International Cannabis Weekly: 20

• Could Germany rival The Netherlands and Canada for cannabis cultivation?
• Investors are set to inject over €1.5b into Greece’s new medical cannabis industry.
• The Body Shop’s hemp collection has become one of the best-selling in the company’s history.
• Budweiser’s ex-marketing chief, Chris Burggraeve, sees cannabis as the new craft beer.
• The cannabis industry’s biggest players planning to cast global net as Europe’s market continues to expand.
• Aurora Cannabis proposes aggressive expansion into Europe with takeover of medically-focused producer Cannimed.

• The Maltese government has taken its ‘first real step’ towards legalisingmedical cannabis.
• Medical cannabis legislation progresses to the next stage in Ireland.
• Is this new TV show a signal that the UK is ready to reconsider its cannabis policy?
• The Czech Republic legalised medical cannabis in 2013, yet the industry still seems to be suffering from growing pains.

The EU is the top trading partner for 80 countries globally, generating the equivalent of €20 trillion in annual economic activity. However, Europeans are passionate about owning and controlling their own industries, so the opportunity for foreign companies entering the market is primarily through JVs or strategic partnerships with local companies.

Europe is set to become the largest market in the world within five years