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Challenges on the regulatory side for cannabis and psychedelic industries are still existent and obvious, however, it is promising to see that stakeholders are keen to continue bringing awareness and work towards the positive changes. On the market side, Dutch cannabis supply to Germany partially restored after a short delay and the German government may end up buying more medical cannabis than expected, but at a lower price.
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The Latest News
Regulatory updates
Not all WHO cannabis recommendations would loosen international control, UN drug agency says. An analysis by a United Nations monitoring body concludes that most of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) cannabis scheduling recommendations would either have little impact on international drug controls or actually tighten requirements. The WHO recommendations are often celebrated as a positive step toward the easing of the international control of cannabis, which would be a positive development for the industry. Particularly one recommendation would be a big symbolic win because it would implicitly acknowledge the medical value of cannabis at the highest international level. But regarding practical implications in the level of international control, the INCB document found that, if adopted:
Two recommendations would imply no meaningful change.
Two others would mean more control for pure THC.
The other two would imply less control – for certain pharmaceutical preparations containing THC and for some CBD products. But the INCB also said clearer definitions are needed.
Denmark approved only eight of 63 medical cannabis product applications. Eight of the 63 applications to admit products to Denmark’s medical cannabis trial scheme have won approval since the program’s inception in 2018, according to a recent disclosure by Health Minister Magnus Heunicke. Subsequently, however, four of the products were removed from the approved list because they could no longer be provided in the country of origin, Canada. Approval and regulatory compliance in the origin country is a basic requirement for the admission of an imported cannabis product for the Danish scheme. That only 12% of products ultimately reached the Danish market so far is an example of the regulatory quagmire facing medical marijuana businesses in some countries. To read more
New Medical Psychedelics Working Group to lobby for ease in UK research restrictions. As more troops self-medicate with psychedelic drugs to help with PTSD, a new body, the Medical Psychedelics Working Group, a consortium of experts, academics, researchers, policy specialists, and industry partners, is to begin lobbying for a change in the law so that scientists can conduct clinical trials. The launch is planned for 14 July 2020. To read more
Market updates
Dutch cannabis supply to Germany partially restored after a short delay. Dutch medical cannabis shipments to Germany has partially been restored after a short delay, and some German wholesalers started receiving flower deliveries in recent days. At least three German wholesalers – clients of the Dutch Office of Medicinal Cannabis (OMC) – received their June order at the end of last week or so far this week. On June 11, the OMC said the order could be delayed up to six weeks “due to additional testing.” Because of the large dependency on Dutch flower, there was a looming possibility of supply interruption, but so far, MJBizDaily hasn’t seen any meaningful shortages among the pharmacies we regularly survey. To read more
Clever Leaves claims the first EU-GMP cannabis certification in Latin America. Clever Leaves, an international cannabis company with its main operations in Colombia, obtained EU-Good Manufacturing Practice certification “to produce Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API), semi-finished, and finished cannabis products for medical purposes” in its Colombian facilities. EU-GMP is an essential requirement for exporting medical marijuana – particularly extracts – for commercial and medicinal purposes to markets in the European Union. While exports of high-THC medical flower to the European Union without EU-GMP certification are possible under certain conditions, Colombia does not allow the exportation of flower for commercial purposes. This leaves Colombian producers little room to maneuver other than obtaining the EU certification if they want to export medicinal extracts manufactured from Colombia to the EU. To read more
Germany may see decreased prices. In 2019, Germany imported a total of ~6,500kg of flower, and this year several countries have begun ramping production in hopes of selling medical cannabis to the German market, which has seen an uptick in demand. However, the split of the domestic and imported product remains a grey area and could represent sequentially smaller exports from foreign companies which have scored export lots, such as Aurora and Aphria. Furthermore, it is expected that the German government will be purchasing cannabis at lower average prices per gram and could reach as low as 1.97 euros. To read more
Investment updates
Beckley Psytech raises £3m Series A. Beckley Psytech, the psychedelic medicine company has raised £3m of Series A funding to develop the pipeline of psychedelic drugs into licensed pharmaceutical medicines for treating psychiatric and neurological diseases. Investors in the round include prominent British businessmen Jim Mellon and Richard Reed, co-founder of Innocent Drinks. To read more