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19th November 2024
Cannabis – medical
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Global business and regulatory news covering the cannabis industry
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Daily regulatory updates of legal changes in the cannabis sector, including monthly compilations
20th November 2024
- Germany: The Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) has published the amount of imported medical cannabis for the third quarter of 2024, with a 72.9% increase from the second quarter of 2024. Germany imported 20,119 kg of cannabis in the third quarter, according to the BfArM. For comparison, it imported 11,634 kg in the second quarter of 2024 and 32,072 kg in all of 2023. The increase in imports is likely due to an increase in demand after key regulatory reforms took effect in April, which simplified the prescription process.
19th November 2024
- Denmark: The Danish government has announced plans to make the country's medical cannabis scheme permanent, following a positive evaluation of its trial programme introduced in 2018. The initiative aims to ensure continued access to legally prescribed medical cannabis for patients with severe conditions, such as cancer and multiple sclerosis. Health minister Sophie Løhde emphasised the importance of maintaining a legal framework to support patients benefiting from these treatments. Today, she invited political parties to engage in discussions on formalising the programme’s legalisation.
19th November 2024
- Luxembourg: Medical cannabis patients can no longer be prescribed high-THC cannabis flower, starting 1st January 2025, press reports. The prescription of any cannabis flower – regardless of THC concentration – would eventually be prohibited, though the details of when low-THC flower would be phased out and what the THC threshold will be are not yet clear. Eventually, patients will only have access to cannabis preparations, though home cultivation of up to four cannabis plants for personal use is also allowed.
14th November 2024
- Brazil: The Superior Court of Justice has unanimously decided to authorise the import of seeds, cultivation, industrialisation and commercialisation of cannabis plants of up to 0.3% THC for medical, pharmaceutical or industrial purposes, press reports. The decision is binding, and the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) and the federal government have six months to issue regulations. Hemp is currently prohibited in Brazil.
14th November 2024
- Australia: A parliamentary committee looking into the impact of the regulatory framework for cannabis from the state of New South Wales (NSW) has requested in its interim report that the NSW ruling Labor party initiate the path towards decriminalisation of adult personal use. The committee recommended that decriminalisation be done gradually, stage by stage, starting with a “relaxation, but not elimination, of the criminalisation of cannabis”. It also proposes not sanctioning drivers who test positive for cannabis consumption if they have a medical prescription.
14th November 2024
- US - Texas: A number of bills have been introduced that would expand the medical cannabis programme in Texas. Senate Bill (SB) 170 proposes replacing the term “low-THC cannabis” with “medical cannabis” in state law. It would also introduce new regulations on product testing, packaging, labelling, statewide retail locations, caregivers and other aspects of the expanded programme. SB 259 would also expand the state’s medical cannabis programme by allowing medical professionals and scientific research to determine the conditions and symptoms eligible for prescriptions. House Bill (HB) 1146 would expand the list of qualifying conditions, enabling patients to access Texas’s low-THC medical marijuana to treat “a condition that causes chronic pain, for which a physician would otherwise prescribe an opioid”. House Joint Resolution (HJR) 70 proposes a constitutional amendment that would direct the legislature to “authorise and regulate the possession, cultivation, and sale of cannabis for medical use in this state”.
14th November 2024
- New Zealand: The sublingual Helius THC27:CBD25 Full Spectrum Spray has been verified by the Medicinal Cannabis Agency as meeting the minimum quality standard required to be supplied in New Zealand. It is the only sublingual spray to meet the requirements to date.
12th November 2024
- Brazil: The Supreme Court will decide whether the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) exceeded its powers when it banned the sale of medical cannabis-based products in compounding pharmacies by creating a distinction between compounding and non-compounding pharmacies not provided by law. An Anvisa decision stipulated that sales could only take place in non-compounding pharmacies and drugstores, as it is a psychotropic substance subjected to special control. The process has yet to be defined.
8th November 2024
- Poland: Yesterday (7th November), a regulation amending the prescription regime of cannabis entered into force. The regulation has added medical cannabis to the list of substances that doctors are not able to prescribe to patients during remote or online consultations. This means it now can only be prescribed after in-person examinations with the doctor.
6th November 2024
- US - Nebraska: Nebraska voters supported a pair of statutory initiatives to legalise medical cannabis and establish regulations for the industry, with 71% and 67% majorities. Measure 437, which aims to shield medical cannabis patients from penalties for possessing and using cannabis when they have a written recommendation from a healthcare practitioner, as well as to shield prescribing doctors, was favoured by 71% of voters. Additionally, with 67% support, measure 438 aims to establish the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission and require it to promulgate regulations for the production and distribution of medical cannabis.
6th November 2024
- Ukraine: The government has regulated the procedure for obtaining quotas for the circulation of medical cannabis for 2025, the Ministry of Health reports. The business entity must submit an application to determine the quota to the State Medical Service by 15th December 2024. The updated procedure also regulates other elements of the circulation of medical cannabis, including the procedure for the destruction of medical cannabis waste and the procedure for cultivation, among others.
5th November 2024
- US - Federal: Today, voters in Florida, North Dakota and South Dakota will vote on ballot initiatives to legalise recreational cannabis in their states while those in Nebraska will vote on medical cannabis measures. The election represents the third time that voters in both North Dakota and South Dakota will decide on this issue. Meanwhile, in Nebraska, voters will vote on a pair of measures that would legalise medical cannabis and establish regulations for the industry.
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