European Cannabis Week
London will host the first European Cannabis Week, taking place at different venues around the City between June 23rd and 29th. Following the wave of cannabis legalisation across Europe, where many Governments have taken action in this respect, the series of events will deepen into all aspects of the emerging cannabis market.
Alastair Moore, Co-Founder of European Cannabis Week explained the aims of this event, affirming that “European Cannabis Week will drive this growth, bringing together the people, brands and organisations that will shape the emerging European market.”
Speakers will debate topics concerning politics, science, health, patient needs, advocacy, investment and culture. .
Germany
On Tuesday, a federal court in Leipzig ruled that drivers on cannabis will no longer automatically lose the licence. This will apply to first-time offenders only and authorities must assess and declare with a medical evaluation whether or not the cannabis user was fit to drive, as the daily Deutsche Welle has recently reported.
Under German law, a driver’s licence could be revoked if the driver was found unable to drive due to consumption of alcohol or drugs. Specifically, if they were caught with one nanogram of THC in their blood, their licence could be revoked instantly. Experts disagree with the one-nanogram limit, affirming that THC can remain in the bloodstream days after a person consumes cannabis. For this reason, in 2015, they suggested increasing the limit to three nanograms.
Andre Schulz, head of the BDK organisation (the Association of German Criminal Officers), said that stigmatisation on cannabis “allows criminal careers to start”, and argued “the prohibition of cannabis was, viewed historically, arbitrary” and is “neither intelligent nor expedient”. He hopes that cannabis consumption will be completely decriminalised soon.
Teagan Appleby’s medicinal cannabis returned
Last week we reported the story of Teagan Appleby and her family. Since doctors in the UK refused to sign off Teagan’s use of the drug, the family travelled to the Netherlands and imported a three-month dose of cannabis oil containing THC and CBD. On arrival at Southend Airport, all medication was confiscated by Customs Officials.
Positive developments have come about this week. On April 10th, Teagan’s mother, Emma confirmed that a specialist doctor in the UK had finally issued a prescription for nine-year-old daughter Teagan, who has severe epilepsy. According to the new legal framework, doctors have been able to issue prescriptions for medicinal cannabis since November 2018. Yet, Teagan was not given one – until now.
On April 12th, Emma was notified that confiscated medicine was ready to be collected and on the following day, she travelled to London and got Teagan’s medications back.
Emma said that it’s “wrong that it’s taken me to do this to get it” and promised to continue “fighting” for other parents who have been denied access.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock tweeted: “Happy to say that Teagan Appleby’s cannabis-based medicine… is ready to be collected. We are working hard across government to ensure we get these medicines to those who need them.”
Greece
Last month, we talked about the emergent cannabis market in Greece with leading business consultant Costas Vamvakas. At that point, two companies had been licensed for cultivation and procession of medical cannabis.
This week, VK PREMIUM Business Consultants Ltd announced that two five-year installation licences have been issued to “Pharma Essenza Cannabis SA” and “PENTE SA”.
PENTE SA will take up a cultivation unit of 3.5 hectares, whereas Pharma Essenza Cannabis’ facilities will be located on 85.3 hectares. This brings the total number of companies issued licenses in Greece up to four, out of 43 applications.
Malta
The Supreme Cannabis Company announced that a letter of intent has been signed with Malta Enterprises, the economic development agency of Malta. Supreme is seeking to obtain a cultivation licence from the Maltese authority and the letter of intent represents the first step towards this.
For many Canadian and American companies, Malta is a strategic first choice which allows them to serve export markets throughout Europe and expand across the continent.
Navdeep Dhaliwal, CEO of The Supreme Cannabis Company, said, “Using the intellectual property and expertise we’ve gained in Canada, we intend to deliver high-quality cannabis products to medical patients in multiple international markets.”
The Stop and Chat 