Denmark has destroyed over 145 tons of medical cannabis in 5 years

Much of the medical cannabis produced for the’Danish experimentation with medical cannabis was not put on the market and was intentionally destroyed for various reasons, according to government data relayed by MJBizDaily.

Just over 300 permits have been issued for the destruction of 145,541 kilograms of cannabis, said the Danish Parliament's Health Committee in a response to a parliamentary inquiry earlier this year.

This figure includes all cannabis destroyed by businesses licensed to grow cannabis - under the country's pilot program - from the date these businesses were granted permission to operate, a government spokesperson told MJBizDaily by email.

The amount of legal cannabis destroyed under the Danish medical pilot program, initiated in 2018, has exceeded the total cannabis production declared by the country to global drug regulators.

A list of companies currently authorized to manufacture bulk cannabis and primary products is available at available here (Excel file). The list includes Canada's Aurora Cannabis and Australia's Little Green Pharma, as well as Medican, a medical cannabis production company based in Helsinge, Denmark.

This led to the destruction

Production can be destroyed for a variety of reasons: poor quality, regulatory factors or insufficient demand...

«As our destruction procedures are not specific to the purpose or origin of cultivation, the quantity destroyed can include cannabis grown for the pilot program, imported for the pilot program as well as cannabis grown as part of the development program," a spokesperson for the Danish Medicines Agency told MJBizDaily.

While the government can't say why the cannabis was destroyed, the response to the parliamentary inquiry indicates that the destruction figure could include defective or discarded products and all cannabis grown under the development program, which allows companies to grow medical cannabis so they can perfect their cultivation and manufacturing methods and be authorized to participate in the national pilot program.

The Danish Medicines Agency reported that, for 2022, «lost or destroyed» cannabis amounted to 10,753 kilograms - an amount that does not include cannabis destroyed as part of the development program.

Last year, Danish companies recorded sales of around 62.5 million kroner, or just over 8 million euros.