LATEST ALERTS
16th December 2024
CBD
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Global business and regulatory news covering the cannabis industry
Daily regulatory updates of legal changes in the cannabis sector, including monthly compilations
18th December 2024
- Denmark: Stenocare – a supplier of prescription-based medical cannabis to patients in Denmark and internationally – has announced that it has received approval from the Danish Medicines Agency to start selling a new medical cannabis oil product in Denmark. The product, CBD100, has a high concentration of CBD active ingredients (100 mg/ml) and expands treatment options for patients requiring higher CBD dosages. It also positions Stenocare as the only supplier of such a product. The approval of a high-concentration CBD product demonstrates the growing demand for diverse medical cannabis formulations, paving the way for other companies to innovate and seek regulatory approvals.
12th December 2024
- Japan: The law criminalising recreational cannabis use and legalising medicinal cannabis products enters into force today. Medicines will require approval before becoming available to patients. Following a public consultation launched in May, the government has issued guidance on THC limits for CBD products.
5th December 2024
- UK: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has announced that it will launch an eight-week public consultation in early 2025 which will be considered in the recommendation to the government of three CBD-containing novel food applications that received a positive risk assessment from the agency. The FSA has suggested that the acceptable threshold for THC content in CBD novel food applications will be aligned with Home Office standards, namely that “where THC is present at very low levels and cannot be readily extracted in a quantity that is liable to be abused, it can be defined as an exempt product under drugs law and can be freely traded”. The FSA expects to make recommendations on CBD applications to ministers by spring/summer 2025, following the public consultation.
27th November 2024
- Philippines: The primary sponsor of the Cannabis Medicalization Act, senator Robinhood Padilla, said he would work with the Philippine Dangerous Drugs Board and its enforcement arm – the Philippines Drug Enforcement Agency – to bring Philippine law in line with international recommendations on CBD, referencing a 2020 UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs decision, to reclassify CBD to recognise its potential medical value. The bill has been pending its second reading since March 2024. Other bills with similar subjects are also being discussed in Congress.
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.
13th November 2024
- Portugal: The National Authority for Medicines and Health Products (Infarmed) has withdrawn several CBD products by the brand Drasanvi from the market. According to the authority, cosmetic products cannot contain substances or preparations derived from cannabis plants – such as cannabis resin, extracts, leaves and flowers – regardless of their THC content. The only exception is substances obtained from the seeds with 0.2% or less THC.
22nd October 2024
- France: A group of deputies from the far-right party Rassemblement National (National Front) has proposed an amendment to the Finance Bill 2025 to introduce an excise duty on CBD-containing products. The proposed rate of this tax is 5.5% of the retail sale price excluding tax, and it would target all forms of CBD-containing products for recreational or medical use. The amendment is likely to find support from other political groups, especially the moderate-right party Les Républicains and the centrist Ensemble pour la République.
2nd October 2024
- India: A Delhi-based startup, Awshad, has identified anxiety, insomnia, and mental endurance as major factors driving the demand for CBD in the country. The founders believe there is a significant gap in the market for mental well-being solutions in India, which CBD products could potentially fill. CBD oil and other products are legal in India, as long as they are produced from approved industrial hemp and contain less than 0.3% THC.
30th September 2024
- Germany: The German Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) has reported an increased number of CBD foods, which are considered novel foods, being notified to the European Rapid Alert System (RASFF). Out of 90 products reported in 2023, 44 were notified by the German authorities. The authorities reported that the products are particularly attractive to children, such as chewing gum, honey and soft drinks.
19th September 2024
- Japan: The government has released guidance on THC limits for CBD products following a public consultation launched in May of this year. Despite the fact that the Ministry of Health made minor adjustments to the initially proposed limits, they remain among the strictest in the world. Yuji Masataka, one of the first specialists in medical cannabis in Japan, stated that products such as broad-spectrum or vapes might struggle to comply with the new regulations, which could lead to a shift towards isolate products or synthetic CBD.
16th September 2024
- EU: The European Commission (EC) has published its 2023 annual report on food safety alerts and agri-food fraud investigations, which facilitates cooperation and an information exchange between member states on official controls in the agri-food chain. The report says 20 CBD food applications have been deemed valid by the Commission and are currently undergoing risk assessment by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). The report also says that, in 2023, 128 cases of cannabinoids were reported as suspected fraud in food, with two-thirds of these involving CBD. The EC suggested member countries to act accordingly.
12th September 2024
- Italy: The Regional Administrative Tribunal (TAR) has suspended the decree from July 2024 that places “the compositions for oral administration of cannabidiol obtained from Cannabis extracts” in the medicines table of the Narcotics Act. The tribunal will rule on the decree’s legitimacy on 16th December.
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