European Marijuana News Update

European Marijuana News

Cannabis On Prescription Will Soon Be Available In UK

Within the next few weeks, UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid may be announcing that certain physicians will be allowed to prescribe cannabis products for patients of qualifying conditions, following the approval of cannabis for rescheduling in Parliament.

Prior to these changes, the UK’s medical cannabis program left much to be desired, allowing cannabis to be given only to patients whose conditions have been assessed by experts. But with the new policy, people with epilepsy, chronic pain, nausea from chemotherapy, and multiple sclerosis will be able to access medical cannabis with a prescription.

However, the case of Billy Caldwell became a turning point for the UK government. Last June, Heathrow Airport officials confiscated Caldwell’s cannabis oil, which was the only medicine he was using to treat his epilepsy. The situation led to public outrage.

Professor Dame Sally Davies, UK Chief Medical Officer, concluded that medical cannabis should be legalized after she conducted a review. “In July the Home Secretary committed to swift action on behalf of those whose medical conditions would potentially be erased by cannabis-based products,” says a statement from a Home Office spokesperson. “And we have announced that cannabis-based products for medicinal use will be available for specialist doctors to prescribe legally from the autumn.”

“Any proposed course of treatment with cannabis-based medicine must be clinically led,” it read.

Around 28 million people living in the UK suffer from chronic pain, with thousands more diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, who will greatly benefit from cannabis by prescription.

Ireland Opens Café selling CBD Products

Blooms Café in Waterford City, Ireland just opened, and is now selling CBD-infused coffee as well as high CBD flower.

Ireland still hasn’t legalized cannabis for recreational use, although the Minister of Health has permitted medicinal cannabis but only on a case-to-case basis. These obstacles haven’t stopped the café from becoming the very first in Ireland to sell CBD products. However, don’t think you can go to the shop to get high: the products sold at Blooms Café doesn’t have any THC although customers are welcome to consume their CBD-infused coffee within its premises.

All cannabis products sold at the café shouldn’t exceed 0.2% THC, which restricts their offerings to just CBD strains or hemp. The product packaging says that the hemp and strains have been cultivated in Croatia.

Both residents and tourists are welcome to partake of the café’s products.

Europe Is Cannabis Hot Spot

Big execs from Canadian cannabis companies believe that Europe is going to be the next big cannabis hot spot. The continent, home to 500 million people, has already legalized cannabis for medical purposes in certain countries, but legalization in even more countries could inject billions of dollars in cannabis sales with the potential of disrupting the tobacco, alcohol, and pharmaceutical industries.

According to Bruce Linton, CEO of Canopy Growth Corp., England may be the first to have a mature cannabis market in 5 years, comparable to that of Canada. “Europe is a big deal,” Linton said during a cannabis investment conference in London. Canopy Growth already has presence in Europe including the Germany, Denmark, and the Czech Republic. He added that 1,000 pharmacies in Germany have contributed around 10% of company sales last quarter.

Sebastien St. Louis, CEO of Hexo Corp., expects that the UK may see a legal recreational market within three years, which is enough time for Europeans to get in on the budding cannabis market. “Europe isn’t missing out yet,” St. Louis said, adding that the continent’s cannabis market may be worth as much as $10 billion a year. “If they don’t move on this in the next two to three years, they will be.”

Currently, coffee shops and cannabis social clubs are the most popular models of legal supply in Europe. No governments have allowed cannabis to be sold for recreational purposes, while all countries still have prison sentences for trafficking cannabis illegally. Meanwhile, the hemp market in Europe is fertile, as most member nations produce the crop primarily France, Lithuania, Romania, and the Netherlands. In 2015, the European Convention on Human Rights stated that if drug use does not hurt others, it was recommended that it should not be illegal in the continent.