MACRO GREECE MARKET SYNOPSIS EU CANNABIS CORP.
MACRO GREECE MARKET SYNOPSIS
EU CANNABIS CORP.
ItalyPop: 60.6m Pop: 2.876m
Pop: 2.0816m
Pop: 1.816mPop: 0.66m
Pop: 7.057m
Pop: 7.128m
TurkeyPop: 79.51m
BulgariaKosovo
Macedonia
Monenegro
Serbia
Albania
The cradle of Western civilization is
situated at the crossroads of Europe, Asia,
and Africa. Greece, officially know as the Hellenic Republic, occupies the southern
tip of the Balkan Peninsula. Greece shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria to
the north, and Turkey to the northeast. Based upon the United Nations 2018
estimates , the current population of Greece
is 11,149,970. Greece’s Capital City, Athens is the largest metropolitan center, followed by Thessaloniki with populations of 3,090,508 and 788,952 respectively. Over 40% of the total Greek population inhabit Athens and its surrounding areas.
Greece’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for 2018 is estimated at $313.4 billion USD. As of
2014, agricultural based industries employ 13.0% of eligible work force. Agricultural revenues account for approximately 3% of overall GDP contributions. The service sectors and tourism comprise the majority of the Greek economic output with an 85% contribution to annual GDP. Approximately 16,500,000 tourists visit Greece each year; establishing the mountainous country as the seventh most visited destination in the
European Union and the sixteenth most
visited country in the world.
DEMOGRAPHICS GREEK
85%Services &Tourism
3%Agricultural
12%Other
Greece has a long history of cannabis production, and prior to the prohibition era, the southern european nation produced high quality hashish that was exported throughout Europe. Greece enjoys over 300 days (or 3,000 hours) of unadulterated sunshine per year, equipping the country with a very attractive climate for outdoor cannabis cultivation.
CURRENT
MARKET CONDITIONS
• 1987 brought drug legislation in line
with United Nations drug treaties• Cannabis remains the most widely
used illicit drug in the world• Cannabis prohibition has proven to
be an ineffective strategy for reducing individual or social harms including:
- Decreasing burdens on criminal
justice systems- Limiting negative social and public
health impacts
- Minimizing support organized crime
and violence
• Governments are interested in
alternative approaches to cannabis
control that promote and protect health,
safety and human rightsLooking to promote and protect the health, safety and human rights
• Several European and Latin American
countries have decriminalized the
personal possession of cannabis
CURRENT
MARKET CONDITIONS
2011
2013
2016
2017
CURRENT
MARKET CONDITIONS
In 2011 the Greek government briefly toyed with the idea of decriminalizing cannabis in small amounts, this was never made law; cannabis remains illegal in all forms and quantities, although the law can be confusing at times due to many recent amendments.
In June 2017, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras announced that a joint ministerial decision regarding the legality of medical cannabis had been made. The decision, published
in the Government Gazette, declared the medical use of
cannabis to be legal for patients with a doctor’s prescription.
In 2013, amendments were made to significantly reduce max penalties compared to the previous
maximum penalties of five years’ imprisonment for possession. The 2013 amendment also removed
the limits for personal consumption, which were previously set at 2.5g of hashish or 20g of flower. Greek law does not differentiate between cannabis and other illegal drugs in the punishments levied. v
In July 2016, the Greek government formed a working group to assess the possibilities of medical cannabis, with a report to be issued in October of that same year. The working group or cannabis task force concluded that a single campus of 12 to 15 cannabis greenhouses could create 400 jobs.
Unemployment in the country has been over 20% since Nov 2011, one of the highest levels in the
European Union.
GREECE HAS A LONG AND DISTINGUISHED HISTORY AS A PRODUCER OF FINE-QUALITY CANNABIS. IN PARTICULAR, THE SOUTHERN
REGION KNOWN AS THE PELOPONNESE (OF WHICH THE CAPITAL CITY IS KALAMATA) IS KNOWN TO HAVE A LONG-PRESERVED POOL
OF LANDRACE GENETICS THAT HAVE A REPUTATION OF ALMOST UNPARALLELED QUALITY.
• Protecting young Greeks by keeping cannabis out of the hands of children
and youth;• Keeping profits out of the hands of
criminals, particularly organized crime;• Reducing the burdens on police and the
justice system associated with simple possession of cannabis offences;
• Preventing Greeks from entering the criminal justice system and receiving criminal records for simple cannabis
possession offences;• Differentiating between industrial hemp
applications and cannabis derived
products;• Protecting public health and safety by
strengthening, where appropriate, laws and enforcement measures that deter
and punish more serious cannabis
offences, particularly selling and distributing to children and youth, selling outside of the regulatory framework, and operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of cannabis;
• Ensuring Greeks are well-informed through sustained and appropriate
public health campaigns and, for
youth in particular, ensure that risks are understood;
• Establishing and enforcing a strict
system of production, distribution and sales, taking a public health approach, with regulation of quality and safety (e.g., child-proof packaging, warning labels), restriction of access, and application of taxes, with programmatic support for addiction treatment, mental
health support and education programs;• Providing access to quality-controlled
cannabis for medical purposes
consistent with federal policy and court decisions;
• Enabling ongoing data collection,
including gathering baseline data,
to monitor the impact of the new framework.
PROACTIVE CANNABIS LEGISLATION SHOULD BE PILLARED UPON THE FOLLOWING MANDATES:
Greece should look to enact regulations and legislation, which encourages and acts as a catalyst for a sophisticated commercial industry that cultivates and distributes cannabis by mail, courier and storefront to individuals who require it for medical purposes. The Government can look to control and measure production via an extensive application and quality assurance process for licensed producers. The Greek cannabis industry should operate under the authority of federal regulation, which set out product quality control measures and strict security standards to protect public health and safety.
RECOMMENDED
REGULATIONREVISIONS
• Protection of public health and safety as the primary goal of the new regulatory framework, which includes minimizing harms and
maximizing benefits;• Compassion for vulnerable members
of society and patients who rely on access to cannabis for medical
purposes;• Fairness in avoiding disproportionate
or unjustified burdens to particular groups or members of society and in avoiding barriers to participation in
the new framework;
• Collaboration in the design,
implementation, and evaluation
of the new framework, including communication and collaboration
among all levels of government and
with members of the international community;
• Commitment to evidence-informed
policy and to research, innovation, and knowledge exchange;
• Flexibility in implementing the new cannabis regulatory framework.
Greece should recognize that cannabis regulations should be dynamic and build on a foundation of continued research and the collection of empirical data.
RECOMMENDED
REGULATIONREVISIONS
THE GREEK LEGISLATURE CAN LOOK TO THE FOLLOWING GUIDING PRINCIPALS AS A BENCHMARK FOR EFFECTIVE AND SUSTAINABLE CANNABIS LEGISLATION:
• Promotion, advertising and marketing restrictions
• Cannabis-based edibles
and other products
• THC potency
• Tax and price
• Public education• Prevention and treatment• Workplace safety
• Production• Distribution
• Illegal activities
• Place of use
• Access
• Affordability• Products
• Retail
• Personal cultivation
• Impaired driving
• Personal possession
• Public safety• Evidence and research
MINIMIZING HARMS OF USE
MINIMUM AGE
ESTABLISHING A SAFE AND RESPONSIBLE SUPPLY CHAIN
ENFORCING PUBLIC SAFETY AND PROTECTION
MEDICAL ACCESS
RECOMMENDED
REGULATIONREVISIONSCANNABIS REGULATIONS CAN EXPAND UPON AND LEVERAGE THE FOLLOWING LEGISLATIVE OBJECTIVES:
19+
RECOMMENDED
REGULATIONREVISIONS
PROVIDE GREEKS WITH THE INFORMATION THEY
NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE REGULATED SYSTEM
PROVIDE SPECIFIC INFORMATION AND GUIDANCE TO THE DIFFERENT
GROUPS INVOLVED IN THE REGULATED CANNABIS MARKET
PROVIDE GREEKS WITH THE FACTS ABOUT CANNABIS AND ITS
EFFECTS
ENSURE THAT GREECE SHARES ITS LESSONS AND EXPERIENCE
WITH THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
FOR THIS SYSTEM TO BE SUCCESSFUL, FEDERAL AND MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTS, AS WELL AS OTHER KEY STAKEHOLDERS WILL BE REQUIRED
TO WORK TOGETHER ON INFORMATION SHARING, INCLUDING THE DATA REQUIRED FOR OVERSIGHT, AND ON THE CO-ORDINATION OF EFFORTS TO SET UP ALL OF THE COMPONENTS OF THE NEW REGIME, INCLUDING PRODUCTION, DISTRIBUTION AND RETAIL. TIMELY DATA COLLECTION, EVALUATION AND REPORTING OF RESULTS WILL ALSO BE KEY TO THE
SUCCESSFUL DEVELOPMENT OF THE SYSTEM.
ARTICLE IN
BLOOMBERG
DENMARK
URUGUAY
SPAIN
CANADAWASHINGTON STATE, OREGON , COLORADO, CALIFORNIA, NEVADA,
MAINE , ALASKA
USE/TEST
CASES
STATSUS CANNABIS TAX REVENUES COULD
EXCEED
$132bBY 2025
A 2017 report from cannabis industry analytics
firm New Frontier Data estimated that US cannabis tax revenues could exceed
$132.8B USD by 2025.
(Source: https://newfrontierdata.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/
CIAR_Webinar_FINAL.pdf)
12 TO 15 CANNABIS GREENHOUSES COULD CREATE
400JOBS
A single campus of 12 to 15 cannabis greenhouses
could create 400 jobs.
(Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-14/
greece-turns-on-to-medical-cannabis-in-bid-to-spur-investment)
GREECE WELCOMES
OVER
16.5mTOURISTS A YEAR
Greece welcomes over 40,000,000 tourists each
calendar year.
(Source: https://www.wttc.org/-/media/files/reports/economic-
impact-research/countries-2017/greece2017.pdf)
IN 2017 COLORADO
COLLECTED OVER
$247mIN TAX REVENUE
In 2017, the State of Colorado collected
$247,368,473 USD in tax revenue derived from
cannabis sales.
(Source: https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/revenue/colorado-
marijuana-tax-data)
GREECE ENJOYS
OVEROF UNADULTERATED SUNSHINE EACH YEAR
(3,000 HOURS)DAYS300
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GREECE
DISTRIBUTION HUB
THE POPULATION OF THE EUROPEAN UNION IS 743.1M, AFFORDING GREECE CANNABIS AND INDUSTRIAL HEMP
ENTERPRISES WITH A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO SERVICE THIS MASSIVE POTENTIAL MARKETPLACE.
PERMITS TOCULTIVATE & DISTRIBUTE CANNABIS IN GREECE