Slovenia: Market and legal data analysis of the cannabis sector

10th June 2024: Slovenia: With a participation of 41%, 66.6% of the voters voted in favour of allowing the cultivation and processing of cannabis for medicinal purposes, and 51.5% voted in favour of allowing cultivation and possession of cannabis for personal use at the consultative referendum that the country held yesterday, 9th June. The referendum is not binding, and so the government can decide whether or not to follow up on it with legislative action.
30th May 2024: Slovenia: For tomorrow’s World No Tobacco Day, celebrated every year on 31st May, the Ministry of Health has issued a press release calling attention to the increase in notifications to the EU Common Entry Gate (EU-CEG) portal – the EU-wide website to notify novel tobacco products (and herbal heated sticks in the case of Slovenia) – of herbal products for smoking and herbal heated products compatible with heating devices based on tea and industrial hemp. The Ministry of Health is concerned “that these products are no longer just a means of delivering nicotine but also other active substances, such as cannabinoids”.
21st May 2024: Slovenia: Last week, the Slovenian Medical Association issued a negative opinion on the referendum that will take place on 9th June, asking citizens whether the cultivation and processing of cannabis for medical purposes should be allowed in the country. The Association considers that current legislation is adequate and that changes are not necessary.
10th May 2024: Slovenia: Yesterday (9th May), the Constitutional Court rejected the request brought by the opposition parties New Slovenia and the Slovenian Democratic Party in April to suspend the public referendum on cannabis, press reports. The referendum, asking whether the country should allow the cultivation and processing of cannabis for medical purposes and whether it should allow the cultivation and possession of cannabis for limited personal use, will therefore take place on 9th June 2024 – the same day as the elections for the European Parliament.
29th April 2024: Slovenia: Opposition parties New Slovenia and the Slovenian Democratic Party have submitted a request for constitutional review to the Constitutional Court on the public referendum asking whether the country should allow the cultivation and processing of cannabis for medical purposes and whether it should allow the cultivation and possession of cannabis for limited personal use, press reports. The referendum is scheduled to take place in the country on the same date as the elections for the European Parliament, on 9th June 2024.
18th April 2024: Slovenia: Yesterday, 17th April, the parliament approved the governmental proposal to launch a public referendum on whether the country should allow the cultivation and processing of cannabis for medical purposes and whether it should allow the cultivation and possession of cannabis for limited personal use, press reports. The date of the referendum was not agreed upon; the ruling Freedom Movement party wants it on the day of the European Parliament elections (9th June), but some other parties in the coalition disagree.
16th April 2024: Slovenia: Today, the Parliamentary Committee on Health approved the proposal from the ruling party Freedom Movement to launch a referendum asking Slovenian citizens whether the country should allow the cultivation and processing of cannabis for medical purposes and whether it should allow the cultivation and possession of cannabis for limited personal use, press reports. The proposal is now awaiting the debate in plenary.
14th November 2023: Slovenia: Amendments to the regulation on the classification of illicit drugs were published in the official gazette on the 10th November 2023. These include adding hexahydrocannabinol (HHC), its acetate (HHC-O), hexahydrocannabiphorol (HHCP) and tetrahydrocannabiphorol (THCP) to the narcotics list, making them subject to the narcotics regime. The amendments will enter into force 15 days after publication.
19th September 2023: Slovenia: The Ministry of Health has proposed an amendment to the regulation on the classification of illicit drugs to include hexahydrocannabinol (HHC), its acetate (HHC-O), hexahydrocannabiphorol (HHCP) and tetrahydrocannabiphorol (THCP) in the narcotics list. The bill is currently being discussed at ministerial level and, if adopted, would enter into force 15 days after its publication in the official gazette.
14th September 2023: Slovenia: Member of parliament (MP) Nataša Sukić submitted a parliamentary question this week on the progress of the interdepartmental working group announced in the July 2023 resolution of the 2023-2030 national programme for illicit drugs. The group is supposed to examine the consequences of cannabis use with regard to public health and propose possibilities for a new regulatory framework for the cultivation, production, marketing and sale of cannabis for personal use. Sukić asked whether this interdepartmental working group had already been established and, if so, whether it had started its analysis. The MP also asked whether the minister of health supported the establishment of a regulatory framework for cannabis similar to that which is already in place for alcohol or tobacco.
19th July 2023: Slovenia: A resolution on the 2023-2030 national program for illicit drugs has been published in the Official Gazette. It states that an interdepartmental working group will examine the social consequences of cannabis use with regard to public safety, public health and the protection of vulnerable groups within three years at the latest and, based on an analysis of regulation elsewhere, propose possibilities for a new regulatory framework for the cultivation, production, marketing and sale of cannabis for personal use.
7th June 2023: Slovenia: Rules amending the Regulation on the conditions for obtaining a permit for the cultivation of hemp have been published in the Official Gazette, increasing the maximum THC content allowed in industrial hemp grown in the country from 0.2% to 0.3%. The new rules also establish a new annual deadline of 1st June for submitting applications to cultivate hemp (formerly 10th May); for 2023 only, the deadline will be 1st July.

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