tag:theconversation.com,2011:/fr/topics/cannabis-cultivation-21796/articlesCannabis cultivation – The Conversation2021-03-10T14:58:14Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1568152021-03-10T14:58:14Z2021-03-10T14:58:14ZHome-grown cannabis: how COVID-19 has fuelled a boom around the world<p>Back in the days when “<a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/17459261211286645/full/html?skipTracking=true">skunk</a>” was mainly associated with Pepé Le Pew and hydroponics was a way of improving cucumbers, most of the UK’s cannabis supply was imported from places such as Morocco and Lebanon. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0955395915000031?via%3Dihub">This changed</a> in the past two or three decades in the UK and many other countries as <a href="https://www.npcc.police.uk/Publication/FINAL%20PRESS%20CULTIVATION%20OF%20CANNABIS%202.pdf">organised criminal gangs</a> set up growing operations closer to home. </p>
<p><a href="https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_Booklet_3.pdf">Cannabis was still</a> cultivated and distributed out of the more exotic locations on a large scale, particularly when it came to resin, but a fair amount of production had now moved closer to the demand in a process economists call <a href="https://econclassroom.com/glossary/import-substitution/">import substitution</a>. </p>
<p>It is hard to measure this accurately, but the <a href="http://www.idmu.co.uk/oldsite/">Independent Drug Monitoring Unit</a> estimated that by 2012, 80% of the cannabis used in the UK was grown here – up from 30% in the late 1990s. It is probably well over 90% now.</p>
<p>But in recent years, cannabis has undergone another major shift. A sizeable share of demand is now met by <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/coming-closet-gary-potter-axel-klein/e/10.4324/9781351033503-12">small-scale growers</a>, mainly supplying themselves and friends and acquaintances. This has become possible for various reasons, including improvements to growing technology, new strains more suited to indoor growing, and the wealth of information and expertise on the internet. As such, many cannabis users <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1741659016646414">no longer depend</a> on traditional drug dealers. </p>
<p>This trend has been gaining momentum during the pandemic. So is this permanent or will the old supply chains reassert themselves when countries return to some kind of normality?</p>
<h2>Keeping up with cannabis</h2>
<p>Myself and a group of like-minded cannabis researchers across Europe, North America and Australasia formed the <a href="https://worldwideweed.nl/about/">Global Cannabis Cultivation Research Consortium</a> in 2009 to monitor the growth of domestic cultivation and how cannabis markets were evolving. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0955395914003636">In 2012</a>, we <a href="https://worldwideweed.nl/pubs-gccrc/">surveyed growers</a> in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the UK and the US to find out more about small-scale growing, and how and why they these people got involved. Most turned out to be regular people - with normal jobs, normal family arrangements, and no more involvement in drug dealing or other crime than any other section of the public.</p>
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<img alt="Man cultivating cannabis" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/388806/original/file-20210310-19-1cp55no.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/388806/original/file-20210310-19-1cp55no.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/388806/original/file-20210310-19-1cp55no.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/388806/original/file-20210310-19-1cp55no.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/388806/original/file-20210310-19-1cp55no.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/388806/original/file-20210310-19-1cp55no.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/388806/original/file-20210310-19-1cp55no.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Dedication’s whatcha need.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://ecigarettereviewed.com/">https://ecigarettereviewed.com/</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p>Cannabis policy has since been changing around the world. An ever-growing <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legality_of_cannabis">list of countries</a> has legalised it, in some form, for medical use. A number have changed their laws so that cannabis possession (and, in some cases, cultivation for personal use) is no longer a criminal offence. Most significantly, Canada, Uruguay and various US states have legalised not only medical but recreational use too. </p>
<p>In 2020, we launched our <a href="https://worldwideweed.nl/">second international survey</a> to see how cultivation was being affected by this shifting backdrop. This time we looked at 18 countries, adding France, Georgia, Israel, Italy, New Zealand, Portugal and Uruguay to the original 11, while also running a survey for people in non-participating countries. A global pandemic and national lockdowns had not been part of our planning, but of course we added questions to find out the effects. </p>
<h2>The new findings</h2>
<p>Since COVID-19 has affected almost every area of life, you would expect it to affect <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/5dpe8n/what-really-happened-to-britains-drug-supply-during-the-first-lockdown">drug use and drug markets</a>. People have been spending more time at home. Social interactions have been limited, including opportunities to take drugs with friends or to obtain them from the usual sources. Meanwhile, national and international drug supply networks have been disrupted. </p>
<p>Sure enough, our preliminary findings suggest that COVID-19 has affected domestic cannabis cultivation around the world. With nearly 5,000 participants at the time of writing, 16% report only becoming involved in cannabis growing since the pandemic. There are 11% of respondents saying that having more time at home was why they were growing, while 8% cite <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-price-of-street-drugs-rises-due-to-lockdown-measures-dealer-says-11967377">increased cannabis prices</a> during the pandemic as a motivating factor. </p>
<p>More than one-third of respondents reported that it was harder to meet up in person with people they grew with, or to obtain cannabis through personal social networks or their usual dealer. Yet fewer than one in ten reported that it was harder to get hold of cannabis seeds, growing equipment, or other supplies like fertilisers. </p>
<p>There is some interesting variation between countries in the findings. In Italy, more than one-quarter of respondents had started growing since the pandemic started – noticeably above the global average. Meanwhile, one-third of Portuguese respondents cited a shortage of cannabis during COVID-19 as a reason for growing their own. </p>
<p>Besides the pandemic, most home growers across the world pointed to other motivations that were <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0955395914003636">in line</a> with our <a href="https://worldwideweed.nl/pubs-gccrc/">2012 findings</a>: wanting a product that is healthier and cheaper, while avoiding contact with criminals. </p>
<p>Three-quarters of respondents report that they grow cannabis because they get pleasure from doing so. Nearly half report that they are growing for their own medical use. And while 15% report growing to supply others with cannabis for medical use and 15% supply others for recreational use, our growers are not acting as drug dealers: only 4% reported selling cannabis for profit. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/388809/original/file-20210310-13-vw7rb5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Woman on a bed lighting a joint" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/388809/original/file-20210310-13-vw7rb5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/388809/original/file-20210310-13-vw7rb5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/388809/original/file-20210310-13-vw7rb5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/388809/original/file-20210310-13-vw7rb5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/388809/original/file-20210310-13-vw7rb5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/388809/original/file-20210310-13-vw7rb5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/388809/original/file-20210310-13-vw7rb5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">‘The fruits of my labours.’</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/close-african-american-woman-lighting-marijuana-1508639039">Joshua Resnick</a></span>
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<p>But if lockdown has led a significant number of people to start growing their own cannabis, it is also important to note that the vast majority of our participants were growing it already. And while many respondents (18%) reported growing more under lockdown, one in ten said they were growing less or had stopped altogether. Meanwhile, organised crime continues to supply a large chunk of the UK cannabis market. </p>
<p>It must be stressed that these are only preliminary findings. We want to double the number of respondents to at least 10,000 in the coming months, and will publish the final results early in 2022. Then we intend to carry on our research to see if these trends continue as the pandemic recedes. We strongly suspect it will: once people get the habit of growing their own, there is little reason to go back to buying from dealers.</p>
<p>Anyone interested in taking part in our survey can find out more at <a href="https://worldwideweed.nl/">worldwideweed.nl</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/156815/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gary Potter has previously received funding from the British Academy/Leverhulme small grants scheme. </span></em></p>Home cultivation of cannabis is increasing in many countries during the pandemic.Gary Potter, Reader in Criminology, Lancaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/862992017-11-19T22:21:19Z2017-11-19T22:21:19ZHow to grow cannabis? With modern science and technology<p>In Canada and around the world, legal cannabis producers face many challenges: Varying government regulations, high security requirements and a lack of reliable information on how to grow their crops. </p>
<p>Growing cannabis has been illegal for so many years that scientific <a href="http://hortsci.ashspublications.org/content/52/9/1307.abstract?sid=bfe42f6d-f2ae-42d8-8291-c13f8a327d67">research</a> on how to best produce this crop is limited. Much of the knowledge on how to grow cannabis lacks validation, is clouded in secrecy and is mostly connected to hidden and illegal production facilities of the past. </p>
<p>In contrast, researchers have been improving production practices for other crops, including <a href="http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/abs/10.4141/P05-167#.WfIpwmhSyUk">medicinal plants</a>, for decades, creating a large body of scientificaly-validated information. </p>
<p>With changing government regulations in Canada, and the many medicinal benefits of cannabis, it is time to move the legal cannabis plant production industry into the realm of high-tech laboratories and scientific practices. </p>
<p>We must sift through accumulated grower knowledge, while publicly documenting and improving production practices. Evidence-based research will help growers produce more consistent, high-yielding and high-quality products and help inform policy makers as they regulate this industry.</p>
<p>As researchers who study how to produce high-value plants (e.g. medicinal, <a href="http://hortsci.ashspublications.org/content/52/1/65.abstract">nutraceutical</a>, edible and ornamental plants) under controlled environments — including indoor medical cannabis — we believe this will require collaborative research among cannabis growers and researchers.</p>
<p>Our lab at the University of Guelph is one of the best in the world for horticulture research, particularly for controlled-environment plant production. In recent years, we have been applying this knowledge to our collaborations with legal cannabis growers. With legalized recreational cannabis use on the horizon in Canada, more licensed growers are seeking this sort of expertise.</p>
<h2>Current state of cannabis production</h2>
<p>Growing cannabis can be a lucrative business. Spending on legal cannabis in North American medicinal and recreational markets is projected to reach <a href="https://www.arcviewmarketresearch.com/free-cannabis-research-report/">US$21.6 billion by 2021</a>.</p>
<p>In Canada, there are currently <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/drugs-health-products/medical-use-marijuana/licensed-producers/authorized-licensed-producers-medical-purposes.html">73 authorized licensed medical cannabis producers</a>, most of them large-scale producers. With the recreational use and sale of cannabis scheduled for legalization in our country next year, it is foreseeable that many more large-scale producers will enter the market.</p>
<p>In the past, indoor cannabis production was largely confined to smaller-scale operations. Under these conditions, growers accumulated enormous levels of knowledge and experience. But much was kept as trade secrets and most still needs to be scientifically validated.</p>
<p>Even in today’s modern medicinal cannabis production facilities, growers are often reliant on online forums — so-called “grow guides” — and advice from salespeople for information on crop production. Without proper training, it can be hard to tell fact from fiction.</p>
<h2>Looking to decades of horticultural knowledge</h2>
<p>Humans have been growing plants in controlled environments for hundreds of years. Over the past 50 years, billions of dollars have been invested into this research field and an enormous amount of knowledge has been accumulated. Cannabis producers can dip into this knowledge pool by working with skilled researchers.</p>
<p>The production challenges facing large-scale cannabis producers will inevitably be like those producing other greenhouse crops, especially issues with nutrient and disease management. For example, large-scale plant production facilities use large quantities of fertilizers and water. If improperly disposed of, they could pollute the surrounding environment. </p>
<p>Growers may also decide to reuse their nutrient solution, but doing so risks spreading pathogens from one infected plant to the whole operation. Through collaboration with horticultural scientists, large-scale producers will have access to many different technologies and strategies to <a href="http://www.ces.uoguelph.ca/water/about.shtml">treat irrigation water</a> for reuse or discharge. This will help combat potential problems.</p>
<p>Another example involves artificial lighting for plants. In the past, most operations were using high pressure sodium (HPS) lamps as growing lights. HPS is not efficient in converting electricity to light for plant growth, and lighting is one of the major costs for indoor plant production. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.greenhousecanada.com/structures-equipment/lighting/are-leds-the-right-choice-for-my-operation-30969">Light emitting diode (LED) technology</a>) is rapidly developing, with dramatic increases in energy efficiency and decreases in price. LEDs can provide different light colours and spectral combinations as needed. Research tells us that we can use <a href="http://magazine.greenhousecanada.com/publication/index.php?i=338241&m=&l=&p=32&pre=&ver=html5#%7B%22page%22:32,%22issue_id%22:338241">light colour and intensity to steer plants to produce desired characteristics</a> and chemical components. However, there is hardly any published scientific research on how to use this modern technology to produce high quality cannabis — information that cannabis growers certainly need.</p>
<h2>Developing government policy</h2>
<p>Public policy on cannabis has focused on public health concerns, the illegal market and taxation. With the opening of the recreational market and increased production, regulating production will also be important.</p>
<p>In the Canadian medicinal cannabis market, there are strictly enforced <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/cannabis-regulations-licensed-producers.html">quality and safety regulations</a> on products being distributed to patients. However, there is little guidance on production, other than to meet these standards. Governments will have to regulate production practices, with both producer and public interest in mind.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, reliable evidence-based research is lacking. As mentioned, the bulk of production knowledge is anecdotal and even secretive. It makes things difficult for policymakers charged with setting standards and policies.</p>
<p>Research efforts to scientifically improve, verify and document valuable knowledge on cannabis production will not only help growers, but also governments seeking to regulate and support this industry.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/86299/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The legal cannabis industry will have to develop scientific research and evidence based growth methods and technology if it is to succeed against the secretive illicit industry.Dr. Youbin Zheng, Associate Professor, University of GuelphDeron Caplan, PhD Candidate in Environmental Systems Research, University of GuelphLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/678382016-11-01T02:36:36Z2016-11-01T02:36:36ZUsing DNA to unlock the mysteries of cannabis and reduce the risk of dodgy ‘medical’ products<p>The federal government will now <a href="http://www.health.gov.au/internet/ministers/publishing.nsf/Content/health-mediarel-yr2015-ley123.htm">accept licence applications</a> for groups wanting to grow cannabis locally for scientific and medical purposes.</p>
<p>Cannabis <a href="http://www.health.gov.au/internet/ministers/publishing.nsf/Content/health-mediarel-yr2015-ley123.htm">remains an illegal drug</a> in Australia for recreational use and there no plans to change that. But the reforms are part of a broader effort to enable a sustainable supply of safe medicinal cannabis products to Australian patients.</p>
<p>There is limited high quality evidence on how cannabis medicines may help people suffering problems such as chemotherapy-induced nausea or paediatric epilepsy. New South Wales’ upcoming medicinal cannabis <a href="https://www.medicinalcannabis.nsw.gov.au/about">trials</a> aim to find out more about its therapeutic potential. </p>
<p>Against this background, plant scientists in Australia are working to understand better the chemical make up of this complex plant and the incredible variation within the species. </p>
<p>Many questions remain unanswered, underscoring the potential risks of black market products. The composition of these products may be unknown, or vary wildly between products or batches. They may also be laced with pesticides and heavy metals. </p>
<p>This lack of quality control and quality assurance is a significant public health concern, especially for vulnerable patients who may not necessarily have a medical professional helping guide their treatment choices.</p>
<h2>One species, hundreds of strains</h2>
<p>You may think you know what a cannabis plant looks like, but even experts are still learning about how one plant may differ from the next in its chemical profile.</p>
<p>The two most well-known compounds in a cannabis plant are the psychoactive tetrahydrocannabinol, or <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/thc-29805">THC</a>, and the non-psychoactive cannabidiol, or CBD. THC is the compound that delivers the “high”, while CBD is believed to have a relaxing effect. THC and CBD are part of a group of compounds that scientists call “cannabinoids”.</p>
<p>On the spectrum of variation, there are some plants that are high in THC and some that are high in CBD. But even for these two cannabinoids, there is much more of a <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10681-015-1585-y">continuum</a> than most people realise. </p>
<p>You may read on the internet that there are two main types of cannabis – indica and sativa – and that one is more or less medically beneficial than the other. But this terminology is not backed by strong evidence. </p>
<h2>Heavy metals, pesticides</h2>
<p>Many existing products available on the black market may promise miraculous results without any compelling scientific evidence, regulation or product quality assurance standards. Some of the tinctures, oils or floral buds available on the black market may also be badly contaminated by pesticides, heavy metals and germs. </p>
<p>Some of the research <a href="http://sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2016/08/18/pioneering-study-of-cannabis-extracts-in-treating-epileptic-kids.html">underway</a> in Australia is investigating just how variable the amounts of active ingredients may be in some of these products.</p>
<h2>Tracing the history, mapping the present</h2>
<p>All forms of cannabis currently growing have been domesticated at some point in the past few thousand years.</p>
<p>We can now use state-of-the art DNA technologies and detailed information on cannabinoid chemistry to help trace the domestication history of hemp, hempseed, recreational and now medicinal forms of cannabis.</p>
<p>Our research aims to map the details of the wide range of cannabinoid compositional profiles that may be found in the different cultivated forms (also known as cultivars or “strains”). We want to help create a better way of assessing the amount of CBD and other cannabinoids in different cannabis strains. We are developing tools to distinguish between different cannabis cultivars by DNA and chemical profiling.</p>
<p>Our researchers are working with a collection of over 200 strains of cannabis cultivars collated by the firm Ecofibre (one of our research funders and collaborators). This collection represents a large proportion of the <a href="http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpls.2016.01113/full">worldwide cannabis gene pool</a>.</p>
<h2>How to measure the dose?</h2>
<p>There is still no single standard way of measuring cannabinoid composition. That makes it hard to know the relative “dose” of THC or CBD or other compounds in any given plant.</p>
<p>There is an urgent need to develop and adopt nationally and internationally agreed standards for the benefit of all involved, be they regulators, cultivators, processors, dispensers, prescribers or patients. </p>
<p>Without a systematic framework it is very hard to understand how growers could cultivate cannabis with a consistent composition and yield, leading to a predicable dose. Scientists also still don’t know enough about the shelf-life of various forms of medicinal cannabis.</p>
<p>Our research team surveyed the available reliable and systematic scientific literature on what factors help drive variation in cannabinoid content in a plant.</p>
<p>We found that there is little high quality scientific evidence out there on this question, despite what you may read on the internet. Many websites make bold claims about the “evidence” on cannabis plant science but most of this material is poorly formalised or does not bear scrutiny in terms of valid statistical design.</p>
<h2>New research to answer old questions</h2>
<p>For cultivators and manufacturers there is a need to be able to ensure production cycles can be predictable throughout the year to meet demand. For pharmacists and prescribers there is a need to know more about a product’s shelf-life. Patients must have confidence in the consistency and traceability of product – from plant through to the processing and supply chain – and prescribers need to be able to predict with certainty what effect a product will have on a patient.</p>
<p>The effect that a cannabis product will have on a person is the result of complex interplay between the original plant’s genetic composition, and environmental factors during cultivation and processing.</p>
<p>For a medicinal cannabis cultivation and processing industry to work best, we need to understand better – in a systematic and reproducible way – the interaction between the genetic composition and the environmental factors that may determine the level of THC and CBD in a plant.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/67838/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Graham King receives funding at Southern Cross University from the company Ecofibre Industries Operations Pty Ltd and the Australian government. He is on the advisory council of the NSW Centre for Medicinal Cannabis Research and Innovation.</span></em></p>The Australian government will now accept licence applications for groups wanting to grow cannabis for scientific and medical purposes. But there’s still a lot we don’t know about this complex plant.Graham King, Director, Southern Cross Plant Science, Southern Cross UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/669502016-10-28T01:02:38Z2016-10-28T01:02:38ZMillions more voters legalizing marijuana won’t clear up regulatory haze<p>Congress continues to resist decriminalizing marijuana even as a <a href="http://norml.org/congressional-scorecard/item/executive-summary-2">popular crusade</a> to legalize its use state by state may soon mean almost a quarter of Americans can smoke up at will, not including the many more who can use <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-do-we-know-about-marijuanas-medical-benefits-two-experts-explain-the-evidence-64200">the drug medicinally</a>. </p>
<p>This has resulted in a patchwork of state laws alongside federal ones that have put the nascent industry in legal and financial limbo. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/08/12/2016-17960/denial-of-petition-to-initiate-proceedings-to-reschedule-marijuana">Despite attempts</a> to remove marijuana from the federal <a href="http://www.fda.gov/regulatoryinformation/legislation/ucm148726.htm">Controlled Substances Act</a>, the government <a href="https://www.dea.gov/druginfo/ds.shtml">continues to define it</a> as a dangerous drug with no proven medical uses. </p>
<p>Voters in many states disagree. Presently, Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Alaska permit the sale and consumption of social marijuana, Washington, D.C. allows its consumption but not its sale, and 25 other states have legalized its medical use. </p>
<p>On Election Day, many more may follow their lead. Voters in Arizona, California, Maine, Massachusetts and Nevada will decide whether to legalize marijuana, while four other states will decide whether to allow medical use or ease restrictions. If the results of the legalization initiatives are all “yes,” <a href="http://elections.kqed.org/article/242587/voters-may-expand-legal-access-to-marijuana-in-california-8-other-states">about 23 percent</a> of the U.S. – or 75 million Americans – will be able to use marijuana socially, up from 5.6 percent, or 18 million citizens, currently. </p>
<p>This conflict between state and federal law creates an unstable financial environment for producers and retailers of marijuana.</p>
<p>To get a better picture of the industry and the burdens imposed as a result of schizophrenic policies, a team of researchers from the University of Utah and the University of Michigan are <a href="http://Eccles.link/Bert">conducting a survey</a> of businesses that grow, process and sell marijuana in several states that have legalized it.</p>
<p>Preliminary results from Colorado suggest the conflict between state and federal policies is taking a severe toll on the industry.</p>
<h2>Taxed through the nose</h2>
<p>How the federal government taxes cannabis companies is one of the biggest burdens the marijuana industry must bear in the current environment. </p>
<p>In particular, <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/280E">section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code</a> prevents companies from taking any deduction or credit from a trade or business that consists of “trafficking in controlled substances.” In other words, they pay far more than other businesses because they can’t deduct most legitimate business expenses such as labor, materials and other costs of production. They can, however, take a small deduction for “<a href="http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/cogs.asp">cost of goods sold</a>.” </p>
<p>Preliminary results from the survey suggest that businesses are paying effective combined tax rates of 40 percent to 75 percent. The wide range is likely due to the sophistication of the larger, more established companies that can afford both an aggressive tax-planning strategy and set aside money for a <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2016/07/12/irs-said-to-be-auditing-colorado-marijuana-businesses.html">likely IRS audit</a>. Smaller businesses, on the other hand, lack such resources and are more likely to self-file, which means the companies least able to afford the high tax rates are the ones paying them. </p>
<p>This exceedingly high tax burden leads to operating losses, discourages reinvestment and expansion and results in artificially depressed industry wages. </p>
<p>In addition, the level of taxation dampens the industry’s natural growth rate and distorts market transactions from customers in the form of higher prices, from businesses in the form of reduced profits and from states in the form of reduced tax proceeds due to reduced sales because of inflated prices. </p>
<p>Overall, the current federal tax design results in a large deadweight loss to all stakeholders in a state’s economy.</p>
<h2>The perils of banking</h2>
<p>The other main burden for marijuana businesses is banking. And unfortunately, there’s even more uncertainty here.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/bank-secrecy-act">Bank Secrecy Act of 1970</a> prevents federally chartered banks and credit unions from providing financial services to the cannabis industry, which is considered money laundering. </p>
<p>While the Department of Justice and U.S. Treasury <a href="http://www.denverpost.com/2014/02/14/banks-given-the-go-ahead-on-working-with-marijuana-businesses/">have tried to establish</a> some guidelines for financial companies, the CEO of the Colorado Bankers Association <a href="http://www.coloradobankers.org/resource/resmgr/State_issue_files/MJ%20Summary%20Reasons%20020714.pdf">warned its members</a> that only “an act of Congress” will allow banks to work with the industry without fear of criminal prosecution. </p>
<p>Preliminary survey results show that fewer than half of cannabis businesses in Colorado are involved in banking, which deprives them access to the normal services companies rely on to grow and operate efficiently. The banks and credit unions working with the industry tend to be small and local and doing business cautiously. In order to navigate working with a marijuana-related enterprise, the individual banks are responsible for making sure that a business is fully compliant with state law. Even then, banks may run afoul of federal regulations. </p>
<p>For example, in January a <a href="http://business.cch.com/BFLD/maryjane_01062016.pdf">federal district court</a> ruled against a credit union – set up to provide banking services to cannabis businesses – seeking access to the Federal Reserve banking system. Even though the guidelines suggested marijuana businesses might not be prosecuted by federal officials, the bank necessarily would be involved in illegal activities. </p>
<p>Although sympathetic to the dilemma of marijuana business owners without banking privileges, the judge said that courts couldn’t simply ignore federal law. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“In short, these guidance documents simply suggest that prosecutors and bank regulators might ‘look the other way’ if financial institutions don’t mind violating the law. A federal court cannot look the other way. I regard the situation as untenable and hope that it will soon be addressed and resolved by Congress.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Congress, of course, has resolved the issue by not resolving it, and looking the “other way” is a poor substitute for policy in any case.</p>
<p>Cannabis businesses lucky enough to find a financial institution willing to work with them end up paying extremely high fees for an account that generally only allows them to issue checks or direct deposits to merchants and employees. They remain unable to apply for loans and access other financial services. This results in a high cost of business capital. </p>
<p>The unlucky ones without a relationship with a financial institution are either entirely cash-based or work with a payment processing company willing to provide services through its networks. </p>
<p>Those that deal only in cash, however, have become <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2014/02/05/robber-gangs-terrorize-colorado-pot-shops.html">easy targets for criminals</a>.</p>
<h2>Building a pro-pot business environment</h2>
<p>Given the legal incoherence surrounding marijuana, producers and retailers of the drug are stymied by two related dilemmas: They have no access to legitimate banking channels and they are denied equitable federal tax treatment compared with other businesses. </p>
<p>Despite that, marijuana makes up a substantial and rapidly growing segment of the economy. A single state, Colorado, <a href="http://www.thecannabist.co/2016/02/09/colorado-marijuana-sales-2015-reach-996-million/47886">generated nearly a billion dollars</a> in revenues in 2015 – and US$135 million in states taxes and license fees – up from $669 million in 2014. Revenues of that magnitude should be promoted rather than seriously wounded by tax policy.</p>
<p>The obvious solution to the federal-state conflict is to modify the drug schedules under the Controlled Substances Act by changing cannabis from a Schedule I drug to a Schedule IV or below. <a href="https://www.dea.gov/druginfo/ds.shtml">Schedule IV</a> states that “the drug or other substance has a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States” and may result in “limited physical dependence or psychological dependence.” Under Schedule I, a listed drug has “no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States.”</p>
<p>Federal action is unlikely in the foreseeable future. According to a <a href="http://norml.org/congressional-scorecard/item/executive-summary-2">recent study</a> by pro-pot advocacy group NORML, “support for substantive marijuana law reform is far less pronounced among elected officials than it is among the voters they represent.” About 60 percent of <a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/186260/back-legal-marijuana.aspx">American adults</a> believe that marijuana should be legal, but only four percent of Congressional members received NORML’s “A” grade on the issue.</p>
<p>For the moment, sadly, the <a href="http://publicdomainreview.org/collections/reefer-madness-1938/">1936 cinematic melodrama “Reefer Madness”</a> – which depicted marijuana use as the pathway to rape, murder and insanity – is still playing at selected theaters inside the Beltway.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ATAd4YUBrAE?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/66950/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Nine states are deciding whether to legalize marijuana. Yet the drug’s prohibition at the federal level has created an unstable financial environment for producers and retailers.Raymond Hogler, Professor of Management, Colorado State UniversityGreg Robinson, Ph.D Student. in Finance, University of UtahLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/577072016-04-13T12:24:47Z2016-04-13T12:24:47ZMr Nice, drug trafficking – and how Britain now grows its own weed<p>The celebrated Oxford-educated cannabis smuggler, Howard Marks – aka “Mr Nice” – is <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/apr/11/howard-marks-obituary">no longer with us</a>. He devoted his early career to international cannabis trafficking (mainly into the US), which eventually brought him a 25-year prison sentence and then later success as an author and raconteur. </p>
<p>But, at least as far as the UK is concerned, Mr Nice represents the past. Since his enforced retirement from trafficking, there have been big changes in the UK cannabis market.</p>
<p>Before the millennium, there was a slowly expanding British market for traditional, low-potency, imported cannabis resin and herb, often originating in south-east Asia and imported through the Netherlands. All that has changed in the past 15 years. Surveys suggest that <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/drug-misuse-findings-from-the-2012-to-2013-csew/drug-misuse-findings-from-the-2012-to-2013-crime-survey-for-england-and-wales">cannabis use has declined steadily since 2002</a> and is currently around 40% below its peak. </p>
<p>The nature of the product has changed, too. Evidence from chemical analysis of seized samples suggests that around ten years ago there was a <a href="http://www.dldocs.stir.ac.uk/documents/potency.pdf">large increase in the market share of high-potency sinsemilla</a>, with the average content of the main psycho-active component D9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) approximately doubling from 6% to 12% between 2002 and 2008 in samples tested by the Forensic Science Service.</p>
<p>Most striking is the change in production and supply of cannabis to the UK market. The supply side of the drug market is much more difficult to observe statistically than the demand side. Drug users in the general population can be located by random sampling and many are willing to report their drug use in properly anonymised surveys. </p>
<p>But drug dealers are fewer in number, harder to locate and much less willing to answer questions. Most of our information about supply comes as a by-product of enforcement action and may therefore tell us as much about police priorities as about suppliers’ behaviour. Nevertheless, a striking picture emerges from published data on seizures – a move away from imports in favour of UK production.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/118411/original/image-20160412-15868-1r67kol.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/118411/original/image-20160412-15868-1r67kol.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/118411/original/image-20160412-15868-1r67kol.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/118411/original/image-20160412-15868-1r67kol.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/118411/original/image-20160412-15868-1r67kol.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/118411/original/image-20160412-15868-1r67kol.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/118411/original/image-20160412-15868-1r67kol.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/118411/original/image-20160412-15868-1r67kol.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Figure 1, above, shows the proportion of cannabis seized by Border Force (who have primary responsibility for policing imports) as opposed to that captured by domestic police forces, falling from more than 70% in 2000 and 2001 to only 35% in 2011 and 2012.</p>
<p>Figure 2, below, shows the trend in the proportion of seized cannabis which is seized in the form of growing plants. Imported cannabis is almost always in the form of prepared products rather than growing plants, so the trend suggests that, in all countries of the UK, there was a very strong rise in UK-based production – and that the rise happened in the space of a very few years (around 2004 to 2007).</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/118413/original/image-20160412-15858-5b9rd4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/118413/original/image-20160412-15858-5b9rd4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/118413/original/image-20160412-15858-5b9rd4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/118413/original/image-20160412-15858-5b9rd4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/118413/original/image-20160412-15858-5b9rd4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/118413/original/image-20160412-15858-5b9rd4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=585&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/118413/original/image-20160412-15858-5b9rd4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=585&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/118413/original/image-20160412-15858-5b9rd4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=585&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Why did this enormous change in the nature of the market happen, and why did it happen so quickly? I don’t think we really know. Technology has undoubtedly played a role. The internet has made seeds and growing equipment much more readily available over the last decade or so and they can be acquired without the risk of imprisonment linked to importation of the drug itself.</p>
<h2>Home-grown highs</h2>
<p>The press has sometimes painted <a href="http://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/untold-profits-fuel-the-violent-gang-world-of-london-s-cannabis-farms-6509328.html">lurid pictures</a> of an influx into the country of Vietnamese gangs, resorting to <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/may/23/vietnam-children-trafficking-nail-bar-cannabis">human trafficking to recruit “farmers”</a> and using <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/aug/17/drugs-trade-drugs">violence as a standard business tool</a>.
But the supposed reason for this sudden influx of foreign criminals has never been made clear and arrest statistics show a <a href="http://www.npcc.police.uk/Publication/UK%20NATIONAL%20PROBLEM%20PROFILE%20COMMERCIAL%20CULTIVATION%20OF%20CANNABIS%20REPORT3%202014.pdf">large majority of white northern Europeans involved in production</a>. </p>
<p>There is little doubt that there has been increasing commercialisation of UK-based supply. The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC, formerly ACPO) reported a <a href="http://www.ecpat.org.uk/sites/default/files/acpo_commercial_cultivation_of_cannabis_2012.pdf">doubling of detections</a> of commercial cannabis “farms” (involving cultivation of 25 or more cannabis plants or use of specialist equipment) between 2007 and 2012, with some evidence of involvement of organised crime operating across multiple production units.</p>
<p>Howard Marks was a lifelong proponent of cannabis legalisation, arguing that a legal market would avoid the social costs that currently accompany the production of cannabis in the UK. While I don’t think his career justifies the heroic status some have ascribed to him, it’s just possible that he was right about cannabis policy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/57707/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen Pudney receives funding from the Office for National Statistics and the European Monitoring Centre
for Drugs and Drug Addiction for advisory and research work.
</span></em></p>The consumption of homegrown cannabis has risen sharply over the past decade.Stephen Pudney, Professor of Economics, University of EssexLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/490502015-10-22T19:08:17Z2015-10-22T19:08:17ZFrom farm to pharmacy: regulating medicinal cannabis in Australia<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/98972/original/image-20151020-23260-svvaxc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A national regulator is proposed to oversee cultivation of cannabis for medicinal purposes in Australia.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/dankdepot/5456981099/in/photolist-9jdsn2-8B4uXT-8VP99d-9hwwTs-8FDa14-7TKsfj-9o9EJb-9jdsfX-9o9EHy-9bX7mJ-8cwDCv-9o9EZj-9cc8bJ-a9Pr3B-7PSHbT-9hwzaF-9o9ETC-9hzFCw-9hwzmk-8mdNZs-9hwSeU-9htJTn-9hwA8J-9htuaD-9htsrM-9htrWD-9hwJ73-9jdsua-9hwzxL-9hwAiQ-9hwAM1-9htD7K-9htJwc-9htJ4n-9htMEX-9hwVGo-9hwwFb-9hwQyj-9htPpz-9hwVUb-9hwLhs-9hwNN1-9hwRw1-9hwSSQ-9htM1i-9hwToq-9bX7j1-9o9EBu-9hwzgi-9jdszc">Dank Depot/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Commonwealth government <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-10-17/federal-government-to-legalise-growing-of-medicinal-cannabis/6862294">announced plans</a> on the weekend to legalise growing cannabis for medicinal and research purposes in Australia.</p>
<p>The news follows the <a href="http://www.premier.vic.gov.au/medicinal-cannabis-to-be-legalised-in-victoria">Victorian government’s announcement</a> earlier this month that it will legalise access to medicinal cannabis products for patients with severe symptoms from 2017. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, the New South Wales government <a href="http://www.governmentnews.com.au/2015/07/first-australian-medical-cannabis-clinical-trial-greenlighted-in-nsw/">will provide up to $A9 million</a> to support cannabis clinical trials. </p>
<p>It also launched the <a href="http://www.nsw.gov.au/tics">Terminal Illness Cannabis Scheme</a> to allow people medically certified as terminally ill and their carers to register to use cannabis for therapeutic purposes. </p>
<p>But Australia is a signatory to three international drug control agreements, including the <a href="https://www.unodc.org/pdf/convention_1961_en.pdf">Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs 1961</a>, which limit narcotic drug production, trade and use to medical and scientific purposes. </p>
<p>To legalise cannabis cultivation, the Commonwealth must be able to keep track of production and report to the International Narcotics Control Board.</p>
<p>Establishing what the federal health minister, Sussan Ley, calls “a safe, legal and sustainable” framework for regulating the supply of medical cannabis from the farm to the pharmacy will require co-operation between the Commonwealth, states and territories. </p>
<h2>Existing laws</h2>
<p>Cannabis and its products are regulated under various federal and state laws. But the states don’t have legal authority to set stand-alone rules for the cultivation of cannabis and production of medicinal products.</p>
<p>The recent Victorian Law Reform Commission’s <a href="http://lawreform.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/VLRC_Medicinal_Cannabis_Report_web.pdf">report</a> on medical cannabis recommended Victoria collaborate with the Commonwealth as this is the only practical approach to legalising medical access to the drug.</p>
<p>Several Commonwealth laws apply to cannabis. The Narcotics Drugs Act 1967 regulates the manufacture of narcotic products, including cannabis. </p>
<p>The Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 forms a national system for regulating medicines. Products listed on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods can be sold in Australia. </p>
<p>And the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) reviews the efficacy, safety and quality of a product before it is registered. </p>
<p>One cannabis-based drug, Sativex® (nabiximols), is currently registered for use by people with multiple sclerosis to help control muscle spasticity. The drug is not covered by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme so it is costly and not readily available. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/99292/original/image-20151022-8019-tpoo4k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/99292/original/image-20151022-8019-tpoo4k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/99292/original/image-20151022-8019-tpoo4k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/99292/original/image-20151022-8019-tpoo4k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/99292/original/image-20151022-8019-tpoo4k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/99292/original/image-20151022-8019-tpoo4k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/99292/original/image-20151022-8019-tpoo4k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">New South Wales allows people medically certified as terminally ill to register to use cannabis for therapeutic purposes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Federal customs laws regulate the import of cannabis into Australia, for instance, to be used in clinical trials. International sources of the drug for medical purposes are very limited, however, which is why a domestic supply is preferred.</p>
<h2>Offence laws</h2>
<p>The Therapeutic Goods Act also sets a framework for drugs that states and territories adopt in their laws. Cannabis is a “prohibited poison” unless used for medicine or research. </p>
<p>Commonwealth, state and territory laws create offences for growing, possessing and selling cannabis. The severity of the penalty depends on the seriousness of the <a href="https://ncpic.org.au/professionals/publications/factsheets/cannabis-and-the-law/">offence</a>. </p>
<p>A person found in possession of a small quantity of the drug for personal use, for instance, may receive a warning or fine. </p>
<p>Under the NSW Terminal Illness Cannabis Scheme, police officers have discretion not to charge people authorised to possess and use cannabis to relieve their symptoms.</p>
<p>Such an approach is only a partial solution, though. Legal changes, such as the ones under discussion, are needed to support the production and supply of safe, quality cannabis crops and products.</p>
<p>Otherwise, people seeking the drug to help manage medical symptoms may buy it from illicit sources. </p>
<h2>A national regulator</h2>
<p>At the end of last year, the Regulator of Medicinal Cannabis Bill 2014 was referred to a <a href="http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Legal_and_Constitutional_Affairs/Medicinal_Cannabis_Bill/Report">Senate committee</a>. The committee released its final report and recommendations in August. </p>
<p>The bill proposes a national regulatory body to set up a system to license people to grow cannabis for medical uses, manufacture medicinal cannabis products and supply regulated medicinal products to authorised patients. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/99293/original/image-20151022-7995-ef6nfd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/99293/original/image-20151022-7995-ef6nfd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/99293/original/image-20151022-7995-ef6nfd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/99293/original/image-20151022-7995-ef6nfd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/99293/original/image-20151022-7995-ef6nfd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/99293/original/image-20151022-7995-ef6nfd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/99293/original/image-20151022-7995-ef6nfd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Regulator would identify where cannabis plants would be grown and issue licences for authorised cultivators.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Doing so would help Australia meet its international obligations under the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. </p>
<p>States and territories would enter an agreement with the Commonwealth to participate in the scheme. </p>
<p>The Regulator would identify where cannabis plants would be grown and issue licences for authorised cultivators. Cultivation under a national scheme would provide a source of raw materials needed to manufacture therapeutic cannabis products that meet quality, safety and dosage standards. </p>
<p>The bill also proposes a register for medicinal cannabis products that meet standards set by the law. This system would be separate from the Therapeutic Goods Act. But pharmaceutical companies could still choose to apply to the TGA to sell cannabis-based therapeutic products.</p>
<p>The regulator would also establish an authorised patients and carers scheme to allow medicinal cannabis use. Doctors would provide medical supervision for patients using regulated medicinal cannabis products.</p>
<p>The proposed Regulator of Medicinal Cannabis Bill will likely be put to Parliament in November.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/49050/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nola Ries does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Commonwealth plans to legalise local production of cannabis for medical and research purposes; as do Victoria and NSW. But what laws need to change for all of this to work?Nola Ries, Senior Lecturer , University of NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.