmacovigilance activities continue to be handled by Ethypharm Laboratories, the French commercial subsidiary of Ethypharm.

As part of the trial extension, the DGS opened a tender for the supply of medical cannabis in January 2023. In March, Aurora Europe and Ethypharm were selected to continue supplying medical cannabis produced according to European GMP standards to patients included in the study.

As committed partners, Ethypharm and Aurora Europe reaffirm their commitment to patients and healthcare professionals to improve the status and accessibility of medical cannabis in Europe.

“By planning to make Aurora’s pharmaceutical-grade medical cannabis available in France, we want to strengthen our expertise in central nervous system pathologies, and in particular in the treatment of pain. We are proud to move forward with the French health authorities and health professionals in this experimentation which, we hope, will show the interest of the use of medical cannabis to relieve French patients of certain symptoms such as pain “, declared Frédéric Arnal, Managing Director of Ethypharm Laboratories.

The Seimas, the Lithuanian parliament, has just approved the national agenda on drug, tobacco and alcohol control, consumption prevention and harm reduction until 2035.

The 12-year proposals include measures that would decriminalize the possession, acquisition, storage and transportation of small amounts of cannabis.

According to the Lithuanian newspaper LRT, the Seimas did not support the initiative of a group of parliamentarians to remove the decriminalization proposals from the bill.

These proposals provide that anyone found in possession of small amounts of cannabis would receive a warning and a fine of between 50 and 300 euros, instead of facing criminal penalties.

The bill includes six key objectives, including delaying the use of psychoactive substances, while managing risks and providing access to quality treatment for drug addicts.

The document recommends that municipalities prepare and implement measures to control, prevent consumption and reduce harm.

In December 2022, the Seimas presented a proposal to amend the code of administrative offenses so that anyone found in possession, in the process of acquiring, storing or transporting a small amount of cannabis will only receive a warning and a fine of between 50 and 300 euros, instead of being sentenced to criminal penalties.

At the time, the bill was defeated. However, in late April, members of the Seimas voted to approve the findings of the Ethics and Procedures Committee, which found that parliamentary rules had been broken in the initial vote.

According to local media, this violation was due to the fact that expert opinions had not been sought on the bill before it was voted on. The bill then returned to the “examination phase in the Committee for Laws and Public Order”, and was then put to a new vote in the Seimas.

Nepal’s Finance Minister, Mr. Prakash Sharan Mahat, said when announcing the budget for the fiscal year 2023-24 in Parliament that the government was studying the possibility of cultivating cannabis for medical purposes.

This news, reported by The Himalayanfollows the plea of ​​the chief minister of Gandaki province, Surendra Raj Pandey, in favor of the legalization of cannabis and the local manufacture of alcohol.

Pandey suggested that if cannabis had medical value, it should be treated like medicine. He added that hemp cultivation and local alcohol production could be used to stimulate the economy and create jobs, while acknowledging that this would require discussions with the central government to put in place appropriate legislation.

“Cannabis is prohibited by federal law. However, it is necessary to have a debate,” he said, “if it can also be used as a medicine, we are of the opinion that we should do a new reflection on its cultivation.”

The legalization of cannabis production in Nepal has been a topic of debate for several years. The country is known for its endemic varieties of cannabis and local products like charas, considered one of the best hashes in the world.

What is the legal status of cannabis in Nepal?

Although Nepal has been considering legalizing cannabis for some time, it has not yet taken any steps in this direction. Cannabis has been illegal in the Southeast Asian country since 1976, although it has long been used for Ayurvedic medicine and as a sacred offering to the Hindu god Shiva.

Before the 1976 ban, Nepal was home to government-sanctioned shops on ‘Freak Street’, named after what came to be known as hippies. At the time, thousands of tourists traveled to get their hands on different types of hashish which were then smuggled back to Europe or the United States.

“It is not justifiable for a poor country like ours to treat cannabis like a drug,” Nepal’s health minister Birodh Khatiwada told AFP last year. “Our people are being punished…and our corruption is increasing because of smuggling, because we follow the decisions of developed countries who do as they please. »

Canadian cannabis producer Canopy Growth has signed an agreement with Canadian edibles manufacturer Indiva for the exclusive rights and interests to manufacture, distribute and sell in Canada edibles from Wana Brands, a leading edibles brand cannabis in North America.

The two companies also signed a manufacturing agreement that grants Indiva the exclusive right to manufacture and supply Wana Brands products in Canada for five years, with the option to renew the agreement for an additional five years upon mutual agreement. .

As part of the deal, Canopy Growth will purchase approximately 37.2 million shares of Indiva at a price of 5.79 cents per share, for a total consideration of nearly $2.2 million, giving it a 19.99% stake in Indiva.

Canopy said this was consistent with its “asset reduction” strategy.

At the end of this five-year period, the agreement can be renewed for another five years if both parties agree.

In 2020, Indiva obtained the exclusive right to produce and distribute Wana Brands products in Canada. In February 2021, this agreement was amended and extended for a period of five years.

That same year, Canopy announced that it had agreed to purchase Wana Brands pending federal legalization of cannabis in the United States.

If Canopy had exercised its option to purchase Wana prior to the conclusion of the Indiva-Wana Agreement, resulting in Wana terminating its agreement with Indiva, Indiva would have been entitled to receive termination compensation equal to four times the last three months of gross receipts from the sale of Wana products in Canada.

“Collectively, these agreements allow Canopy Growth to further own the Wana Brands value chain in Canada, while ensuring continuity of high-quality manufacturing and consistency with Canopy’s lean manufacturing strategy,” said David Klein, CEO of Canopy, in a statement.

“By better aligning our position as Wana’s owner across North America, we hope to accelerate the introduction in Canada of innovative products that have already proven extremely popular in the United States.”

Following the closing of the transaction, Canopy may appoint an observer to Indiva’s board of directors. The closing of the private placement is scheduled for June 6.

A new era began on Thursday 25 May in the Red Light District of Amsterdam, with the official entry into force of the ban on smoking cannabis in the streets.

The ban is part of city-wide efforts, spearheaded by Mayor Femke Halsema, to make the famous district more welcoming to its residents and workers.

Signs have been erected in the canal-lined De Wallen district known for its brothels and coffeeshops, which attract millions of tourists each year but are a nuisance to residents. Around 10-15% of Amsterdam’s tourism industry is said to be based in the Red Light District.

People who break the new law will be subject to a fine of 100 euros (about $110).

The law was proposed earlier this year by Amsterdam City Council.

“The inhabitants of the old city suffer a lot from mass tourism and the abuse of alcohol and drugs in the streets. Tourists also attract street traffickers who in turn cause crime and insecurity. The atmosphere can get spooky, especially at night. People under the influence of alcohol hang around the streets for a long time. The inhabitants do not sleep well and the neighborhood becomes dangerous and unlivable,” the city council said in a statement at the time.

“The ban on smoking in the street should reduce nuisance. We are also considering a ban on the purchase of soft drugs at certain times. If the nuisance does not decrease sufficiently, we will study the possibility of banning smoking on the terraces of cafes, ”added the municipal council.

The city council gave its final approval to the proposal earlier this month.

For now, people “will still be allowed to smoke inside and on the patios of coffeeshops that sell cannabis and hashish in the neighborhood and other parts of town.”

The cannabis smoking ban is part of an effort led by Femke Halsema, Amsterdam’s first female mayor, to improve conditions in the Red Light District.

Minnesota Democratic Governor Tim Waltz on Tuesday signed the bill legalizing the recreational use of cannabis in the state.

With this signing, Minnesota becomes the 23rd US state to legalize cannabis for adult use and the third state in the Midwest to do so after Michigan in 2019 and Missouri in 2022.

“It’s been a long journey with many people involved,” said Tim Walz. “What we know today is that prohibition doesn’t work. We have criminalized a large number of people who will be able to begin the process of expunging their criminal records. »

“It will take us some time to put this program in place. We will appoint people to positions that will allow them to manage this project,” he added. “But I can assure the people of Minnesota that we have given a lot of thought. A lot of things learned in other states are incorporated into how we do things, and the thinking around this legislation gives us a really good guiding principle.”

Minnesota just became the 23rd state in the nation to legalize adult-use cannabis.

— Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) May 30, 2023

Under the new law, Minnesota residents age 21 and older will be able, starting August 1, to possess up to two ounces (56 grams) of cannabis flower in public and two pounds (1 kilogram) at home. . The law also gives people who have been convicted of cannabis possession the option to expunge their criminal records by automatically removing low-level convictions and establishing a review board to determine eligibility for higher-level offenses. .

Additionally, the legislation creates an Office of Cannabis Management, which will oversee the regulation and sale of cannabis products in the state. Regulators are expected to need 12-18 months to set up a licensed commercial sales system.

Home cultivation will also become legal in the state on August 1.

“This bill creates a safe and well-regulated legal marketplace, and includes best practices in consumer protection, health and public safety. It also prioritizes a strong conviction reversal program, so that people who have been disproportionately impacted by our current cannabis laws can get their lives back on track. It’s time to legalize, and I’m proud to support this bill,” Zack Stephenson, the state’s Democratic Representative and author of the bill, said in a press release ahead of final passage.

New York regulators have announced that the state will allow cannabis growers’ markets this summer to help growers in the state dispose of their surplus cannabis products.

In an effort to address the state’s legal cannabis glut, theOffice of Cannabis Management (OCM) of New York announced last week that industry operators would be allowed to hold cannabis farmers’ markets this summer in order to sell more products, according to a report by NY Cannabis Insider.

The plan, announced by CMO Policy Director John Kagia during a meeting with the Cannabis Association of New York, provides for conditionally licensed state producers and retailers to team up to hold farmers’ markets. Ultimately, these local markets should allow growers to dispose of their surplus, as there are currently only 13 retail stores operating in the state, and inventory is vastly surplus to the millions of dollars in cannabis produced by growers in the state, according to NY Cannabis Insider.

“A minimum of three growers and a retailer can host events where growers can sell flower and pre-rolls…and do so through a retailer, but in locations that don’t have a storefront. street,” said John Kagia.

Regulators have yet to finalize details of the farmers’ markets program and that process could take at least a month, the agency said.

The state’s adult-use cannabis industry has so far faced legal challenges and delays, prompting at least one out-of-state company to cancel plans to expand into the state. New York State. Separately, a recent report estimated that the slower-than-expected rollout of the adult cannabis industry could cost the state up to $2.6 billion in lost tax revenue over the next eight years.

As a result, many illegal operators still have a foothold in New York. Earlier this month, lawmakers earmarked $16 million of the state’s annual budget to crack down on unlicensed cannabis dispensaries.

The Canadian government collected more than 1.5 billion Canadian dollars (just over a billion euros) in profits and tax revenues from cannabis in the fiscal year 2021-2022, according to data recently published by Statistics Canada, reports MJBizDaily.

For the fiscal year ending March 2022, the total net income of provincially-owned cannabis businesses, plus total taxes and other revenue, was C$1.55 billion.

Data are not available for other years.

MJBizDaily previously reported that Canada’s federal government imposed more than C$1 billion in total duties on cannabis products between 2018 – when adult sales were launched – and 2022, according to the latest federal data.

Total duties imposed by the Canada Revenue Agency reached C$752.5 million in 2021-22, a 46% increase from fiscal year 2020-21, in which the federal government collected 514 million Canadian dollars.

About three quarters of the excise taxes applied by the federal government on cannabis sales are shared with the provinces and territories.

In the 2021-22 fiscal year, Statistics Canada reports that provincial cannabis authorities, which act as wholesalers, achieved sales of C$3.1 billion. Cannabis authority profits totaled C$332.3 million in 2021-22.

Other tax revenues from cannabis sales are as follows:

• Harmonized Sales Tax: C$236.1 million
• Goods and Services Tax: C$110.7 million
• Provincial/territorial sales tax: C$110.8 million
• Other provincial/territorial revenue: $9.8 million CAD

Despite all this, private companies are struggling to stay afloat due to excessive taxation, as the cannabis industry adds billions to state coffers.

Federally-licensed cannabis producers owed the Canada Revenue Agency C$192.7 million ($145 million) as of March 31, 2023, more than three times as much as the C$52.4 million Canadian dollars in fiscal year 2021-22, reports separately MJBizDaily.

In this context, the publication notes that the Canada Revenue Agency has increased the pressure on producers with overdue payments.

The government recognized the need for ‘recalibration’ already 18 months ago, but the lack of decision continues to push the whole industry, especially small businesses, to a critical breaking point. Dan Sutton, CEO of B.C.-based cannabis producer Tantalus Labs, told the publication.