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"Infarmed is finally going digital, which could change everything for cannabis producers" – Read the best quotes from PTMC25 here

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After the PTMC25 Opening Session, Vasco Bettencourt of Infarmed answered questions from the audience. Photo: Renato Velasco | CannaReporter® / PTMC - Portugal Medical Cannabis
Reading Time: 19 minutes

A PTMC – Portugal Medical Cannabis 2025 took place in Lisbon on September 25th and 26th, between the Lisbon Geographical Society and Casa do Alentejo, in the center of the Portuguese capital. It was a historic moment for several reasons. First, due to the context created by the Judiciary Police operations, which targeted medicinal cannabis companies and brought several implications for a sector already difficult to navigate. Second, due to the presence of Infarmed—the National Authority for Medicines and Health Products (IP), from whom operators expected answers that seemed never to arrive. And finally, due to the expectation of being able to hear the positions of some political parties regarding the decriminalization of cannabis. In this report, we selected the best quotes from the conferences and the question-and-answer sessions that followed, to illustrate some of the highlights of this event, now in its seventh edition.

The guests arrived little by little in the Portugal room of the Lisbon Geographical Society museum. The air was thick with anticipation. PTMC – Portugal Medical Cannabis 2025 began, and the questions were numerous. The program included the opening session, with... Vasco Bettencourt, Director of the Licensing Unit and the Medicinal Cannabis Office from Infarmed, followed by four round tables with guest experts on each topic.

To conclude the conversations, before dinner, one more debate on Carl L. Hart, professor of Psychology at Columbia University in New York (USA), and author of several studies and books on drug use; the analyst and consultant based in Germany, Alfredo Pascual and representatives of three Portuguese political parties: PSD, Chega, and Iniciativa Liberal. All right-wing, admittedly, since according to the organizers, all parliamentary groups of the political parties with seats in the Assembly of the Republic were invited (only the three mentioned above accepted), as well as all Portuguese police forces—who declined the invitation—as well as João Goulão, president of the Directorate-General for Intervention in Addictive Behaviors and Dependencies (ICAD), who canceled on the same day for family health reasons.

Despite the absences, All the conversations were rich in content and quite lively, some more consensual, others more enthusiastic. Nothing else was expected, with a room full of entrepreneurs from the cannabis industry, from seeds to medicinal cannabis cultivation; experts in facilities, fertilizers, and lights; in Compliance, in equipment for handling, processing, packaging and distribution; lawyers, consultants, analysts and some doctors and health professionals (few).

The timing was also particularly important. Medicinal cannabis in Portugal is going through a difficult period due to the operations of the Judicial Police. “Weed” e “Nettle”, which revealed backdoor deals involving medicinal cannabis companies and international drug trafficking networks. These PJ investigations also revealed some oversight failures by lnfarmed, which was already late with quarterly responses and reports, leaving the industry largely helpless and full of uncertainty, with its international image also damaged.

The lack of clear information and the ongoing investigation, which is protected by judicial secrecy, has led international investors and operators to become very nervous and to issue instructions not to do business in Portugal, preferring other, safer markets such as Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Poland, Morocco, or Malta.

One step forward, two steps back

A medicinal cannabis has been legal in Portugal since 2018 and it is estimated that this year the industry reach 41,3 million Euros in revenue only at national level, representing a projected annual growth of 2,37%.

According to figures shared by Infarmed during PTMC25, there are 125 authorized medicinal cannabis companies in Portugal: 39 licensed for cultivation, 24 for processing, 13 for distribution, and 49 for Import/Export.

Portugal exported more than 33,245 tonnes this year (data up to the end of August 2025, in 2024 it reached a total of 31,021 tonnes). The largest buyer is, by far, Germany (27,281 tonnes), followed by Spain (2.774 kg) and Poland (1.047 kg). 

However, in Portugal, according to the latest data published by Infarmed, in 2025 only 1157 packages of medicinal cannabis were prescribed, a number that was 757 packages until the end of the 3rd Quarter of 2024.

Globally, according to the Global Medical Cannabis Market report, it is predicted that global medical cannabis market expected to reach $121,33 billion by 2033.

By the end of the first quarter of this year, Portugal was the world's second largest exporter of medicinal cannabis, after Canada. But after recent events, the Portuguese market is rapidly slowing down.

This is an unfortunate situation for a country that, this very year, celebrates the 25th anniversary of the passage of Law No. 30/2000 of November 29, which decriminalized the use of all substances. Portugal was a pioneer, and given the success of this measure, it remains a widely cited example of drug policy worldwide. The measure was taken due to two key factors: the increase in HIV/AIDS cases among addicts (with the associated deaths) and the impact that growing heroin consumption was having on social and public health.

This year also marks the 100th anniversary of Prohibition, that is, since the League of Nations signed the review of the Opium Convention of 1912, making this the first international agreement to combat drugs, in which cannabis appears as a substance subject to international control, limiting “the use of Indian hemp and the preparation of products derived from it” to “medical and scientific purposes” only.

That said, the atmosphere at PTMC 25 was one of anxiety and great anticipation, something that was evident throughout all the presentations and roundtable discussions that took place on this day of debate. Since it's impossible to capture everything in a few words, we've selected some of the best quotes from each speaker at PTMC25.

Vasco Bettencourt, Director of the Licensing Unit and the Cannabis Office at Infarmed IP, opened the PTMC25

OPENING SESSION
“6 Years of Medicinal Cannabis in Portugal: What’s Next?”

Vasco Bettencourt, Infarmed

  • "This conference allows us to discuss both the opportunities and challenges facing the medicinal cannabis sector, both in Portugal and internationally. This year has been particularly demanding, not only for companies but also for the regulatory authority—it has been a true test of resilience for the system as a whole. We face difficult circumstances with the diversion of cannabis products from the supply chain to the illegal market. It's important to emphasize that these incidents are limited to a few transactions involving a small number of companies in the sector."
  • “[In 2025] We had a slight increase in the number of producing companies, with 33 tons exported, compared to a 7% increase (31 tons in 2024) and 12 approved preparations with different CBD and THC profiles.”
  • “Most of the exported products come from domestic production.”
  • "[In the requirements sent to growers] we refer to the number of plants, not the weight of the clones. We need to know the approximate weight. We know it's difficult to weigh the clones; we just need the number."
  • "I want to say that [for companies to be licensed and evaluated quickly] it is important to implement digital systems and that all records must be correct for your activity."
  • "We know that the certificate issuance process takes time—there are challenging situations that require the adoption of strict measures, and we need to understand how companies are doing their job (...) If they cross a certain line, everything changes, because it involves the judicial authorities. They are responsible for strict oversight. For us [Infarmed], it would be wonderful if we didn't have to do this... Of course, we are also in a learning process.
  • "It's important for the domestic market to place products in our market. This brings knowledge... Therefore, if someone comes to establish themselves here to export, we have to adapt our system. We're investing resources solely for export."
  • “We have a digital resource that we are implementing – it takes time (…) and we need to adapt very quickly to all of this.”
  • "Infarmed is finally going digital, which could change everything for cannabis producers."
  • "There's no shortage of resources. We just need to repurpose them. I believe 2026 will be much better than 2025. And the last quarter of 2025 will be much better than the previous ones."
  • "The challenges we face are natural for this sector; they're like growing pains. We want to become stronger, more transparent, and more resilient."

Panel Discussion #1: “PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES AND INNOVATION IN CANNABIS-BASED PRODUCTS AND MEDICINES”

Pharmacist and independent consultant Helena Correia, Amit Edri (CEO of Portocanna), Danny Andrea (Curaleaf International) and Fátima Godinho Carvalho participated in this debate, moderated by Journalist Sarah Sinclair

  • "The frameworks are really important. The challenge is how traditional pharmacies can adapt to them. We want to see cannabis as a medicine, not an alternative medicine, so we really need to innovate. We need precision. The reason people buy medicine every day is because it's easy. Bringing cannabis into traditional formats is important. Working together with patients is crucial.”
  •  “The future has two paths: patients who already use it and patients who are still afraid to use it.”
  • “[It’s important to provide] discretion, safety, and allow physicians to feel comfortable with the products and dosage so they can prescribe comfortably.”
  • "Promoting [the use of] Real-World Evidence (RME) is giving patients a voice. We need to impress upon regulators how important this is. We really need to analyze the years and years of REM data we have. (...) We need to bring it all together and harmonize that data."

Danny Andrea, Product and Project Director, Curaleaf International     

  • "If we want doctors to prescribe [cannabis] and feel confident, we need consistency and quality. Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) are mandatory. Testing is crucial. We can't sell a product if we can't guarantee it's free of contaminants. And we also need to use a risk-management approach because this is complex. We need to anticipate risks and have a very robust quality system in place."
  • "Randomized controlled clinical trials and traditional methods cannot be applied to cannabis-based medicinal products. Many factors prevent us from applying them in the same way. There are other approaches. And there's also real-world evidence (RHE), which is increasingly important because it's been used for a long time, and from there we can obtain a wealth of data on its efficacy. And we can also benefit from thinking outside the box—not being so traditional."

Fátima Godinho Carvalho, Executive Director of LEF – Pharmaceutical Studies Laboratory     

  • "Regulations have been a major challenge in the path of innovation. Each country has different regulations... so it's crucial to achieve harmonization across all EU countries (...). And once we have marketing authorization (MA), we can make the treatment available to patients in all countries."
  • "To achieve the goal of having truly useful products, we need solutions that follow the pharmaceutical approach. The industry must adopt the pharmaceutical form, which is more precise."
  • "Regulators must issue new regulations, (…) and they must think outside the box. They need to delve a little deeper into this process and also innovate. Cannabis is not like any other medicine we already have. It can be inhaled, ingested, etc. (…). We need specific regulations that apply to this specific product."
  • "We should do blinded, randomized trials, but we can't do a blinded study because the placebo has no smell or taste and is difficult to simulate. Still, studies are done. But we also have real-world evidence and can combine the two. It would be really nice to have a more hybrid approach."

Helena Correia, Pharmacist and Consultant Independent   

  • “There are always highly regulated sectors and innovation is what changes the game. Cannabis is what will change the traditional structure of the pharmaceutical industry. All changes are expected to be difficult—to implement, to produce... But we are trying to create regulations that are more appropriate for our specific sector.”
  • "When we talk about patients as a group, we're failing. Patients are completely segmented: there are those who want to smoke flower, those who prefer oils, edibles... The focus should be on segmentation and understanding [patients'] needs. Having 250 different SKUs, for a company, is complete madness."

Amit Edri, Co-Founder & CEO of Portocanna     

Panel Discussion #2: "BUILDING A SUCCESSFUL CANNABIS BUSINESS: HOW TO ATTRACT INVESTMENT AND GET A RETURN ON INVESTMENT?"

Laura Ramos (Moderator, CannaReporter®), Franziska Katterbach (Openhoff), Michael Sassano (SOMAÍ), Joana Silveira Botelho (CuatreCasas) and António Vieira (Acecann) participated in this discussion.

  • "This is a highly regulated industry. Therefore, I believe one of the most important things to start with is to understand the legal framework from the outset. Be aware of the types of procedures you'll encounter and deal with—legal and administrative procedures, etc. Understand the risks and, of course, be patient, because achieving 100% compliance will take time."
  • "It's very difficult to change the law. But honestly, sometimes you don't need to change the law. By definition, the law is general and abstract and does not define every little aspect and detail. Therefore, I understand that, in an ideal world, the industry would come together, with a LOBBY strong, and I would try to change some aspects of the law. But I think what's needed is to understand the law and try to adapt it to your reality; go to the regulatory body and request some specific regulation on it, without having to go to parliament and go through the formalities of the law."
  • "Patient organizations are crucial, but so are medical organizations. Here in Portugal, we lack this kind of educational importance."

Joana Silveira Botelho, Lawyer and partner at Cuatrecasas     

  • "If you ask me, 'Do you want to just be a producer?' I think you should first ask yourself why you're doing it and who your competition will be, which banks you'll work with, because there's already a market. There's nothing unique about having a license; many companies have licenses. The days when a license was worth money are over. (...) So, I think it all starts with a smart and unique idea. Where is the market niche? Do I fit into that niche? And where is my competitive advantage over others? Why? Why is this product necessary?"
  • "Is part of your job to investigate companies, investigate brokers? As painful as it is for everyone, yes. Because there will come a time when regulators will intervene, or you'll have a legal battle, or you'll have this wonderful situation where you're looking for an investment. So, I analyze everything as if it might put my clients in trouble, because they have to be prepared."

Franziska Katterbach, lawyer and partner at Oppenhoff     

  • "I suppose if you want to build a cultivation facility, if that's your desire, you should build it. After all these years, I'm still doing it, so obviously I still want to. But you have to go in with your eyes wide open to understand the market. (...) Producing locally, we have many advantages and disadvantages. We're going through some pretty tough times here in Portugal, but when new countries come in and say, 'We're the new Portugal!' Well, the industry will continue to grow, and they'd better start now!"
  • "You invest your money and start building. Then you realize that everything will take twice as long, cost twice as much, and you'll only make half as much money—so you'll most likely run out of money. One day you have a lot of money, and the next it'll all be gone. And this cycle keeps repeating itself. New countries will continue to emerge, and this will continue to grow. This is the cycle you're in—so go in with your eyes wide open."
  • "If Portugal continues to fail to overcome its problems, if it fails to resolve them and continues to cause financial stress to companies, someone will undoubtedly become number one and overtake Portugal. (...) We will still serve the markets in which we operate, with or without Portugal."
  • "I hate having to use processors in Canada to get things done. But, you know, if things aren't being done here... As an entrepreneur and investor, I have to consider other avenues to protect my capital income streams. Canada is opening flower processing centers—I hear three are opening now—so they're clearly trying to isolate themselves from the Portuguese market. And that money isn't going to Portugal."

Michael Sassano, CEO of SOMAÍ Pharmaceuticals     

  • “Initially, this business was more like a race. So, you'd start building the infrastructure and then start planning to be the fastest tomorrow. That's completely changed. Now, you need to build something with a truly valid proposal in mind. We saw in the previous panel that one of the focuses should be innovation. So, this is the question you ask yourself when starting a project like this. It will take longer than expected, it will cost much more than expected, but if you have a valid proposal in mind, a clear idea from start to finish, it's worth it.”
  • It's difficult to communicate [to clients] that this will take time—and it does because sometimes the path isn't clear. It's clear for one market, but not for another. If there were clear regulations across Europe, you'd have the path and could use previous examples of successful companies as roadmaps, right? But because everything is changing, you're dealing with very high expectations—because these projects are very, very expensive—and with regulations that are constantly changing.

António Vieira, CEO of AceCann     

  • "There is no legislation [on reimbursements] directly related to medicinal cannabis, and I'm not just referring to a law from parliament; it could be an ordinance from the Ministry of Health. (...) There are several requirements to be met. But the main requirement is innovation. And so far, we haven't received any reimbursement requests (...) from companies that have marketing authorization for the products that are available... and, of course, we have to evaluate these requests to see if they are accompanied by innovation. Therefore, this could lead to the possibility of reimbursement. It's not straightforward. It will need to be evaluated and analyzed."

Vasco Bettencourt, Infarmed     

 

Panel Discussion #3: “CULTIVATION, PROCESSING AND DISTRIBUTION OF MEDICINAL CANNABIS IN EUROPE”

Margarita Cardoso de Meneses (Moderator, CannaReporter®), Xavier Gaya (Avitas Global), Rui Soares (Paralab Green), Inês Campos Lime (BioLeaf Health) and Louis Golaz (RED Horticulture) participated in this roundtable

  • "Now is the time to put the data into circulation. Everyone must communicate it. The mindset needs to change completely. We all have new ideas every day in this industry. And that's great. Our passion drives us to do that. But our passion can also lead us to make good decisions, and sometimes we need to invest. We need to invest in inspiring people, to stabilize our genetics. Even if the seeds are from the catalog and we have certification, we know that even with some certification, nothing will guarantee that we won't have any problems. If we want to be reliable and ensure the reproducibility of all items in the processes, this is the main challenge."
  • "[We must have] clear criteria for choosing suppliers and service providers. Please don't install irrigation systems that aren't capable of doing a good job, and you must have feedback on your product. We need feedback, we need data to improve, to move forward, and to see, even internally, that we're doing a good job. Sometimes these companies don't have this in place from the start, and changing things while we're already producing, while we're trying to stand out in the market, is more difficult."

Inês Campos Lima, Technical Manager and Quality Director at BioLeaf Health   

  • "You can't improve what you don't measure. Therefore, you need to measure to understand improvement, and you also need to understand what's driving your business' capabilities."
  • "I see many growers in my area focusing on yield, yield per kilowatt-hour, and these are the metrics you should be looking at. I think expanding these metrics is crucial for improving all greenhouse processes."
  • "Each plant, depending on its developmental stage and genetics, will react differently to the radiation it receives. I think it's even more interesting in indoor settings because all the light being directed is actually artificial light. So you truly have control over the plant at that moment."
  • "Many improvements will come with FNC technologies, and by then we will be able to truly develop standard operating procedures (SOPs) that deliver regular, consistent results and have greater real-time stability. So I look to the future with great optimism, especially in terms of increased efficiency."

Louis Golaz, Co-founder of RED Horticulture and ScarLED     

  • "I think choosing the right people from the start is easier said than done. But I think being mindful of who you hire can help. Often, however, it's very, very difficult to ensure you're making the right decisions from the start. So you have to make the decisions and just move forward. It's impossible to predict everything that will happen."
  • "'Retrofitting It's a word I hate. We see this often, especially in greenhouses—people take a strawberry, raspberry, or whatever crop and try to convert it into cannabis because it will save money. (…) But they don't consider the location, which is three miles from the beach, so there's humidity all day and all night… So there are challenges, but they're basic. With the right instructions, there's really no reason you can't have a balanced facility. I believe the old name for pharmaceutical production is 'controlled environmental agriculture.' You have to control every detail and design it properly."
  • Basically, a plant with two sets of chromosomes is called a diploid. This is crossed with a plant with four sets of chromosomes—and a cross between a diploid and a tetraploid results in triploids. Sometimes these are very vigorous [plants], but only in the vegetative phase. So, they can be very permeable in that sense. But they're still working on them so they can also have equally abundant generative growth. Some companies are making a lot of claims, and I think the most important thing now is for people to test them.
  • "Scientists today are saying, 'If we try a little harder,' we'll be able to achieve complete sterility in our triploids. So, I think it's just a matter of letting the experts work on it, so they can get to where they need to be. It's the same with F1s [first generation]. A producer I spoke to today said that some of the genetics are very, very stable and uniform. Others are very unpredictable. So, we'll see where we are in five years."
  • Attention to detail is something that's often overlooked. A pilot might fly a Cessna, and they have a checklist of 15 things before they can take off. But if they fly a massive jet, they have a checklist of 10 million things before they can take off. There are so many details, so many tiny things... And to manage everything with the necessary precision, there are many things that can easily be overlooked.
  • “I'm very grateful for the future that lies ahead, both for genetics and for cannabis. Compared to what we had five, ten years ago… If they planted autoflowering seeds back then, all the flowers had a very bland and boring flavor. The high was zero. Today's autoflowering flowers are quite different, so I think it's always good to keep an eye on the genetic databases. And then we also have tissue culture and other really fun things.”

Xavier Gaya, consultant at Avitas Global     

  • "There are problems common to everyone on small farms. And there are problems that arise with cultivation, and there are solutions for all of them. In a way, it's not the systems that affect a grow room, but they can also affect, for example, a drying room. Even for companies that design this from the beginning, and the experience that could perhaps work in Canada and the United States, the environmental conditions are not the same, so it won't work here."
  • “And besides, there's no single recipe. Ask any producer how they dry. What's their recipe? We'll get ten different answers. This isn't science. This isn't working consistently. It's more than that. Today, there are solutions. You may be using traditional natural systems, so use other technologies that give you better control.”
  • Another common problem is contamination. I see it everywhere, not just in Europe. We have several operations underway, and there are still major contaminations. Even if I sign a date order for contamination now, it will naturally emerge over time. It's not possible to eliminate all cases. So, this will become a problem for which we will have a remediation that will keep contamination to a minimum.

Rui Soares, CEO of Paralab     

Panel Discussion #4: “THE GLOBAL CANNABIS SUPPLY CHAIN: INTERNATIONAL MARKET TRENDS”

Arnau Valdovinos (Moderator, Cannamonitor), Alfredo Pascual (Independent Analyst, CFA), Natalia Lopez (Consultant, Big Leaf), Rob Smallman (Consultant, Global Cannabis Exchange) and Sita Schubert (Secretary General, EUMCA)

“Germany’s success came from flowers and telemedicine.”

Arnau Valdovinos, founder of Cannamonitor      

  • "Telemedicine is a huge phenomenon. When it was cut in Poland, prescriptions fell by 55%. But now they've normalized the market with a hybrid program."
  • "If you think you're going to get rich quick in the European market, that's not happening. Typically, it will take three, four, or five months just to get started. Then you'll make a net profit of 30 or 60 percent from supplying the distributor. And then it takes five to six months to get your paycheck. So, you need to have that…" cash flow, you need to have that ability to hold on until then.”
  • "Germany still has GG 4 available, it still does well, and that's because it's consistent. It's always the same. People want consistency; doctors want consistency; in the pharmaceutical industry, they have consistency. But the market changes too, right? In the United States [where adult use is legal], they go through 15 cultivars every three weeks. People get bored, they want something different."
  • "We have data from all over the world, data on the German market, what's sitting on the shelves. We have specific AI models for the Barcelona group, which show us these practical AI models in different markets, and we see what's happening. That's what our AI models do: predict the market—COVID, the UK, Germany. So we know where to invest, and I think this will be increasingly productive."

Rob Smallman, Global Exchange Network     

  • "The demand exists. You can't reduce demand by restricting telemedicine. If it's restricted, there will be market compression, and products will go elsewhere. In Thailand, they caved in to international pressure. They legalized cannabis like any other crop, opened the prisons... Without regulation, there's a huge market growth and a rapid learning curve. Now, they want to regulate a little more because they want to be well-regarded in other countries."
  • “In the end, you are killing the market with compliance and everything else.”
  • “What I can say now, because there is a ton of data, is that it is precisely the so-called cheap flower segment [Value Flowers] what has really moved the market in terms of volume. I'm sure of that.”

Alfredo Pascual, independent analyst     

  • “In Thailand, they see cannabis as something cultural.”
  • “The future of medicinal cannabis is extracts – which are predictable, reliable, and can be mass-produced, reproduced, and standardized through manufacturing or synthesis processes, something that dried flower cannot do.”
  • "I don't think cannabis flowers should be regulated for pharmaceutical use. We're trying to regulate a plant... We're trying to apply guidelines that favor aspects like sterility to a non-sterile product and trying to achieve reproducibility from a biological sample that has its own microbiome, right? Pharmaceutically regulated cannabis, to me, is an insult. Plant-based medicines are part of our heritage; it's our fundamental right to choose our own medicine, and this is violated by regulated cannabis. Regulating this industry as if it were a pharmaceutical product doesn't allow people to heal. No one is winning now."
  • "Before we had all this, we had years and years of use. And there were no deaths. The data we have comes from other pharmacopoeias... not from cannabis."
  • "We've done a lot of misleading advertising. There's a lot of alarmist propaganda... But it's easy: first, we need to allow more people to provide data and make patents accessible. We need to ensure that the raw materials are accessible and ready to use."
  • "Another is this obsession the industry has, that customers have—I believe it stems from a misguided approach to consumers—with THC potency as the primary measure of cannabis quality. It's been repeatedly demonstrated that THC potency doesn't actually correlate with predictive cannabis experience, but this kind of pursuit of potency above all else is very, very difficult to achieve, and it also limits what can be cultivated."
  • "[To enter the European market] the biggest bottleneck right now is GMP packaging. There's a lot of pressure to have GMP packaging available. There are queues, sometimes people sign supply agreements with other farms, and this ends up failing patients, because perhaps a specific packaging facility ends up giving priority to a farm that's producing too much product. standard, but how are they going to launch one press release, are partnering, others will have to wait their turn while this happens. But there's an incredibly easy solution to this: to stop treating dried flower like a pharmaceutical product and stop requiring it to go through GMP packaging.

Natalia López, consultant at Big Leaf     

  • "We have to distinguish: supplements are for healthy people, and medications are for sick people. In Germany, we have a long tradition of herbal medicines, but we also have pharmaceuticals, and this is due to regulation."
  • "There is a kind of high-potency seed, even in Germany, that is very well established. But we are losing the low potencies, and many female diseases cannot handle high potencies because the patients are mothers, raising their families. Therefore, in many cases, female diseases should not be treated with high potencies."
  • “Education is fundamental and information is fundamental, and this is something very important for us to evaluate before deciding how we will continue.”
  • "Dietary supplements are for healthy people, and medications are for sick people. If I have a child, I want to give them something that's reliable, controlled, and has undergone extensive evaluations so that, at the very least, I can trust that it's a safe, high-quality product."

Sita Schubert, European Medicinal Cannabis Association (EUMCA)      

Editor's Note: CannaReporter® thanks Sarah Sinclair and Roberto Perez for sharing content about these panels. Without their contributions, this article would not have been possible.

 

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[Disclaimer: Please note that this text was originally written in Portuguese and is translated into English and other languages ​​using an automatic translator. Some words may differ from the original and typos or errors may occur in other languages.]

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Margarita has been a regular contributor to CannaReporter since its inception in 2017, having previously worked for other cannabis-focused media outlets such as Cáñamo magazine (Spain), CannaDouro Magazine (Portugal) and Cannapress. She was part of the original team for the Portuguese edition of Cânhamo in the early 2000s and was part of the organisation of the Global Marijuana March in Portugal between 2007 and 2009.

She recently published the book “Canábis - Maldita e Maravilhosa” / "Cannabis - Cursed and Wonderful" (Ed. Oficina do Livro / LeYA, 2024), about the history of the plant, its ancestral relationship with Humans as a raw material, an entheogen and a recreational drug, as well as the infinite potential it holds in medical, industrial and environmental terms.

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A report by ICAD reveals that daily cannabis consumption among young people in Portugal is less than 1%.

Reading Time: 6 minutes The Institute for Addictive Behaviors and Dependencies (ICAD) published on December 2nd...

Business1 weeks ago

Cannabis has already generated more than $5,4 billion in tax revenue for Canada since 2018.

Reading Time: 3 minutes. Canada has already collected more than 5,4 billion Canadian dollars in tax revenue since...