Albania moves closer to legalizing Cannabis for medical and industrial purposes

On Friday June 16, the Albanian Council of Ministers approved plans to legalize cannabis production for medical and industrial purposes in the country.

The country's Minister of Health, Ogerta Manastirliu, told the media that the aim of the law was to regulate and «guarantee the process of control and supervision of the cultivation, production, processing and export of cannabis, its by-products and end products». She added that a national agency was being set up to oversee the implementation of regulation.

Under the proposed regulations, there would be no THC ceiling for medical cannabis, and cultivation would be limited to an area of 5 to 10 hectares.

Cannabis grown for industrial purposes will be limited to 0.8 % THC, and by-products may be obtained from the whole plant (including stems, flowers and seeds). Cultivation will be limited to at least one hectare.

The idea was launched some time ago, It has also met with opposition, given the country's history of cannabis production and trafficking.

Prime Minister Edi Rama had questioned citizens on the issue as part of a «national survey» which has been criticized for its lack of independence. According to the survey, 61% of citizens surveyed are in favour the legalization of cannabis for medical and industrial purposes.

«The aim of this bill is to regulate and guarantee the process of control and supervision of the cultivation, production, processing and export of cannabis, its by-products and end products,» Manastirliu said on Friday.

Albania has had a long history of cannabis cultivation and trafficking since the collapse of communism three decades ago.

For some fifteen years, until 2014, the village of Lazarat, in southern Albania, has become «Europe's cannabis-growing capital», an area which the police dared not enter and which was only suppressed by a military-style operation. Cannabis cultivation remains an acute problem in the country, Edi Rama's governments were accused of collaborating with the traffickers.