A legal roadmap for Cannabis – updated Expert Guide

International

The first half of 2020 confirmed that the cannabis industry is a vibrant and constantly evolving sector.

Among others, the German authorities announced that medicinal cannabis from cultivations in Germany will likely be available in the fourth quarter of 2020; new proposals of draft legislations on medical cannabis are pending in Mexico, Switzerland and Czech Republic; the South African government is expected to promulgate a comprehensive law on the use of cannabis by the end of September 2020.

Our Expert Guide allows stakeholders to obtain high level and updated information on differences in approach across different countries about (i) medical use; (ii) recreational use; (iii) industrial use and (iv) the patentability of cannabis-based products.

Click here to view the Expert Guide and examine the cannabis regulation across 27 different (EU and non-EU) jurisdictions, including new chapters for Albania, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, South Africa and Ukraine.

On the Pulse video/podcast series

In our first episode of our video/podcast series, On the Pulse, Nick Beckett discusses with Shuna Mason (UK), Ellen Gielen (Netherlands) and Laura Opilio (Italy) how the medicinal cannabis industry is developing across Europe, the challenges it faces and what the future might hold.

In particular, we discuss:

  • potentially the largest cannabis market on the planet;
  • how Moore’s law seems to apply to the legal opening up by authorities in Europe;
  • why there is yet to be significant use in practice;
  • what studies are needed to provide the hard scientific evidence healthcare professionals and authorities need to be comfortable with the efficacy and safety of medicinal cannabis;
  • whether recreational use in coffee shops may be perted for medical use;
  • whether food supplements, cosmetics, drinks or even cigarettes could be an alternative means for patients to receive cannabis for medical purposes.

On the Pulse brings together CMS lawyers and experts to discuss key industry topics impacting, innovating and disrupting the life sciences & healthcare sector. The series is hosted by Nick Beckett, Global Co-Head of CMS Life Sciences & Healthcare Sector Group.

To view On the Pulse visit, listen here and subscribe here.

For more information on this developing area in the sectors of life sciences and healthcare and consumer products, contact your regular CMS source or one of the following local CMS experts.