Leaving for Brexit15 Oct 2020 16:12
According to some in the industry, leaving the regulatory framework of the EU could place the British cannabis market in a position to move ahead of its national rivals in developing an innovative cannabis sector
UK cannabis
With the UK due to end its transition period with the European Union (EU) at the end of this year, having formally exited the bloc earlier this year, many industries and businesses are sounding the alarm that a hard or ‘no deal’ Brexit could cause serious repercussions for the British economy.
However, one sector that could be set to reap the rewards of the UK’s exit is its burgeoning cannabidiol (CBD) and wider cannabis sector, with some figures in the sector saying Brexit could allow the country to push ahead with further regulatory reform than would have been possible under the EU’s jurisdiction.
“With Brexit, the British government will have the option to not comply with EU law in some areas, and one of the first announcements the Food Standards Agency made was to classify CBD as a novel food, something that the EU has yet to officially confirm and is still holding out on this classification”, said Alexej Pikovsky, chief executive of European medicinal cannabis distributor Alphagreen.
Speaking to Proactive, the CEO highlighted that the European Commission is attempting to have CBD classified as a narcotic, a move that some say will almost completely destroy Europe’s medicinal cannabis industry if it passes through the European Parliament. However, once Brexit is concluded the UK will be able to dodge this potential pitfall.
“You can see that the UK already has the freedom to make CBD a novel food and therefore is more advanced to regulatory approval of CBD than the EU. That’s a big chance for the UK to become a leader in CBD”, Pikovsky said.