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21st 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
27th November 2024
- New Zealand: The dried cannabis flower for preparing tea for oral consumption Helius NZ Amelia THC15 has been verified by the Medicinal Cannabis Agency as meeting the minimum quality standard required to be supplied in New Zealand.
22nd November 2024
- Israel: The Medical Cannabis Unit has announced that patients who are currently unable to reside at the address listed on their cannabis licence can receive their prescriptions from any licensed pharmacies. The unit instructed pharmacies to supply medical cannabis to patients upon proper identification and by maintaining updated records accordingly.
22nd November 2024
- US - Kentucky: Governor Andy Beshear has announced that, starting 1st December, qualified patients in Kentucky will be able to receive a doctor’s recommendation to access medical cannabis. He said: “Beginning 1st December, the authorised practitioners will be able to begin issuing valid written certifications to Kentucky patients.” The governor’s administration has created a web portal called the Kentucky Medical Cannabis Practitioner Directory to help connect patients with medical providers as it prepares for the start of its medical cannabis programme in 2025.
22nd November 2024
- Uruguay: National elections will be held on Sunday (24th November) to determine the next president. Yamandu Orsi of the leftist Broad Front (Frente Amplio) is favoured, though a close race is anticipated, press reports. Notably, cannabis was legalised in 2013 under the Broad Front’s former president José Mujica. Orsi’s opponent, Alvaro Delgado, is from the National Party, which is part of the current ruling Republican Coalition. Both candidates are considered moderate and unlikely to make major reforms, including any significant reforms to cannabis legislation.
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.
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