Greece wants to simplify its law to export more medical cannabis

It’s a potential cannabis goldmine. Greece has a warm, dry Mediterranean climate, with twelve hours of sunshine in the summer. Its workforce is skilled and inexpensive. For producers, this means the perfect place to grow cannabis. And the government understands this well. The Minister of Development and Investment, Adonis Georgiadis, wants to pass a law to make it easier to export Greek medical cannabis.

The Liberal-Conservative minister, a member of the New Democracy party, wants to simplify regulations. Under his proposal, cannabis produced in Greece would not have to comply with Greek laws, but rather with those of the importing country. Cannabis that remains in Greece, however, will have to comply with Greek laws. This requires approval from the National Organization for Medicines, the Greek regulatory authority.

With this amendment to the law, the minister’s goal is to attract foreign investors to Greece. According to liberal orthodoxy, investors are more interested in flexible, less restrictive legislation. This seems to be what prompted Minister Georgiadis to draft this bill, which is very business-friendly.

«The country needs money»

Whether by coincidence or not, the American company Kaya Holdings announced today that it has raised $45 million. The goal: to grow cannabis on 45 hectares near Thebes, in Greece. «The country needs money, and this is pure foreign direct investment. The ministers have explicitly told me that they fully support the medical cannabis industry and that they will do everything they can to help it.», says Costas Vamvakas, the head of a Greek company in the sector.

Greece does indeed need money. On the one hand, because the country has been in an economic crisis for ten years and is struggling to recover. On the other hand, because tourism—the country’s main economic driver—has come to a standstill due to COVID-19. The Hellenic Republic must therefore find a way to replace the 40 billion euros generated each year by foreign visitors.

Greece has legalized medical cannabis in 2018. And the Minister of Development intends to take advantage of this to diversify the Greek economy. With a trade deficit, with a deficit of 21 billion euros, Greece needs to find products to export. According to the consulting firm Prohibition Partners, the European cannabis market will be worth 123 million euros in 2028. And Greece wants to be one of its leaders.