Denmark To Make Medical Cannabis “Trial” Permanent
The trial scheme for medical cannabis in Denmark will be extended beyond 2021 and enter permanent status
Denmark’s medical cannabis “trial” has become permanent. This is intriguing for both patients in Denmark as well as the industry there. It also spells good news for the permanence of other European medical “trials” set up in the aftermath of 2017 when the first real medical cannabis reform came to the region thanks to the German cultivation bid.
The Parliamentary agreement means that cultivators who currently grow for medical purposes can continue to stay in business – a welcome move for even the bigger companies like Aurora which had established operations there.
Beyond the stability of medical access and cultivation licenses, the trial here has had mixed success. In its first several years, literally thousands of patients were able to gain access. In the final three months of 2020, fewer than 500 patients gained access – but that also might have been due to access issues. All of the medical cannabis used in the trial was imported.
With permanent status, medical cannabis cultivation can begin in earnest. The question is, will this cannabis be affordable to patients in other countries as well as domestic ones?
The German Discussion – And Other European Trials
There are all sorts of trials right now across Europe of the medical kind – from Germany to France. All of these are also expected to become permanent. The question then is, where does Europe’s cannabis come from – and more importantly on the medical side – who pays.
Danish medical cannabis is unlikely to be a big seller in Poland (for example). Just as in Germany, the costs of cultivation are just too high for an agricultural export market to flourish here – even indoors.
Regardless, there is going to be some domestic cultivation that proceeds, inevitably, to begin to meet local demand – and just as inevitably, local producers will look for export markets abroad.
How these two medical markets mesh will also be of great interest across the continent. Holland, in direct contrast, only exports GMP cannabis across the border. Patients in the Dutch market mostly go to coffee shops since Dutch insurers failed to cover medical cannabis post-2017. In Switzerland, next year, the recreational trial will also be run out of pharmacies.
Regardless, it is good news that trials all over Europe are moving forward with results that are starting to be permanent.
For updates on the latest developments in the European market, be sure to book your tickets now to the International Cannabis Business Conference – coming back to Berlin in August 2021.