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France Starts 2-Year Medical Cannabis Trial

Despite cannabis legalization sweeping the European Union, France is still lagging behind.

But late last month, they finally made headway when the National Assembly approved a budget that would be used for two years of experiments into medical cannabis, with the hopes that the results would spark law reform.

“I sincerely hope that the experiments can begin in the first quarter of 2020,” said Christelle Dubos, junior health minister.

Meanwhile, lawmaker Olivier Veran from the centrist party of President Emmanuel Macron, hopes that his proposed budget could help around 3,000 ill people around the country. Specifically, the tests will be looking into the abilities of cannabis to treat the symptoms of some conditions and when successful, at what rate.

The trials will be conducted at several hospitals in France, and with subjects who already have serious conditions including cancer, chronic pain, epilepsy, and muscle contractions due to multiple sclerosis.

The cannabis used for the trial will not be smoked by the subjects, but rather ingested through drops, infusions, or oil capsules.

Denmark Facing Supply and Pricing Issues

Data from the Danish health Authority reveal that the country’s MMJ pilot projects was a flop, with no growth quarter over quarter in the first half of this year. According to experts, this was the result of restrictive importing and supply rules.

During the second quarter of the year, there were 1,844 marijuana prescriptions availed by 1,045 patients who were participating in the 4 year cannabis trial, which was somewhat of a minor improvement only. “I think the pricing has everything to do with it, and in that the lack of competition. It has been a big issue, especially for the oils,” explains Rikke Jakobsen, CEO of NGO, Cannabis Denmark.

“We saw the explosive increase in prescriptions when the oil from CannTrust was introduced on the Danish market in Q4 2018. But quickly we also found out that the patients had a hard time to pay when they reached the limit for reimbursement.”

The current scheme allows patients to reimburse prescriptions at 50% for every $1,500 spent a year while those who are terminally ill can receive complete reimbursements.

New Data Shares Medical Conditions Afflicting MMJ Patients In Germany

New data from the German government recently revealed what the 6 most reported conditions for which patients request for cannabis, and are covered by statutory health insurance services.

Not surprisingly, a great majority of Germans are in pain; it’s the number 1 condition most patients use cannabis for, followed by spasticity.

The data was obtained using a government survey of 6,538 patients, and disclosed during a parliamentary inquiry. Out of all these patients, 71% were given cannabis for the treatment of pain while 11% use it for spasticity. Other conditions made up the remaining 10%. The survey’s results may change as it will continue to run through March 2022.

Doctors in Germany are also now required to report patient data after they have completed a year of treatment, or if their treatment has been interrupted.

Europe Needs To Set Standards For Cannabis Products

Though Europe is poised to be the largest medical cannabis industry in the world, that doesn’t mean that it isn’t plagued by regulatory issues. This is going to continue being a problem especially considering how the continent is expanding at a rapid pace.

Given that cannabis already has a cultural and historical significance in numerous EU markets, a high population, national healthcare, and GDP, all these factors make the EU a prime market for cannabis producers all over the world, whether they are producing retail or medical products.

Europe now has an opportunity to establish logical regulations that will provide their citizens safe cannabis products that have been regulated and tested, unlike other markets around the world. The current European retail market is mostly made of high CBD and low THC products, typically sold as food supplements. Though CBD sales primarily come from online sales, big players in the industry want to soon offer CBD products in-store.

Regulation will be key for both retail and medical markets, though EU authorities will have to be careful, as strict regulations may dampen the medical market.

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