New Polish-Portuguese hemp partnership
Polish medical cannabis company Hemp & Health HMP has agreed to acquire a 5% stake in Hibisco Discrete, the Portuguese company that owns the Voyager Genetics brand, Business of Cannabis reports. The shares were purchased for 20,000 euros ($22,065).
Under the agreement, Hemp & Health, a company listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, has the option to acquire an additional 5% of the shares at the same price within six months from the date of the transaction.
Voyager Genetics is focused on researching innovative genetics, hybridizing medical cannabis to create new strains, and working with licensed pharmaceutical growers to supply clones to other licensees.
Meanwhile, the Polish Center for Public Opinion Research (CBOS) recently revealed that 73.4% of Poles support decriminalizing cannabis. Furthermore, the demand for medical cannabis has proven to increase significantly in recent years.
While only 2,909 cannabis prescriptions were issued in 2019, this number rose to 276,807 in 2023, an increase of 9,420% over this period.
Poland's Ministry of Health last month recently introduced stricter regulations regarding the prescription of medical cannabis, now requiring face-to-face consultations and sidelining telephone consultations.
Also read: Two European marijuana companies team up to bring cannabis-based solutions to Poland
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Greece's cannabis problem
Greek law enforcement agencies have eradicated more than 8,300 illegally cultivated cannabis plants previously discovered on a corn farm in the country's central region. According to Reuters, it was one of the largest seizures of cannabis in the Mediterranean country.
Authorities removed about 1,300 plants and destroyed another 7,000, some reaching 3.5 meters (138 inches) in height. The large plant was removed because its roots were entwined with the corn.
A farmer suspected of being part of a criminal group who planned to sell cannabis for a profit of 15 million euros has been arrested on suspicion of illegal cultivation and trafficking.
In early 2024, nearly seven years after Greece legalized medical cannabis, adults with a prescription will finally be able to obtain it at pharmacies.
UK Scientific Research Agency funds medical cannabis research
The Scotland-based James Hutton Institute received £350,000 ($460,383) to work on several advanced agricultural research projects.
The project, led by the UK's independent scientific research institute, will focus on standardizing medicinal cannabis products that meet stringent pharmaceutical requirements, Business of Cannabis reported.
The three-year project, titled “Exploiting Controlled Environments for the Development of Cannabis Sativa Phenotypes Optimized for Pharmaceutical Uses (or CE-CannPharm),” is a project at the Center for Advanced Plant Growth at the James Hutton Institute. (APGC).
It is one of three funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).
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