Market & legal data analysis of the cannabis sector in Europe

Why the long pause? Companies question Efsa's insistence on filling 'data gap'

Written by Freddie Dawson | 23rd June 2022

In trying to be overly cautious on novel foods, has the European Food Safety Authority inadvertently added an extra risk to public health? ...

Canadian and US firms set sights on promising German cannabis market

Written by Lorraine Mullaney | 22nd June 2022

North American cannabis firms are attempting to muscle in on the German medical cannabis scene – possibly in an attempt to establish themselves in the market before a recreational regime is established ...

Canada can teach Germany about pitfalls of legalising recreational cannabis

Written by Lorraine Mullaney | 17th June 2022

Germany should plan ahead to avoid problems which have plagued governments that have already legalised recreational cannabis on top of medical cannabis ...

Data gaps in EU novel food applications will be difficult, slow and costly to fill

Written by Tiziana Cauli | 15th June 2022

CBD companies say they do not know when or even how they will be able to provide the missing data that has caused the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to pause the clock on assessing...

EFSA puts novel food assessment on hold for applicants to provide missing data

Written by Tiziana Cauli | 7th June 2022

A hold has been placed on European novel food assessment after the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) said it was unable to proceed due to identified knowledge gaps in safety data ...

US at risk of missing huge opportunity in cannabis due to lack of federal reform

Written by Lorraine Mullaney | 31st May 2022

The US is in danger of being left behind the burgeoning global cannabis market because of a lack of political will to commit to any form of federal cannabis reform ...

Mental health, addiction treatments with psychedelics: could the UK lead the way?

Written by Lorraine Mullaney | 27th May 2022

Strangely, Brexit and then the Covid-19 pandemic have combined to create ideal conditions for the UK to potentially become a leader in psychedelics research ...

Germany puts legal cannabis back up the agenda – but EU and UN obstacles remain

Written by CannIntelligence | 26th May 2022

The German government has performed an abrupt U-turn on recreational cannabis legislation just three months after the new coalition government said such plans were not among its priorities for this year ...

UK FSA’s slow-moving novel food authorisation process feeds frustration

Written by CannIntelligence | 20th May 2022

It’s been two years since the deadline for CBD companies to apply for the Food Standards Agency (FSA) novel foods authorisation, yet none have been authorised and few have been validated ...

CBD watchdog Leafreport tests sleeping products, with eye-opening results

Written by Lorraine Mullaney | 20th May 2022

The need to improve sleep is one of the main reasons why US consumers buy CBD, according to CBD-Intel’s latest market research; however, a recent report from a CBD watchdog claims that 60% of the...

What action in the name of sustainability is the CBD industry likely to see?

Written by Freddie Dawson | 19th May 2022

CBD is already working from a higher base than many consumer products on the market. But that does not mean there is nothing else to be done ...

EU officially recognises first CBG-rich hemp variety among registered plants

Written by Tiziana Cauli | 13th May 2022

The EU has granted official recognition to a hemp variety rich in cannabigerol (CBG) by including a new cannabinoid strain in its database of registered plant varieties ...

New studies explore how cannabis can help improve women’s menstrual health

Written by Lorraine Mullaney | 12th May 2022

Clinical trials are investigating how CBD can improve menstrual health and treat conditions such as premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and perhaps even endometriosis ...

Europe seeks makeover for rules on CBD in cosmetics in wake of Kanavape ruling

Written by Sergi Riudalbàs Clemente | 9th May 2022

A non-paper is being drafted by European authorities to examine how to change rules to formally permit the use of CBD in cosmetics in Europe following the Courts of Justice of the European Union (CJEU)...

Basel moves forward with its recreational cannabis trial

Written by CannIntelligence | 6th May 2022

Basel will start allowing the sale of recreational cannabis through local pharmacies at the end of the summer as the first Swiss city to win the approval of health authorities for the pilot project ...

UK FSA updates novel food list – but what difference will it make to the market?

Written by Freddie Dawson | 5th May 2022

The recent update to the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA)’s list of CBD products linked to validated novel food applications has created further issues and questions in the industry – such as, what will actually...

Update nearly doubles the length of UK FSA's novel food applications list

Written by Freddie Dawson | 5th May 2022

The list of products linked to novel food applications in the UK has nearly doubled in length with the addition of 2,446 products by the Foods Standards Agency (FSA) ...

Kanavape ruling: 17 months on, EU-wide compliance remains patchy and unsure

Written by Sergi Riudalbàs Clemente | 4th May 2022

The European Commission has emphasised once again that EU member states must apply the ruling of the Courts of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in the Kanavape decision to national law ...

Kanabo acquires The GP Service in a bid to ‘bring cannabis to the UK mainstream’

Written by CannIntelligence | 3rd May 2022

Medicinal cannabis company Kanabo has bought private telemedicine platform The GP Service in a £14m deal to make its products – and those of rival companies – more accessible in the UK ...

Psychedelics and mental health research: hope for public and policy support

Written by Lorraine Mullaney | 27th April 2022

Jamaica is attempting to make itself as synonymous with medical-grade psychedelics in the minds of researchers as it is with cannabis production in the minds of many ...

Different strokes for different folks – why the EU's not all one for wellness CBD

Written by Lorraine Mullaney | 26th April 2022

Companies selling CBD wellness products in the EU must be wary of the lack of harmonisation at the EU level and the potential complications this can bring ...

'Final call' as UK FSA prepares to update validated CBD novel food application list

Written by Freddie Dawson | 21st April 2022

The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) is to update its list of products linked to validated CBD novel food applications to reflect those linked to a credible application and which were on the market before...

The common sense of CBD science, and why it doesn't always come to the fore

Written by Barnaby Page | 21st April 2022

Is the current system of peer-reviewed journal publication the best way to get the best science on CBD and cannabis? There could be another way ...

Cannabis vape innovator opens online outlet to reach CBD wellness market

Written by Lorraine Mullaney | 21st April 2022

Kanabo, the company behind the UK’s first medicinal cannabis vape, has launched an e-commerce platform to sell its VapePod products to wellness CBD consumers ...

Industry bodies optimistic UK regulators will take Hodges Review on board

Written by Tiziana Cauli | 20th April 2022

Industry associations hope a review of UK policy on cannabinoids will help the government address regulation that has limited the development of the CBD and wider sectors ...

Polish court decision on hemp as novel food could have big ramifications

Written by Freddie Dawson | 14th April 2022

A Polish appeals court has put forward a decision that may be out of kilter with many other interpretations of the status of hemp as a novel food ...

Appeals court hands hemp company a victory in Polish 'novel food' battle

Written by CannIntelligence | 14th April 2022

A Polish appeals court has accepted arguments that hemp was consumed before 1997, making it non-novel and leading the court to overturn a decision by the country’s Chief Sanitary Inspectorate ...

Green energy firm plans cannabis plant on Isle of Man, avoiding UK restrictions

Written by Lorraine Mullaney | 14th April 2022

UK clean energy specialist Peel NRE has announced ambitious plans to set up a production facility for medicinal cannabis on the Isle of Man with the aim of exporting products to emerging markets beyond Europe...

EIHA gives warm welcome to EU-wide THC limits, but uncertainties remain

Written by CannIntelligence | 13th April 2022

Maximum THC levels for hempseed foods and oil across the EU are a major step forward in clarifying the regulation of hemp-derived products, according to the European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA) ...

Tobacco giant BAT increases its stake in cannabis with more cash for Organigram

Written by Lorraine Mullaney | 13th April 2022

British American Tobacco (BAT) has invested a further CAD6.3m (USD5.03m) in the Canadian cannabis company Organigram, thereby increasing its stake from 18.8% to 19.5% ...

UK broadcaster Channel 4 puts its weight behind Cannaray and the CBD market

Written by Tiziana Cauli | 12th April 2022

UK public service TV network Channel 4 believes the country’s CBD market will continue to grow and has backed its position by investing in the Cannaray brand ...

So far so good, but German lawmakers urged to go further on medical cannabis

Written by CannIntelligence | 11th April 2022

Five years after German patients were first allowed to obtain medical cannabis, demand has risen sharply – but there are still some unanswered issues on policy and practice that lobbyists want addressed ...

Through a glass darkly – CHUMP aims to spread a little post-Brexit light on CBD

Written by CannIntelligence | 1st April 2022

UK authorities moved today (1st April) to give new clarity on the legal status of CBD and other cannabinoids, with a new department ready to clear up Home Office mess ...

UK FSA finally publishes long-rumoured list of validated novel food applications

Written by Antonia Di Lorenzo | 31st March 2022

The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) has published a list of around 3,500 CBD food products whose applications for novel food status have been validated or still await validation ...

Israeli companies predict a bright future in plants following regulatory changes

Written by Lorraine Mullaney | 28th March 2022

Regulatory changes in Israel have enabled a cannabis company to advance breeding methods and grow plants that promise to yield higher levels of cannabinoids ...

European Commission moving ahead slowly on permissible THC levels in food

Written by CannIntelligence | 24th March 2022

THC levels have been established for certain hemp foodstuffs, which may later govern the amount of THC allowed in ingestible cannabinoid products, experts working for the European Commission have confirmed ...

Poland set to grow cannabis for medical use after Senate ratifies hemp bill

Written by CannIntelligence | 15th March 2022

The Polish Senate has passed a bill introducing new regulations on hemp growing and medical cannabis with minimal changes from the version already approved by the lower parliamentary chamber, the Sejm ...

The anticipated eBay CBD sales trial has finally launched and is under way

Written by Freddie Dawson | 10th March 2022

The eBay CBD sales trial – first announced by CBD-Intel last year – has finally been confirmed to be underway ...

Is investing in cannabis in 2022 a smart bet or a ‘dead-money scenario’?

Written by Lorraine Mullaney | 9th March 2022

Last month CBD-Intel reported that the Dermapharm Holding bought Canopy Growth’s Cannabinoid Compound Company (C3) for €80m, a huge loss for Canopy, and one of the biggest cannabis acquisitions in Europe at the time. But what makes...

More medical applications for cannabinoids being explored

Written by Lorraine Mullaney | 4th March 2022

Scientists around the world are starting to look even further afield for potential uses of cannabis in medical applications, such as treating the symptoms of long Covid-19, Alzheimer’s-related agitation, and to alleviate the pain resulting...

‘A major step forward’ for CBD as EC validates a few novel food applications

Written by CannIntelligence | 2nd March 2022

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has validated the novel food applications of at least five CBD producers, marking what one company called an “important milestone” in the ongoing saga of EU CBD regulation ...

Italian Constitutional Court rejects referendum on decriminalising cannabis

Written by CannIntelligence | 25th February 2022

An Italian referendum on the potential decriminalisation of cannabis for personal use has been rejected by the country’s Constitutional Court ...

Market and regulatory outlook: future
cannabis strategies in Europe 2022

Written by Tim Phillips | 10th February 2022

This presentation on the market and regulatory outlook for consumer cannabis products in Europe was given by CBD-Intel’s managing director Tim Phillips ...

Export expert outlines post-Brexit tips for moving goods into the UK or Europe

Written by Lorraine Mullaney | 2nd February 2022

Andy Hooper, CEO of Global E-Commerce Experts, provides tips for companies wishing to export into Europe. He'll expand on this in a talk at White Label World Expo in London on 2nd and 3rd March...

Will UK FSA at last publish an updated list of validated novel food applications?

Written by Freddie Dawson | 2nd February 2022

Don't hold your breath, but rumours are swirling that the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) will soon publish an updated, completed list of CBD novel food applications that have been fully validated ...

Ambiguity and misinformation on Italian hemp decree spread yet more confusion

Written by CannIntelligence | 28th January 2022

A recent agreement to update the Italian list of officinal (medically usable) plants has caused some unfounded consternation in the country’s CBD industry ...

French government defeated in court as hemp flower sales ban is suspended

Written by CannIntelligence | 27th January 2022

France’s highest administrative court has temporarily and partially suspended the French decree banning the sale and consumption of CBD hemp flowers ...

German pharma firm buys €80m C3 to boost its European cannabis presence

Written by CannIntelligence | 26th January 2022

German pharmaceutical manufacturer Dermapharm Holding is paying Canadian cannabis giant Canopy Growth €80m for the Cannabinoid Compound Company (C3) ...

Italian hemp farm aid and research grants fail to win over the industry

Written by CannIntelligence | 21st January 2022

€3m in aid has been allocated to the hemp supply chain following a decree by minister of agriculture Stefano Patuanelli issued in late December 2021 ...

Polish Sejm drafts laws to govern hemp farming for medical applications

Written by CannIntelligence | 20th January 2022

A bill governing growing and harvesting of hemp for pharmaceuticals has been passed to the Sejm’s Health Commission and the Agriculture and Rural Development Commission ...

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