The deadline for the 2nd tender of the BfArM of medical cannabis ends on 19.11.2018 and brings movement into the medical cultivation. In 2020, there should finally be medical cannabis also from Germany. The approval for a cannabis first prescription is also to be simplified and investors can now invest in the North American hemp industry in the fund package for the first time.
This Tuesday is the deadline for the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Production (BfArM), which has made tenders to companies for the production of medical cannabis. The authority plans to award contracts to at least 3 companies for the production of medical cannabis under state control. The tenders are to be awarded in the first half of the year, so the first "German cannabis" can probably be expected in 2020. According to the tender, this involves 10.4 tons to be cultivated within 4 years. The process of tendering was initially slow. In March 2018, the responsible Higher Regional Court in Düsseldorf stopped the first tender for 6.6 tons because the bidding deadlines were too tight. 118 companies had already submitted bids in the first tender.
But will the planned amount be enough?
According to information, the 2nd tender, which started in mid-July, will have twice as many interested companies. It remains to be seen whether the tendered quantity will be sufficient. In connection with the legal liberalization at the beginning of 2017, there was a boom in medical cannabis. Initially, only 1000 patients had the opportunity to obtain an exemption. Meanwhile, physicians can freely prescribe cannabis if the initial prescription is approved.
Pharmacists and physicians are noticing a sharp increase in demand. Some experts estimate that there are now 15,000 cannabis patients. More precise data on this is not yet available.
Cannabis is used primarily for nausea, tumor pain, spasticity, chemotherapy and MS.
The regulation should be simplified
Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn wants to simplify the approval process for cannabis prescriptions. Thus, after an initial prescription approval by the health insurance company, a new approval application should no longer be necessary, even if there are minor changes to the prescription. According to the health minister, this will apply to "dose adjustments," changes in strain and switching between different cannabis extracts.
A permit application for outpatient cannabis care is to be dropped altogether if inpatient cannabis treatment was carried out immediately beforehand.
Cannabis also interesting for investors
For investors, medical cannabis is also a very interesting thing: At the beginning of the week, the Hamburg-based investment start-up Werkhausen & Stehr Hanf Consulting UG announces the issue of the first hemp equity fund. The subscription period for the actively managed investment portfolio (WKN: A2N84J) is said to have already started and will last until November 28.
According to the issuer, the fund includes around 35 leading companies in the North American hemp industry. The entire value chain is included: from cultivation, patents, licenses to distribution, research, technology and pharmaceuticals.
Cannabis has done exactly what we friends of healthy plants had hoped for: it has continued to make its way towards full legalization. We hope that at the end of this development there will be a positive and viable path for all people and patients who want to use cannabis as a medicinal plant and benefit from its versatile medical effects.
More about the topic medical cannabis and its possible applications you will learn here.