Belgium: Market and legal data analysis of the cannabis sector

19th December 2023: Belgium: The Federal Public Service for Health, Food Chain Safety, and the Environment has updated its positive list of notified herbal products for smoking, which includes hemp flowers and other smokable cannabinoid products. Products not on the list may not be placed on the Belgian market without going through the notification process.
10th November 2023: Belgium: The Federal Public Service for Health, Food Chain Safety, and the Environment has updated its positive list of notified herbal products for smoking, which includes hemp flowers and other smokable cannabinoid products. Products not on the list may not be placed on the Belgian market without going through the notification process.
10th October 2023: Belgium: The Federal Public Service for Health, Food Chain Safety, and the Environment has updated its positive list of notified herbal products for smoking, which includes hemp flowers and other smokable cannabinoid products. Products not on the list may not be placed on the Belgian market without going through the notification process.
29th September 2023: Belgium: The Royal Decree banning the sale of nicotine pouches and cannabinoid-containing pouches enters into force for retailers on 1st October. British American Tobacco (BAT) has challenged the Royal Decree before the Council of State, the highest administrative court.
1st September 2023: Belgium: Pierre-Yves Dermagne, Belgium's deputy prime minister and minister of the economy and employment, has taken a bold stance in favour of legalising recreational cannabis. He said the current prohibition policies have proven ineffective and mentioned alternative approaches undertaken by Luxembourg and Germany. Dermagne argues that regulated sales of recreational cannabis could significantly support the country's revenue through excise duties, while alleviating the burdens on the judicial system and law enforcement agencies. An official proposal has not yet been introduced into the parliament.
16th August 2023: Belgium: The Federal Public Service for Health, Food Chain Safety, and the Environment has updated its positive list of notified herbal products for smoking, which includes hemp flowers and other smokable cannabinoid products. Products not on the list may not be placed on the Belgian market without going through the notification process.
30th June 2023: Belgium: The Royal Decree banning the sale of nicotine pouches and cannabinoid-containing pouches enters into force tomorrow, 1st July, for manufacturers and importers. It will enter into force for retailers on 1st October. British American Tobacco (BAT) has challenged the Royal Decree before the Council of State, the highest administrative court.
24th May 2023: Belgium: British American Tobacco (BAT) is to take a challenge to Belgium’s top administrative court, the Council of State, against the royal decree banning nicotine- and cannabinoid-containing pouches, press reports. BAT will argue that health minister Frank Vandenbroucke did not wait for an opinion from the Superior Health Council and did not take into account recent scientific research on the subject before announcing the ban, which is due to come into effect on 1st October.
18th May 2023: Belgium: The Federal Public Service for Health, Food Chain Safety and the Environment has updated its positive list of notified herbal products for smoking, which includes hemp flowers and other smokable cannabinoid products. Products not on the list may not be placed on the Belgian market without going through the notification process.
26th April 2023: Belgium: The Federal Public Service for Health, Food Chain Safety and the Environment has updated its positive list of notified herbal products for smoking, which includes hemp flowers and other smokable cannabinoid products. Products not on the list may not be placed on the Belgian market without going through the notification process.
29th March 2023: Belgium: Health minister Frank Vandenbroucke has banned the sale of cannabinoid-containing pouches, along with nicotine pouches, through a royal decree which will come into force on 1st July (or 1st October for retailers). Vandenbroucke announced in January his intention to ban the pouches after the Belgian government notified a proposal to that effect to the TRIS database in June 2022. That proposal received negative opinions from Croatia, Hungary and Sweden, while the European Commission offered no comment.

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