Greece Approves Medical Cannabis, License Race Has Started

After the approval of a bill that allows the production, possession and sale of medical products based on cannabis, last March, the Greek government has already received proposals from at least five consortia, with projects totaling more than one billion of euros.

This decision opens up an unexplored market in Greece, which, after the severe economic crisis of recent years and with a hot and dry climate, similar to that of Portugal or California, can see cannabis as one of the main answers for its economic development. 

The fact is that the approval of the bill is already attracting huge investments, especially from foreign companies looking to cement their position in the European market. It is now up to the Greek government to create and define the rules for producers and licenses to be granted, and developments largely depend on the time needed to draft the law's regulations.

rain of interested
The Greek medical cannabis market is currently the target of two of the world's largest companies in this sector, both from Canada, Aphria and Canopy Growth. But the deputy minister of Economy, Stergios Pitsiorlas, has already received proposals from several other consortia, with investment plans that exceed one billion euros.

At least 5 consortia want to enter the medical cannabis race in Greece Photo: Greek Reporter

Aphria intends to develop 92 thousand square meters of greenhouses, with a production capacity of more than 100 tons by 2021, which will create around 500 jobs. Canopy Growth wants to invest 50 million euros in 50 thousand square meters, to be gradually expanded to 100 thousand square meters, creating between 500 and XNUMX jobs.

A holding Golden Greece will enter the market not only with a plan to grow medical cannabis, but also with the construction of a pharmaceutical processing plant in Veroia, northern Greece, which will create more than XNUMX jobs in the next two to three years , according to statements by Georgios Zafeiris, CEO of Golden Greece, ao Independent. Golden Greece will coordinate a group of 10 investors from countries such as Canada, Kazakhstan, Poland or Israel. 

The first round of investment is worth 400 million euros and could amount to 80 million, with XNUMX percent of the jobs for Greek citizens, in areas such as farming, trade and transport. “We have no intention of bringing to Greece people from other areas who already have experience with cannabis. We will train the people that are necessary to start our own productions”, said Michael Blady, one of the investors involved in the Veroia project.

Another interested company is Europacific Medical, which operates in the field of medical marketing, based in Shanghai, with an investment plan of 20 million euros for Greece. Although this company is based in Shanghai, your activity manager in the European Union is the Greek Pantelis Stanitsas.

Also the HAPA Medical Holdings B.V., a Dutch-based company created last year, has shown interest in entering the medical cannabis market in Greece, but the Diogenes, a Greek civil society organization working to promote evidence-based drug policy, expressed caution in passing the legislation. “We consider the regulation of cannabis for pharmaceutical use to be a positive initiative by the government, but the cannabis market should not be dominated by the pursuit of commercial interests and economic profit”, reveals one release issued by Diogenis.
__________________________________________________________________
Featured photo taken from the website of High Times.