Country Spotlight
Portugal is considered
by many drug reform
advocates to be a
trailblazer for
progressive drug policy
In 2001 after decades of problematic drug use
across the social spectrum, Portuguese prime
minister Antonio Guterres decriminalised the
possession and consumption of personal
quantities of all illegal drugs.
Instead of facing criminal charges, individuals in
Portugal caught in possession of no more than
25 grams of cannabis flower or five grams of
marijuana can be issued a summons to appear
before a committee made up of a social worker,
a psychiatrist and attorney. The committee has
powers to impose a range of sanctions, from a
€25 fine to a ban on travelling abroad.
Interestingly, the World Health Organization
(WHO) recently wrote to UN Secretary General
Guterres recommending that whole-plant
marijuana and cannabis resin be removed
from Schedule IV of the Single Convention on
Narcotic Drugs (1961).
But while Portuguese authorities are relatively
tolerant of drug use, the government has taken
firm steps to prevent the illicit manufacture and
sale of drugs, including cannabis.
In 2003, Portugal became one of a small
number of European countries to criminalise
the possession of cannabis seeds, with the
exemption of certified industrial hemp seed.
It is also illegal to import seeds from other
EU states. Equipment used for unsanctioned
cultivation is also prohibited.
Canadian company Tilray has invested €25
million into the cultivation and distribution of
medical cannabis exported from a facility 136
miles from Lisbon. Meanwhile, ICC International
Cannabis recently acquired all the shares of
hemp cultivator, Enigma Unipessoal Lda.
Enigma cultivates hemp on 400 acres of land in
the Portuguese region of Castelo Branco.
President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa approved
Portugal’s medical cannabis law last year. Much
like in the UK, cannabis medicines can be
prescribed by doctors but only where other
medicines have been ineffective or poorly-
tolerated. Sativex can be prescribed on receipt
of Exceptional Use Authorization (EUA).
The legalisation of medical cannabis has served
to further complicate the already murky territory
of CBD regulation.
A debate raged in the Diário de Notícias
newspaper in March 2018, with the National
Authority of Medicines and Health Products
(INFARMED) claiming it was a food supplement
and the General Directorate of Food and
Veterinary (DGAF) stating that it should be
regulated by INFARMED as a product with
therapeutic use.
The
European
Commission’s
recent
reclassification of CBD as a Novel Food could
lead to supplements being pulled from shelves
until they have been risk-assessed and deemed
safe to consume. Portugal, like the rest of
Europe, will be waiting on the outcome of a
ruling expected to be announced shortly.
VAPOUROUND CBD MAGAZINE
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