Greece authorizes cannabis cultivation
Greece legalized cannabis for medical purposes in 2017 before lifting its ban on cultivating and producing it in 2018. The government has just granted six licenses authorizing the cultivation of the plant.
Greece is accelerating its cannabis sector.
Consuming cannabis, in any form, is still illegal in Greece at the time of writing. There is, however, one exception: its use for medical purposes. The Greek government, however, seems willing to move up a gear â for the first time, the cannabis industry is seeing promising prospects with the distribution of six licenses granted to companies that can now cultivate cannabis.
In total, more than fifty license applications have been submitted, some of which are still awaiting approval.
The state estimates that the growth of this new industry could create 3,500 jobs. It must be said that the socio-economic factors observed on site are more than favorable to the development of this sector: a solidly anchored far-left government and a resolutely young population known for its permanent defiance of the law. Greece is thus considered by investors in the future of cannabis as a solid compromise.
"Greece is the European California"
James Ickes is General Manager at Devcann, an Ohio-based company that has invested almost US$14 million in the cannabis industry. Its goal? To cultivate, process and export medical/industrial cannabis to the rest of the country. The establishment of this sector, which the company fully masters, will undoubtedly allow for high-quality service and rapid profits.
When it comes to Greece, Ickes, as an informed observer, tells the Wall Street Journal: "Greece is a pioneer, it is one of the few countries to offer the possibility of exporting and its location is formidable: a gateway to Europe and the Middle East."
Ickes goes even further in the comparison, daring an eloquent personification: "Greece is the European California."
The national financial newspaper Naftemporiki suggests that the total of 56 potential operations, the license applications awaiting review, could bring the state 590 million euros (US$663.10 million).
