Category: NEWS

« The arguments used by the proponents of prohibition hold less and less on the moral and legal level. »

Heinz Siegenthaler, National Councillor

The public health commission of the Council of States supports a project aiming at completely revising the regulation of the production, trade and consumption of cannabis in Switzerland. This opens the door to legalization, but the process may take some time, reports RTS.*

The committee supported by nine votes to two a parliamentary initiative of National Councillor Heinz Siegenthaler (Le Centre/BE), said Tuesday the parliamentary services.*

The text, co-signed by 40 deputies of all parties, requires that the regulation be amended in accordance with the recommendations of the Federal Commission for issues related to addiction, and that it takes into account the policy known as “four pillars”.*

The National Health Commission will now be able to draft legislation to create a regulated cannabis market. In April the committee approved Heinz Siegenthaler’s initiative by 13 votes to 11 with one abstention.*

Recreational use also taken into account*

The control of production and trade should be ensured by the authorities, in particular to protect young consumers. The medical and non-medical markets should be separated.*

The objective is to dry up the black market by abolishing prohibition, says the text. The project calls for the introduction of a tax and the regulation of advertising, as well as measures to control production for personal use.*

For the commission, it is “essential” that the future law takes into account the results of ongoing pilot projects on the non-medical use of cannabis. It attaches great importance to the fact that the protection of minors and prevention are improved.*

A long process*

The development of the new legislation will take a long time, the National Health Committee announced in April. It could take years before it is liberalized. Once the project has been elaborated, a broad consultation should be launched, and the Federal Council could take a position before Parliament takes up the subject, and then the people in the event of a referendum.*

Cannabis has been banned in Switzerland since 1951. In principle, it can neither be cultivated, nor produced, nor sold. Consumption is punished since 1975.*

Despite this, about 300’000 people regularly use cannabis as a psychoactive substance in Switzerland. The Federal Council acknowledged in a position paper this summer that the current prohibition, which aims to protect the population, is not effective.*

Consumption is not decreasing and the black market is growing. In this context, there is no quality control or consumer protection.*

No scientific basis*

Finally, for the supporters of a revision of the law, the distinction between cannabis and “legal drugs” is not based on recent science, “especially since the harmfulness of tobacco and alcohol is no less”.*

Heinz Siegenthaler believes that the arguments used by the proponents of prohibition hold less and less on the moral and legal level. In his view, only a regulated market would meet the requirements of Switzerland’s drug policy.*

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« The approval for the import of CannEpil+ to the UK and the associated compassionate prescriptions is an important step towards our global roll out of the treatment, and our continued commitment to patients. »

Roby Zomer, Co-founder and Managing Director of MGC Pharma

MGC Pharmaceuticals Ltd (‘MGC Pharma’ or ‘the Company’), a European based bio-pharma company specialising in the production and development of phytocannabinoid-derived medicines, is pleased to announce that CannEpil+, a Biosimilar effect-identical product of CannEpilTM, which is a phytocannabinoid treatment for Refractory (or drug-resistant) Epilepsy, has been approved for UK import by the Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which was facilitated by its UK distribution and clinical access Partner, Elite Pharmaco., report MGC Pharmaceuticals Ltd

Key Highlights:*

• CannEpil+, based on CannEpilTM, designed by MGC Pharma to treat Refractory Epilepsy, has been approved for import into the UK by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency via its UK distribution and clinical access partner Elite Pharmaco.*
• This is the first time that an epilepsy treatment currently in a Clinical Trial process, and containing THC, has been approved by the authorities in the UK for import.*
• Landmark milestone achieved by the Company in the UK, opening a key strategic market for its leading phytocannabinoid derived medicine.*

• CannEpil+ will be made available for free on compassionate grounds to ten patients for six months, whose treatment will be monitored as part of an observational trial using a Data Collection App, provided by Alta Flora. This app will provide real time data on the efficacy of CannEpil+ to the regulatory bodies, and Doctor’s monitoring its effectiveness as a treatment.*
• One of the most common serious neurological conditions, Epilepsy affects approximately 600,000 people in the UK, and ~50 million people worldwide,1 with approximately 33% of adults, and 20-25% of children, suffering from Refractory Epilepsy (or Drug Resistant Epilepsy) which cannot be controlled with traditional anti-seizure medication.*

CannEpil+ will initially be used to treat ten patients in the UK who suffer from Refractory Epilepsy. MGC Pharma will be providing CannEpil+ free of charge to these patients on compassionate grounds for six months. This is the first time that the UK authorities have approved an Epilepsy treatment that is on a clinical pathway (Phase IIB) containing THC.*

The approval to import CannEpil+ into the UK is in response to the urgent need of some patients to have access to a clinical product which has demonstrated its efficacy at treating Refractory Epilepsy, as well as its safety.*

Once the patients have commenced their treatment, CannEpil+ will undergo an observational trial with data being entered into a Data Collection App designed to establish a central platform to monitor the safety of treatment in patients globally.*

MGC Pharma expects that the results from the observational data collection program, together with the fact that CannEpilTM has historical clinical safety and efficacy data, and a Phase IIb Clinical Trial that is currently under negotiation with a UK NHS facility, will provide specialist neurologists and general practitioners with the confidence to prescribe CannEpilTM and CannEpil+ to patients in urgent need of treatment.*

MHRA Approval and Prescription Approval
Now officially approved for import into the UK, a doctor can issue a prescription for CannEpil+ for both adults and children. There are currently 10 patients who will have access to CannEpil+ on compassionate grounds, who will be the first to be prescribed the treatment.*

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« Without considering whether the substances seized had not been legally produced in another member state of the European Union, the court failed to provide a basis for its decision. »

France’s highest appeals court

France’s highest appeals court on Wednesday overturned a ruling that stores in the country can’t legally sell cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychotic compound related to cannabis that is being researched for a variety of medical applications, report Reuters.*

Based on the free trade of goods within the European Union, the Cour de cassation ruled that judges could not find the sale of CBD in France illegal if it had been legally produced in a member state of the bloc.*

The Court of Justice of the EU ruled last year that no national law can prohibit the sale of CBD legally produced in a member state, the French court also said.*

“Without considering whether the substances seized had not been legally produced in another member state of the European Union, the court failed to provide a basis for its decision,” it said, referring to a ruling of a lower appeals court.*

The Cour de cassation did not rule whether selling CBD in France was legal or not, and ordered a lower court to rule again on a case involving the owner of a shop selling CBD.*

“We are happy”, CBD shop owner Mathieu Bensa, who was not involved in the case, told Reuters after the ruling.*

“We did not understand why France was the last country in the European Union that had not given access to the sale of hemp plants”, he said.*

Derived mainly from the hemp plant, CBD is increasingly used as a relaxant.*

Cannabis stocks have attracted growing interest on world stock markets, particularly on the Toronto stock exchange after Canada became one of the first major economies to legalise the recreational use of marijuana.*

Cannabis use is outlawed in France but the country has one of Europe’s highest consumption rates.*

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« For decades, the war on cannabis caused injustices and created disparities while doing little to protect public health and safety. »

Governor Ned Lamont

Connecticut on Tuesday joined 17 other U.S. states in legalizing adult recreational use of marijuana as Governor Ned Lamont signed a bill that he said would also help heal economic scars left by the war on drugs, report Reuters.*

The marijuana measure, which takes effect on July 1, would automatically erase many criminal convictions and would set up a regulatory structure that would direct opportunities and revenue toward communities hard-hit by its prohibition.*

“For decades, the war on cannabis caused injustices and created disparities while doing little to protect public health and safety,” Lamont said in a statement.*

Parts of the measure largely mirror a legalization bill signed by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in March, which required that largely non-white communities that bore the brunt of drug enforcement efforts get a share of marijuana sales licenses and a share of the tax money it generates.*

Noting that some surrounding states had already legalized recreational use of the drug, Lamont said, “we’re not only effectively modernizing our laws and addressing inequities, we’re keeping Connecticut economically competitive.”*

Marijuana has been legally available for sale in neighboring Massachusetts for more than two years.*

“Regulating cannabis, rather than criminalizing it, has proven to be a superior public policy – which is why more and more states are rapidly moving in this direction,” Paul Armentano, deputy director of NORMAL, which advocates for abolition of marijuana laws, said in a statement.*

The legalization movement has gained momentum this year as five state legislatures, including Connecticut’s, have approved the drug’s recreational use, most recently in Virginia, where the law also takes effect on July 1.*

Connecticut, whose law allows for personal cultivation of marijuana plants in 2023, becomes the 18th state to approve legalization. Voters in a 19th state, South Dakota, approved legalization last year, but a legal challenge to the measure is now pending before the state Supreme Court.*

Marijuana, which remains prohibited by federal law, has been approved for medical use in 36 states, including Connecticut.*

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« …more than 120 million people use its website annually… »

Leafly

Cannabis marketplace Leafly is raising $30 million in a fresh funding round, it said in a filing on Wednesday, as the world’s biggest pot-related website taps strong investor appetite for companies in the burgeoning U.S. marijuana industry, report Reuters.*

Seattle, Washington-based Leafly has said more than 120 million people use its website annually, with an exponential rise in popularity over the last year as several more U.S. states legalized medical or recreational use of marijuana.

Investor appetite for U.S. cannabis companies has also been supported by prospects of federal reforms, including full legalization of marijuana, after last year’s coronavirus lockdowns led a record number of people to take up cannabis use for medical or entertainment purposes.

Privately owned Leafly has raised almost $23 million of the total $30 million offering of convertible debt and equity in the latest fundraising, the company said in a filing here. It raised around $17 million in a fundraise in October 2020.

The company runs a pickup and delivery service, helps consumers find the right cannabis strain for different medical application, runs a dispensary locator and posts reviews on different cannabis products. Industry news forms a small part of its business.

Founded in 2010, Leafly was owned between 2012 and 2019 by Privateer Holdings, a cannabis-focused private equity group, and now operates as an independent business.

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« In the past, like many employers, we’ve disqualified people from working at Amazon if they tested positive for marijuana use. »

consumer boss Dave Clark

Amazon.com Inc said on Tuesday it supports a proposed U.S. legislation to legalize cannabis at the federal level, and would drop weed-testing requirements for some recruitments, report Reuters.*

The e-commerce company’s public policy team will be actively supporting The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act of 2021 (MORE Act), which seeks to legalize marijuana at the federal level, its consumer boss Dave Clark said in a blog post.*

Amazon will also no longer screen its job applicants for marijuana use for any positions not regulated by the Department of Transportation, Clark added.*

While many U.S. states have legalized marijuana use, employers have so far largely refused to work with the industry as cannabis is still a classified substance at the federal level.*

“In the past, like many employers, we’ve disqualified people from working at Amazon if they tested positive for marijuana use,” Clark said. “However, given where state laws are moving across the U.S., we’ve changed course.”*

Amazon was hit with a proposed class action suit, which claimed that the company was violating a New York City law by testing applicants for jobs at local facilities for marijuana, according to a Westlaw report.*

The company does not allow marijuana sales on its platform.*

Amazon also said it is tweaking its worker productivity tracking tool, “Time off Task.”*

“Starting today, we’re now averaging Time off Task over a longer period to ensure that there’s more signal and less noise—reinforcing the original intent of the program,” Clark said.*

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Canadian medical cannabis producer Materia won European Union certification for its Malta facility to produce and export cannabis flower across the continent, allowing product supply in Germany, one of the largest cannabis markets in the world, report Reuters.*

Several countries across the globe have been legalizing or relaxing laws on recreational use of cannabis, but Europe has remained a difficult market due to strict regulatory requirements, slowing growth.*

Most European countries require the ‘European Union Good Manufacturing Practices’ (EU GMP) certification for companies to import and export cannabis goods.*

Despite Malta being a hub due to its government’s progressive view on the sector, Materia’s facility is only the third in the country to get the coveted certificate.*

For Materia, Germany has been its immediate focus. It also has a production and distribution network spanning Germany, Malta, Denmark and the United Kingdom among others.*

“The reality is Germany is larger as a market today than all other European markets combined… For us, Germany is markets one, two and three,” Nick Pateras, managing director, Europe, said.*

Medicinal marijuana prescriptions have been broadly available in Germany since 2017, but all supplies to date have been imported.*

“Becoming EU GMP certified in Malta represents our most significant milestone since we embarked on this project,” Chief Executive Deepak Anand said.*

The company, founded in 2018 by pharmaceutical and industry veterans, said it took over two years to develop its facility and prepare it for inspection by the government authorities. It also intends to apply for a licence amendment to process cannabis extracts shortly.*

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“(When) Credit Suisse pulled custodian (services) on cannabis stocks, a number of large investors in the space lost their ability to custodian the stocks.”

Abner Kurtin, Chief Executive Officer of newly-floated marijuana grower Ascend Wellness Holdings Inc

The Swiss lender was among a handful of banks that had been willing to buy and sell marijuana-related stocks for clients in the United States and hold those shares as a custodian, report Reuters.*

The Swiss lender was among a handful of banks that had been willing to buy and sell marijuana-related stocks for clients in the United States and hold those shares as a custodian.*

Credit Suisse declined to comment.*

Cannabis remains illegal under U.S. federal law, even though many states have legalized its use. This represents a legal risk for investment banks working for companies that produce or trade the drug.*

Credit Suisse’s compliance and risk management procedures have come under scrutiny from investors and analysts after it lost at least $4.7 billion from the collapse of Archegos, an investment firm dedicated to managing the fortune of hedge fund veteran Bill Hwang, as well as the suspension of funds linked to insolvent supply chain finance company Greensill.*

The MSOS exchange-traded fund , which tracks U.S. marijuana stocks, has fallen by more than a fifth since early February. Several market players said they believed Credit Suisse’s actions played a role in the selloff.*

“(When) Credit Suisse pulled custodian (services) on cannabis stocks, a number of large investors in the space lost their ability to custodian the stocks,” said Abner Kurtin, Chief Executive Officer of newly-floated marijuana grower Ascend Wellness Holdings Inc (AAWHu.CD).*

“That led to a significant selloff.”*

A custodian bank holds customers’ securities for safekeeping, to prevent them from being stolen or lost, while also collecting dividends and handling other corporate actions. It plays an important role in helping many investors to hold shares in companies.*

The weed industry has boomed over the last three years, as Canada and a succession of U.S. states, including most recently New York and New Jersey, legalized recreational use.*

Credit Suisse shares are down over 20% so far this year, and the bank has said it is cutting its prime brokerage business, which caters to hedge fund clients, by about a third.*

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