Cannabis – medical
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Alerts
Daily regulatory updates of legal changes in the cannabis sector, including monthly compilations
17th May 2024
- US - Federal: The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has officially initiated the formal rulemaking process to move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). The proposed rule, which will soon be published in the Federal Register and undergo a mandatory 60-day public comment period, would move marijuana, marijuana extracts and naturally derived delta-9 THC to Schedule III. The rule would explicitly not affect synthetic THC (which would remain in Schedule I) or anything meeting the federal definition of hemp (which would remain unscheduled). The move to Schedule III – which was predicted by CannIntelligence in 2022 – recognises that marijuana has accepted medical use, while its potential for abuse is lower than that of other drugs in Schedules I and II.
16th May 2024
- Brazil: The National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) has approved the Regulatory Impact Analysis Report on medical cannabis products. The report supports the maintenance of the current authorisation method set in Resolution of the Collective Board (RDC) 327/2019 for medical products and identifies improvements to the regulation. These improvements include the development of measures to expand access to medical products in terms of cost, quality and availability. The next steps in the review of RDC 327/2019 are yet to be determined, but at this stage there are no proposed changes to the regulation.
14th May 2024
- Thailand: Health minister Somsak Thepsuthin said the Ministry of Public Health will move to place cannabis back on the list of category 5 narcotics but as a “soft drug”, press reports. “Please understand that a soft drug is not completely prohibited,” said Somsak. “The regulations will aim to prevent harm from misuse as well as use by children, according to the government’s policy.” He added that the ministry hopes to complete the move by the end of the year.
13th May 2024
- US - Vermont: House Bill (HB) 612 was passed by the Senate and now heads to the governor for final approval. HB 612 would make several amendments to the state's cannabis law, including adding ulcerative colitis to the list of qualifying conditions for medical cannabis, removing THC caps on cannabis flower and concentrates for medical cannabis, and allowing the Cannabis Control Board to deem some hemp products prohibited or as cannabis products.
10th May 2024
- US - Colorado: Senate Bill (SB) 24-76 has been passed by the House and now heads to the governor for final approval. SB 24-76 would make several amendments to the state's cannabis laws, including allowing cannabis operators to renew their permits every two years instead of annually and allowing cannabis dispensaries to sell hemp products and food. However, food sales must not account for more than 20% of the dispensary's revenue, and tobacco and alcohol sales would remain prohibited.
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.
9th May 2024
- Thailand: A day after new health minister Somsak Thepsuthin said that he was seeking opinions on how to regulate cannabis, prime minister Srettha Thavisin said that he has urged the Ministry of Public Health to re-list cannabis as a narcotic. Srettha said on X: “I would like to ask the Ministry of Public Health to amend the ministry announcement by bringing marijuana back to category 5 drugs and hasten to issue ministerial regulations allowing its use for medical and health purposes only.” Srettha has sought to ban recreational use since he was appointed but has not been successful so far. In September 2023, Srettha vowed to ban recreational use within six months, though little tangible progress has been made in the seven months since.
9th May 2024
- Panama: The Ministry of Health has rejected two appeals against the decision to grant licences for the production of medical cannabis. The Evaluation Commission then ratified the selection of seven companies that will be allowed to produce cannabis for medical purposes for a period of ten years. The selected companies received the highest scores and met the established criteria. No more administrative appeals can be lodged.
8th May 2024
- Thailand: Newly-appointed health minister Somsak Thepsuthin is seeking input from others on how to regulate cannabis and says that a final decision has not been made on whether to push for recriminalising cannabis, press reports. This stance is a departure from his predecessor, Cholnan Srikaew, who was pushing legislation to strictly limit cannabis to medical use. Cholnan was removed as health minister and replaced by Somsak on 28th April.
3rd May 2024
- US - Federal: Federal authorities have made little progress implementing the Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act, which was enacted in December 2022, to the dismay of the bill’s sponsors, press reports. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) was required to submit a report within a year of the bill’s passage on the potential health benefits of cannabis, but that deadline has passed without any response from the HHS. “It’s embarrassing,” said Democratic member of the House Earl Blumenauer, one of the bill’s sponsors. “I’ve seen no evidence that they’re at work to make this research go much more smoothly.”
3rd May 2024
- Ukraine: The State Service of Ukraine for Medicinal Products and Drug Control has published for public consultation a draft governmental resolution on regulating licensing requirements for medical cannabis, media reports. This resolution seeks to implement law 3528-IX (on medical cannabis) that will enter into force on 16th August 2024. Comments and suggestions are accepted via post or email: Kyiv, 03115, ave. 120-А Beresteyskyi, dls@dls.gov.ua.
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