THE BENNEFITS OF THE CANNABIS MARKET IN PORTUGAL

Portugal is ideal for its Californian type climate for cannabis cultivation, the country’s young, educated workforce and its major agricultural sector.

Cannabis possession was decriminalized in 2001 in Portugal, but it later fell behind other approved countries in legalizing cannabis for medical purposes.

It was only approved on 15 June 2018 for medical use, and Decree No. 8 was published in the official gazette on 15 January 2019 creating new legislation governing the cultivation, extraction, commercial preparation, local distribution, import and export, transit and sale of cannabis.

Infarmed, the Government Health Ministry Agency in Portugal, have provided a list of conditions qualifying for medical cannabis, given that all conventional treatment methods have been unsuccessful:

• Epilepsy and treatment of severe seizure disorders in childhood
• Chronic pain associated with oncological or nervous system conditions
• Spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis or spinal cord injuries
• Nausea and vomiting resulting from chemotherapy, radiotherapy and combined HIV therapy and hepatitis C medication
• Appetite stimulation in palliative care of the patient undergoing oncological or AIDS treatment
• Therapeutically resistant glaucoma
• Gilles de la Tourette syndrome

This combined with the European Parliament calling for an EU-wide policy on medical cannabis and properly funded scientific research, earlier this year, is a time of great change and many medical and financial breakthroughs to look forward to.

CANNABIS MARKET IN POLAND

Historical timeline:

• Poland is known for being one of the the earliest European countries to begin cultivating Cannabis sativa. Studies show cannabis cultivation in Poland 5,500 years ago and it was certainly being cultivated 1,000 years ago, in the Middle Ages, for fibre and possibly for medicinal use.
• Cannabis was banned in Poland in the 20th century.
• They signed on to the 1925 International Opium Convention.
• In 1930 identified cannabis in legislation as harmful to health.
• In 1951, Eastern Bloc-era Poland classified cannabis as a narcotic.
• In subsequent years passed legislation that criminalised the production and distribution of this fateful plant.
• Possession wasn’t criminalised until 1997.
• In 2011, the country passed laws that gave prosecutors the option of not charging for small quantities of cannabis assumed to be for personal use. However, this legislation was paired with laws that increased the maximum jail sentences for possession of large quantities of cannabis, or for dealing in large quantities.

Polish politician Piotr Krzysztof Liroy-Marzec—and former rapper Liroy (Leeroy)—had been championing the legalization of medical cannabis since being elected to parliament in 2015 and in 2017 the bill to legalize medical marijuana passed through the lower house of parliament with 440 lawmakers voting in favour, and two voting against.

It will require patients to get medical approval from both a regional pharmaceutical inspector and physician. It will cover such conditions as MS, epilepsy, chronic pain, and chemotherapy-induced nausea. With the new legislation, pharmacists estimate that a gram of weed will cost €11–14.