Hello friends of CannaVigilance,
It’s good to know that some things never change. Things like meeting good people at cannabis conventions, which was the case again last weekend at the CB Expo in Zurich. It’s just amazing to be part of an industry that has so many great minds and keeps coming up with new innovative developments. And there is still so much ahead of us.But enough gushing, let’s kick off this week with the question…
Is Switzerland the leader in the cannabis industry?
This was one of the many interesting questions at this year’s CB Expo. Taking place in Zurich last weekend, the CB Expo welcomed more than 1500 visitors from all over the world, many of whom also visited us at our stand. Not only was it great to talk to so many new faces of the industry, it was again enlightening to discuss the latest developments. Cannavigia CEO Luc Richner took part in a panel on Switzerland’s potential leadership role in the cannabis industry. We talked to all the panellists after the conference – you can find their answers in our latest article.
We are not the only people who believe that rules will help our industry, so in order to help spread the love (of rules that is) we have some interviews for you to read this week.
From tomorrow, you will find us at Medical Cannabis Europe in Lisbon. We are at booth 11 – stop by or make an appointment here.
What is going in Germany?
All eyes are on Germany and their possible legalisation of cannabis for recreational use. According to the Bundestag’s scientific service, the EU law could stand in the way of the legalization. Jürgen Neumeyer, general manager of the BvCW, the German Cannabis Business Industry Association, also states that there are a lot of issues that need to be discussed, including EU and international law. We talked to Mr Neumeyer and Dirk Heitepriem, vice-president of the BvCW, about what is happening in Germany, what the next steps will be and what the timeline looks like.
Read the article here.
A vigilant eye on cannabis news
- As we discussed in our interview with the Moroccan grower, Omar Sefraoui, the frustrations in the country are increasing due to the slow move forward by the government. The delays in implementation are creating frustration and mistrust between farmers and the government – as well as opportunities for traffickers to continue their trade. If you are interested in a deeper insight to growing in Morocco, check out our country report here.
- Czechia is moving step by step towards a more solid approach to the legalisation of adult recreational use. Long known for their unwillingness to take legal action against casual users, the current drug czar Jindřich Vobořil, is preparing a draft law on the regulated market in the Czech Republic, which he plans to submit by the end of the year. He is also of the opinion https://www.expats.cz/czech-news/article/legalization-of-marijuana-in-czechia-could-happen-soon that the effort should be one driven at EU level and not just national level.
- One of the British government’s first acts under Prime Minister Liz Truss was to refuse to give formal permission to allow Bermuda to enact a law to legalise and regulate marijuana – despite reports that Truss herself previously supported legalising cannabis. Top Bermuda officials and UK reform advocates are not taking this lightly, with some characterising it as colonialist era overreach by the UK that may rise to the level of a constitutional crisis.
- Africa is about to get its first listing of a medical cannabis-focused SPAC, or Special Purpose Acquisition Company later this year. The initial public offering on South Africa’s stock exchange will be just the fourth SPAC listing in Africa and a first for the cannabis industry on the continent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. For more information about how things work in South Africa you can check our country report here, our interview with grower Cian McClelland and an overview about advantages of growing in Africa here.
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