The Future Of The Hemp Industry In Europe

An EU court case over the right of a Czech company to legally produce hemp extracts and sell them, across European borders, in France, has moved the needle on the entire “CBD as narcotic” discussion -and in a big way.

Last week, the European hemp industry got a huge boost at the European Court of Justice. Not only has the Court ruled on a pressing matter at the table across the EU but globally, at the WHO right now (namely that CBD is not a narcotic). 

As a consequence, however, the entire European hemp industry seems to have gotten a boost that so far had largely eluded it. Namely its basic legitimacy.

The Overview And Significance Of The Case

The European ruling came on appeal of a French case wherein vape cartridges containing CBD extract that were legally manufactured in the Czech Republic were shipped to France for sale – and as a result, the company was prosecuted and fined.

As a result, the overturning of the French decision in Luxembourg means that:

– Companies who are legally registered to produce hemp and hemp extracts in one European country are immune from prosecution for the same in their country of origin.

– Companies may ship such products, if not the raw ingredients and unpackaged extracts (in bulk) legally, across European borders without fear of prosecution.

-Companies may market and sell such products legally, across Europe, no matter where they or their customers are located. The online hemp extract marketplace finally got the boost it has been waiting for.

A Rush of Investments Into The Hemp Industry?

While the deck has certainly been cleared of the surrounding smoke on a very basic issue (i.e. whether to treat legally produced and certified hemp as a medicine or whether there could be a differentiation between plants possible at the ground, police inspection level), there are still looming barriers across the entire conversation that have NOT been solved.

Namely, whether hemp and its extracts are indeed “novel.”

While this so far has been the established focus of an industry and its lobby that had no firm place to stand, this too, will begin to shift, particularly as hemp is normalized under European farming policy and thus, firmly, in the realm of EU-BIO.

Regardless, all of these waters will be choppy for the next several years – and will continue to be as the Cannabis sativa L plant, and of all THC concentrations as well as other cannabinoids, continues to top the change agents still active and fomenting in Europe.

Be sure to book your tickets for the International Cannabis Business Conference when it returns to Europe in 2021.