There is a decided trend in Europe this year, driven in large part by frustration if not a political necessity. Recreational cannabis trials are starting to place pins in the map. They may not be large, and in some ways easy to sneeze at. However, the recreational bug has landed in the EU. The dominoes
If 2014 was the year that the recreational cannabis market finally got going in the U.S. and later in Canada, 2019 may well be remembered as the same kind of year on the other side of the Atlantic. Despite the well-connected winks and assertions by many of the top cannabis companies in the world that
Not only did Luxembourg just make some cannabis news lately by setting a two-year timeframe to legalize cannabis for adult-use, but another kind of reform also seems to be on the horizon. The small country of just under half a million people also seems to be looking at cryptocurrency models right now. In fact, as
As the CannTrust scandal continues to reverberate around Europe, a question is clearly in the room this fall – is this problem just isolated in one country in Europe (Denmark) or is it more widespread? Specifically, in a mostly import driven business, has Germany, the largest medical cannabis market in the world right now, dodged
About a month before international cannabis company Tilray announced that it was shipping from Portugal to Germany, Sativex (manufactured by the British-based GW Pharma) was approved for use by the Portuguese government. This means that the actual cost of the drug, deemed too expensive by the NHS in the UK, will be partially underwritten by
In one of the more intriguing cross-European canna developments this summer, Tilray announced its first cross-European shipment. The shipment was estimated to be worth more than $3 million and shipped from Portugal to Germany in late August. The German distributor that Tilray is working with is also of note – Cannamedical, the second indie distributor
As the discussion about cannabis access in Europe continues to progress, albeit slowly, based on the legislative mandates of lawmakers and regulatory policies driven by medical efficacy, there is an additional conversation afoot. Namely, is the right to access affordable medical cannabis actually something more fundamental? In two countries, Canada and Mexico, this is the
For all of its enthusiastic entry into the legal cannabis space of late, Thailand has also caught the attention of international regulators (specifically the International Narcotics Control Board INCB). In fact, the agency recently issued a warning to the government to go slow when it comes to bucking a century of prohibition. Thailand has already
Thailand, last year’s last minute cannabis reformer (along with Israel, on Christmas Day, as a “gift” to the Thai people), has wasted little time going where other national governments so far, have been slow to go, if at all. As some had hoped, Pipat Ratchakitprakan, the new tourism and sports minister, plans to promote medical
With the news that Health Canada has authorized outdoor cultivation (see Aurora), the entire cultivation conversation has now shifted into interesting new territory. And not just in Canada. Never mind that these first two sites will be used for research (for both indoor and outdoor grown strains). For the first time, since grow operations initiated
