The consequences of the monopolization of the market for drug-free cannabinoids in the EU
Ukraine has the same policy as in the EU countries - to force consumers to purchase expensive cannabis-based pharmacological preparations, depriving them of the ability to grow the plant on their own and use it as a food product or an extremely effective biologically active / feed supplement or cosmetic.
On the pages of the profile electronic publication of Ukrainian hemp breeder, which is one of the projects of the Ukrainian Technical Cannabis Association, it was previously described, “ Why it would be wrong to classify hemp / cannabinoid products as new food. ” It was explained how the “ Struggle for the possibility of using CBD in food products ” was carried out . This material explains the consequences of lobbying by major pharmacological companies to amend the EU Regulations, blocking the possibility of using the therapeutic properties of drug-free cannabinoids contained in food products, until recently, sold everywhere in Europe.
Changes to the Novel Food catalog in January of this year significantly complicated the life of small farms specializing in the cultivation, processing and sale of industrial hemp in the EU. In 2019, hemp growers from Poland, Italy, Sweden, and Latvia experienced problems associated with the persecution of agricultural producers specializing in the production of food products from leaves and inflorescences of industrial hemp.
An extremely revealing example is the Latvian farm of Andris Visnevskis and Debora Paulino, who, since 2017, have been producing cannabis products as licensed producers. The couple managing the Obelisk Farm farm, until recently, was an example of a successful micro-agribusiness built on the basis of technical hemp. Hemp teas brought the enterprise a third of all revenue (they are sold at local fairs, through an online store, or directly from the farm). For 2 years, the owners of Obelisk Farm have actively invested their own financial resources in the development of hemp breeding, in particular on the creation and promotion of hemp teas in the Latvian market. In 2019, the Latvian Food and Veterinary Service of the Republic of Latvia, referring to EU requirements, banned farmers from selling food products from plant leaves and inflorescences, including hemp teas. Moreover, the order prohibiting the sale came at a time when the Latvian agricultural producers were already harvesting, i.e. the main financial costs in the production of leaves and inflorescences of technical hemp have already been made.
Commentary of the Ukrainian Technical Hemp Association
Hemp food producers in the EU are faced with an artificially created situation in which fully legal food products made from technical cannabis leaves and inflorescences fall within the criteria of national legislation that appeared in 2019 on the basis of EU protocols under the “New Food Catalog”. The catalog is a list of foods that were not eaten in EU Member States until 1997. In fact, this is a mechanism for ensuring food safety in the European Union. The catalog is designed to control new foods - genetically or synthetically created foods. Trying to remove competitors from the market that provide the opportunity for EU residents to use the therapeutic properties of hemp through the consumption of hemp food, the largest pharmacological companies lobbied for the plant to be included in the above catalog, despite the fact that documentary evidence that hemp was As a food product for centuries has been used by the inhabitants of Europe. After the adoption of the above standards, hemp products manufacturers in order to qualify their products in accordance with the rules of the Catalog, it is necessary to invest significant financial resources for research related to confirming the safety of their food products.
Instead of directing their efforts to resolving the legitimate cultivation of technical hemp with a therapeutic orientation, which has a significant therapeutic effect for individuals, as well as allowing the use of leaves and inflorescences of legally grown plants for industrial purposes, foreign companies have been actively raising the issue of medical use over the past two years. in Ukraine, hemp-based pharmacological preparations. Those. Ukraine pursues the same policy as in the EU countries - to force consumers to purchase expensive cannabis-based pharmacological preparations, depriving them of the opportunity to grow the plant on their own and use it as a food product or an extremely effective biologically active / fodder supplement or cosmetic.