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Will proposed plans to legalise recreational cannabis in Luxembourg and Malta change much in terms of EU business? Although both proposals represent massive victories for consumers and justice campaigners, the plans have little commercial value to most companies currently involved in the cannabinoids sector.
Both rely on the idea of home cultivation for personal use. Companies selling seeds – initially from outside the countries concerned – will see some benefit. But outside of that there is little to be said save for the unquantifiable impact any form of legalisation may have on consumer knowledge of and interest in other cannabinoid products such as CBD or medical cannabis.
In effect, though, the plans will not end the issues around the sale of cannabis. Neither country is legalising any form of sales (other than the aforementioned seeds) and Luxembourg will continue to ban public possession. But of course not everyone interested in using cannabis will have a green thumb. So it leaves the question of what those unable or unwilling to grow their own are supposed to do.
Given that the Luxembourgish justice minister said one of the main aims of the bill was to move away from the black market, there still appears to be a large gap in which illicit sales will inevitably continue to grow.
It is this half measure rather than the relatively small size of the countries that will prove to be the biggest drawback of the overall positive move. Keep an eye on developments in larger European countries such as the Netherlands, Switzerland and Germany to see what lessons they learn from these proceedings and how they go forward with their own cannabis-related plans.
– Freddie Dawson CBD-Intel staff
