EU Has No Plans to Legalize Medical Cannabis in the Near Future
The European Council and the European Commission have announced that they do not plan to legalize medical cannabis in the foreseeable future. In fact, the issue of regulating the circulation of medical cannabis is not even on the agenda, although it is considered an important topic.
Germany Did Not Push to Lift the Cannabis Ban
In July 2020, Germany assumed the presidency of the Council of the European Union. This status gives the country the right to make joint decisions and lead EU Council meetings. Germany ranks first in the EU in terms of medical cannabis consumption and plans to import 16 tons of cannabis this year, which is 138% more than the amount purchased abroad in 2019. Additionally, in 2020, the first cannabis farms opened in Germany, having won tenders to supply 650 kg of cannabis to the domestic market.
Given the progress of the cannabis industry in Germany, many expected that the country would use its presidency to push for cannabis law reform in the EU. However, this hypothesis did not materialize. The German authorities decided to focus on addressing problems caused by the coronavirus pandemic and on creating the European Health Data Space—a system for sharing medical information. Therefore, until Germany’s presidency ends in December 2020, the issue of cannabis legalization will not be considered.
The EU Does Not Want to Legalize Medical Cannabis
The European Commission has rejected the idea of legalizing medical cannabis. The agency believes that the circulation of cannabinoid-based medicines should be regulated in the same way as other pharmaceuticals. In other words, officials will make decisions about the sale of specific drugs, not cannabis as a whole. The approval process for a medication involves evaluating its quality, effectiveness, and safety. As a result, manufacturers are required to provide clinical trial results to obtain a license to sell the drug.
In 2019, the European Commission approved the first cannabis-based drug—Epidyolex (sold in the US as Epidiolex), developed by pharmaceutical company GW Pharmaceuticals. This medication, which contains CBD, is used to treat two forms of epilepsy (Lennox–Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome) in children aged two and older. In the first quarter of 2020, Epidiolex sales in the US reached $33.5 million. Economists predict that GW Pharmaceuticals will earn $1.3 billion worldwide from the sale of this medication in 2020.