Less than one year after voters in Slovenia overwhelmingly approved a medical cannabis referendum question as part of the 2024 European parliamentary election (66.7%), lawmakers in the European country have introduced a medical cannabis modernization measure. If approved, Slovenia would become home to the most progressive medical cannabis industry model in Europe. The measure, which was formally introduced in mid-April, would dramatically overhaul Slovenia’s cannabis policies governing medical and scientific use. While technically legal in Slovenia, safe access to medical cannabis is currently very limited in scope. Cannabis advocates in Slovenia have worked very hard for several years to achieve this public policy milestone, and the measure is expected to pass later this year. If adopted by Slovenian lawmakers, the new medical cannabis measure being considered would legalize domestic commercial medical cannabis production, home cultivation, regulated product distribution, and scientific research efforts. Slovenia is already a top international research and development hub for several large global industries, and the nation’s academic and institutional framework, which is already in place, positions the European nation to do the same for the emerging international cannabis industry. Furthermore, the modernization measure would create a non-restrictive industry licensing system, which is not common in most legal medical cannabis jurisdictions. Any individual or entity that meets the regulatory requirements can obtain a medical cannabis industry license to operate within Slovenia’s borders under the proposed bill. No public tender will be required, and no state monopoly will be involved. Both public and private entities will be able to produce and distribute medical cannabis according to the proposed law. All medical cannabis products sold in Slovenia’s market would have to be cultivated and processed according to Good Agricultural and Collection Practice (GACP), Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), and European Pharmacopoeia standards. Requiring that medical cannabis products meet those standards will ensure that Slovenian medical cannabis patients have access to high-quality, safe products. Removing THC From Slovenia’s Prohibited Drugs List A major component of the medical cannabis policy modernization measure is the removal of cannabis and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) from Slovenia’s prohibited drugs list. Sectors making products from the cannabis plant and its derivatives, including resin and extracts, would be positively impacted by the policy change. The reclassification of cannabis and THC will remove various prohibition-based hurdles that have historically held back Slovenia’s industry and scientific research efforts. Slovenia’s European continental peer, Germany, approved a cannabis policy modernization measure over one year ago. The new CanG law in Germany included the removal of cannabis from the nation?
