Lebanon Legalized Medical Cannabis
Represents Considerable Opportunities for Canadian Licensed Producers – LPC
Lebanon legalized medical cannabis on April 20, 2020 to permit the cultivation, trade, research, and medical use of cannabis. It is the second in the region after Turkey. Worldwide, medical cannabis is legal in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Jamaica, Luxembourg, North Macedonia, Malta, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and Uruguay. Thirty states in the US have legalized medicinal cannabis though cannabis remains illegal at the federal level.
When Lebanon legalized medical cannabis, it created a number of licences and recognized different classes of applicants:
Licences
- Licence to import seeds and seedlings
- Licence to establish a cannabis plantation
- Cannabis harvesting operations licence
- Manufacturing licence
- Research centers and laboratories licence
- Export licence
- Transport and storage licence
- Sales and distribution licence
- Licence to import related chemicals
Applicants
- Foreign companies licensed in their home jurisdiction
- Renowned research and development centers, laboratories, and academic institutions
- Lebanese companies approved for the manufacture of medicines by the Ministry of Public Health
- Lebanese companies approved for industrial activities by the Ministry of Industry
- Lebanese agricultural cooperatives
- Lebanese natural persons
This represents considerable opportunities for Canadian companies who have cannabis operations globally including in Europe. Companies such as Aurora Cannabis, Cronos Group, and Tilray all have operations there. Canopy Growth recently announced that its subsidiary, Spectrum Therapeutics, had won the first UK import licence to sell medical cannabis.
When Lebanon legalized medical cannabis, the projected government revenue was $1 billion (US). There was no word on whether the date was chosen on purpose or if it’s a coincidence.
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