Since the beginning of the year, and due to the shortages that were registered around the country, Israel started to import less regulated cannabis from abroad. But now, the government is tightening the conditions for importing again as the local industry has been heavily affected and many producers, especially new ones, cannot compete with the products that are flooding into the country.
Israel’s Medical Cannabis Unit announced that the conditions for importing medical cannabis from abroad have been tightened – this move is expected to reduce the range of companies that supply cannabis to the country, and may also reduce the quantities and varieties found in stores.
Since the beginning of the year, the phenomenon of importing from abroad has been snowballing, as many producers have been dealing with severe market shortages.
If you want to know more about cannabis, how Israel is handling foreign cannabis imports, and to find out the latest cannabis news, download the Hemp.im mobile application.
According to the government statement, the import of cannabis grown in a Good Agricultural and Collections Practices – GACP- facility will still be permitted, as it was until now, and as most companies currently exporting to Israel do. In fact, for growing facilities, there is no ‘EU-GMP’ (Good Manufacturing Processes) standard or equivalent in the world, so the ‘JRC’ does not require this from the companies.
However, the statement also establishes a need for an ‘EU-GMP’ standard or at the same time for a post-harvest facility, the facility where the material is packaged after harvest.
All companies currently exporting to Israel do not currently have such a standard for the post-harvesting facility, especially companies from Africa and South America, but even some Canadian companies as well do not. This change is in fact expected to prevent cannabis imports from most manufacturers abroad who currently do business with Israel.
The decision to tighten cannabis import requirements came in response to an increase in the importation of high quantities of cannabis from abroad.
According to the governments survey of the sector, within the last six months, Israel overtook Germany and became the largest importer of cannabis in the world, by a large margin. This led to global headlines but also angered local retailers as the national industry can’t keep up with the high quality of products coming in from aboard.
Since the beginning of the year, Israel’s pharmacies were filled with quality cannabis-based products, and this has affected the local market as patients had never seen this variety and quality before, especially in the most popular categories.
These products from abroad created a crisis in the country among local growers. The most affected have been the new growers, and most of them were forced to contemplate bankruptcy and began to put pressure in an attempt to balance the market.
In fact, the toughening related to the import conditions announced by the Ministry of Health, is a step back to the old standard that was in place before the government allowed free imports to deal with the cannabis shortage.
This “old-new standard” of cannabis import requirements insisted that all cannabis-based products sold in Israel need to be produced in facilities with a strict standard: ‘IMC-GMP’ in Israel or ‘EU-GMP’ abroad. Since the requirement was dropped, Isreal saw a spike in cannabis imports from many companies around the world that did not have this standard.
In addition, Israel’s Medical Cannabis Unit announces that it will specifically stop importing from Uruguay at this stage, due to an investigation by the Uruguayan authorities regarding previous imports. Although this decision is only for commercial purposes, and it is possible that, after a lawsuit, the Uruguayan Ministry of Health will, very soon, allow the imports once again.
__
(Featured image by Julius Silver via Pixabay)
DISCLAIMER: This article was written by a third party contributor and does not reflect the opinion of Hemp.im, its management, staff or its associates. Please review our disclaimer for more information.
This article may include forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words “believe,” “project,” “estimate,” “become,” “plan,” “will,” and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks as well as uncertainties, including those discussed in the following cautionary statements and elsewhere in this article and on this site. Although the Company may believe that its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, the actual results that the Company may achieve may differ materially from any forward-looking statements, which reflect the opinions of the management of the Company only as of the date hereof. Additionally, please make sure to read these important disclosures.
First published in קנאביס, a third-party contributor translated and adapted the article from the original. In case of discrepancy, the original will prevail.
Although we made reasonable efforts to provide accurate translations, some parts may be incorrect. Hemp.im assumes no responsibility for errors, omissions or ambiguities in the translations provided on this website. Any person or entity relying on translated content does so at their own risk. Hemp.im is not responsible for losses caused by such reliance on the accuracy or reliability of translated information. If you wish to report an error or inaccuracy in the translation, we encourage you to contact us.
A survey found that women comprise 61% of home cannabis growers, marking a diversion from…
Denmark plans to make its pilot medical cannabis program permanent following its success in treating…
Polish lawmakers have submitted a non-binding petition to Prime Minister Donald Tusk, urging cannabis decriminalization…
The UK medical cannabis market has rapidly grown since legalization in 2018, with private actors…
A new study involving over 23,000 participants in New Zealand found that 60% of people…
The French Ministers of the Interior and Justice announced a comprehensive plan to tackle organized…