Europe Cannabis News - High Valued Cannabis Deals and New Trials Starting

european cannabis news

Aphria Sets Sights In Europe

Cannabis giant Aphria told Barron’s on Monday that the ongoing high-value cannabis deals in Europe will help them gain good footing in the continent. According to Irwin Simon, the current high-valued MMJ deals in Europe are paving the way for Aphria to strengthen their presence in the US while placing them on par with regulators in Europe.

Aphria is going to soon finish their merger with Tilray within this quarter and the resulting company will be the biggest cannabis company in the world in terms of revenue. They will be marketing products in the United Nation, Luxembourg, Poland, Sweden, as well as China though they also have ongoing deals being discussed in India. Currently, Aphria’s market capital is around $5.1 billion and they are famous in the industry for being the first Canadian cannabis business to enjoy net profits.

“In many ways, Europe is more progressive,” Simon explains. “There’s a lot of learning to take away from Europe that ultimately we bring to the US once legalization happens here.”

“I will look to acquire the right multistate operator once I know what the market will legalize or how the market will legalize in the US,” says Irwin. “I’d rather have to pay a little more when I can get into a business where the facts are known.”

European Legal Cannabis Market Set To Reach €3.2 Billion In 2025

According to the European Cannabis Report: 6th Edition by Prohibition Partners, the legal cannabis market in Europe is set to reach €3.2 billion by 2025 after a compound annual growth rate estimated to be in the tune of 67.4%. The report also states that in 2020, there were 600,000 individuals who consumed cannabis medicines for the first time in the continent, boosting the medicine’s profitability.

Germany is still the biggest legal cannabis market in Europe because of progressive rules as well as a large, wealthy population. They make up more than half of the market and will continue to do so until 2024. Additionally, medical cannabis imports into Germany have increased 37% in 2020, with a total of 9.3 tons of pot coming into the country.

The report also estimates that UK and France will have more developed legislations by 2025, allowing more patients to access the medicine. By then, large nations such as theirs will constitute a significant part of the market. Experts predict that if regulations in the UK continue to go as planned, the UK medical cannabis market could show the most promising growth in any European country come 2025.

They note that the market in Europe is strictly medical because no country has yet legalized recreational use. However, they see a shift coming in the next four years because more countries are tossing with the idea of legalizing adult-use marijuana. Prohibition Partners also identifies many countries in Europe that are most likely to legalize recreational cannabis by 2025 such as the Netherlands, Germany, and Switzerland. If they do so, adult-use cannabis sales could reach more than €500 million in 2025.

“Europe is beginning to realize its potential as the world’s leading cannabis market. Since the 1st Edition of The European Cannabis Report published 4 years ago, enormous progress has been made for patient access and cannabis education. We are only at the very start of our journey of cannabis in Europe but there is irrefutable momentum towards becoming the world’s largest cannabis market, it is only a matter of time. The European Cannabis Report 6th Edition does a fantastic job informing the reader on the status of the industry in Europe, providing the context for growth and mapping out the roadmap for all stakeholders,” says Prohibition Partners CEO and Co-Founder Stephen Murphy.

Swiss Government Shares Details On Recreational Cannabis Trial
The Swiss Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) has released details on draft plans for legalizing recreational cannabis for a trial. With the current plan, the trials will be conducted from May 15, 2021 and will continue through May 2031 at the most.

Switzerland, along with The Netherlands, are trialing adult-use supply schemes in Europe. However, Switzerland will be the first who are planning to allow a completely legalized recreational cannabis supply chain, reports Prohibition Partners. The pilot schemes will be restricted to one municipality and will go on for as long as 5 years though there is a possibility to be expanded for 2 more years.

Pilot scheme initiators should also be monitoring the health status of each participant, who will be visiting doctors to assist with this. Cannabis can be provided to 5,000 registered participants at most, and points of sale should be approved beforehand by the FOPH.

France Begins 2-Year MMJ Trials

Late last month, the French government launched a countrywide initiative that would allow 3,000 patients to consume medical cannabis. The trials will be running for 2 years and eventually this will lead to the drug’s legalization.

The patients and their health will be monitored by a medicine watchdog. The primary purpose of the experiment is to compile data on the safety and efficacy of cannabis. It will also give them time to prepare the logistics needed to distribute it in the future, said the Health Ministry in a statement.

Eligible patients include those that suffer from cancer, nerve pain that is unresponsive to other treatments, specific types of epilepsy, and those in palliative care.

According to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, in 2018 France had the highest consumption of cannabis recreationally in Europe, as 21.8% admitted to using it within the last year followed by Spain. For this reason, the French parliamentary committee head Jean-Baptiste Moreau believes that cannabis should already be legalized because this would curb the black market. Meanwhile, the ongoing trials would enable the government to plan properly for the structures needed for legalizing it medically.