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www.softsecrets.com } 2024-04
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PORTUGAL GROWS TONNES OF MEDICAL CANNABIS FOR EXPORT (BUT IT REMAINS OUT OF REACH FOR LOCAL PATIENTS) In 2023, Portugal exported 11 tonnes of cannabis but only 17 kg were sold within its borders. Patients still resort to the black market although the plant is legal in the country. Medical cannabis was approved in 2018 and regulated in 2019 in Portugal - the first country in the world to decriminalise the recreational use of all drugs in 2001. Medicines, preparations and substances based on the cannabis plant for “medicinal purposes” are legal. While dozens of pharma and agriculture companies flocked to the country following the legalisation of medical cannabis, access remains extremely restricted for Portuguese patients. The only product which is currently sold in Portugal is Canadian producer Tilray’s cannabis flower, with 18 per cent THC - the principal psychoactive constituent of the plant. Patients can either smoke the bud or heat it with a machine and inhale the vapour. A box of 15 g costs €150 - well over black market rates - and isn’t reimbursed by health insurance. What’s more, the flower can only be prescribed to patients suffering from seven specific conditions for whom all other “chemical” options have been unfruitful. The product isn’t stocked by the country’s three largest pharmaceutical suppliers, and in 2023, a bit more than a thousand boxes of Tilray were sold, the equivalent of 17 kg.
THIS IS JUST THE FIRST ROUND
The same year, 11 tonnes of medical cannabis were exported from Portugal by the 40 or so companies set up in the country, including Somai Pharmaceuticals. Portugal is currently the second biggest producer of cannabis in the EU. Every year, the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) compiles the expected production of controlled substances intended for medical and scientific purposes by country.
extracts based on medical prescriptions. Another difficulty across the EU is the lack of “mutual recognition” for medical cannabis. While “traditional” medicine can be sold in other countries if it’s approved in one, cannabis plants aren’t included in this procedure. In February, the European Commission registered a citizen initiative calling for better access to medical cannabis.
In 2024, Portuguese authorities declared 34 tonnes of medical cannabis, just a little less than Spain and its 36 tonnes. Luis Meirinhos Soares worked at the government’s medical regulator for over 25 years and now consults for Cannavigia, a compliance software for cannabis transparency. He believes that Portugal’s regulation rightly focuses on safety and quality, but regrets the lack of access.
“Foster access to medical cannabis based on scientific evidence and the experiences of patients, and allow patients the transportation of cannabis (...) throughout the EU, to ensure the full enjoyment of the right to health,” the initiative states, while also calling for the legalisation of recreational use - a point refused by the EU. If the petition receives at least one million signatures in at least seven member states within six months of launching, legislation for better access to medical cannabis in Europe will be considered by the Commission.
According to the expert, Portugal could follow in the steps of other European countries like Germany, where pharmacies can sell “magistral formulations” or custom-prepared flowers and
Source: Euronews.com