Marijuana Production Landscape in Poland Recently, many countries around the world have renewed their cannabis laws permitting consumers and patients easy and legal access to marijuana for treating medical conditions. There are about 29 countries in total that have legalized the use of marijuana for medical purposes. With the sudden surge of countries legalizing marijuana, the government of Poland has also legalized full-scale marijuana production and distribution. It is the 12th country under the EU (European Union) that has permitted the Marijuana Processing and sale for treating several medical conditions. On the 24th of July 2017 a majority in the Lower House of Parliament in Poland voted in favor of the legalization of marijuana. This decision was further supported by the recommendation of the Health Care Committee of the country. MP Piotr Liroy-Marzec, a Polish hip-hop artist turned politician, had authorized the bill. According to the bill, only the pharmacists and doctors would have legal rights for marijuana distribution. All this would be monitored by the government through a regulatory system. Initially, the law did not permit the domestic Marijuana Production and processing, where the locals relied on the imported marijuana products. But recently, the government made it legal to produce marijuana in Poland. Now, cannabis can both be produced and imported in the country freely. Moreover, only those who have been prescribed by medical doctors are allowed to purchase CBD products. Also, for the medicine to be sold, the sellers would need to get the medicine registered with the Office for Registration of Medicinal Products. Out of 15 thousand registered pharmacies in Poland, about 90% of them would be legally allowed to distribute cannabis to patients with prescriptions. Economy of Poland & Unemployment Situation Throughout the 1990s, Poland had steadfastly preserved a system of economic liberalization. Even though this system helped in the positive growth of the economy of the country, it had a negative impact on many sectors of the population. At this time, the medium and small state-owned corporations were privatized. And there was a liberal law established for new firms which helped towards the economic growth of Poland. But the agricultural sector was still handicapped due to the lack of investment, and structural problems. Moreover, the privatization and restructuring of many other sensitive sectors had been slow at this time. During this time, a foreign investment in steel and energy was made, which began to change things for Poland. The state administration, the pension system, education
system, and health care reformed after some time which resulted in a great than anticipated fiscal pressure. Enhancing the account debt and toughening the financial policy became the main concerns of Poland. Even though the economy of the country remained great for a long time, the unemployment in the country sustained. The main reason for the unemployment rate which reached 11% in 2013 was the continuous economic fluctuations of the business cycle. This level falls below the EU average and has been falling since then. Even in 2017, the unemployment rate was about 4.6% which is the lowest for Poland. But with the recent legalization of marijuana processing and marijuana production in the country, the rates have again increased. This means that there are many jobs available now in the marijuana industry which would help in eliminating any unemployment in the country. Polish Citizens Support the Legalization of Marijuana Before marijuana was legalized in Poland, there was a petition that was signed by about 50 thousand Polish citizens for the legalization of marijuana. This petition was within the framework of the European Citizens' Initiative where they were calling on the European Commission to consider the chance of legalizing marijuana. And Poland was the only country that gave in the most number of signatures, which did have a positive impact on the government and lead to the official legalization of marijuana in 2017. The people of Poland are rejoicing since the legalization was made official and there have been many changes since then both in the medical field and the agricultural field. Patients have begun to take medical marijuana for treating their chronic diseases. On the other hand, investors are coming into the country to invest in the marijuana industry. ICC is one of the companies that has taken up the initiative and has begun with marijuana processing in Poland. How many people use cannabis in Poland? As per a report from the EMCDDA (European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction), approximately 2 to 3 million people in Poland are using marijuana since it was made legal. One out of every four children under the age group 15 to 18 has tried marijuana at least once in their lifetime. Other than that, the elders have also begun to consume marijuana much more since the legalization in 2017. As a matter of fact, Poland is the second country after France in the list of countries under marijuana consumption. In short, the most popular drug among the crowd in Poland is marijuana. About 17.9 % of men in Poland have used marijuana at least once in their life while 7.8 % of women have used marijuana at least once. And now with the legalization of cannabis processing and production, the numbers are rising.
What does the Future hold for Marijuana in Poland? Along with the legalization of marijuana, the bill had also stated that the government would also create “the Polish Institute of Cannabis.” This institute would work towards educating the public and physicians regarding the benefits that cannabis has for the human body. With this initiative, the country would be able to bring out the best from the cannabis industry and make good use of the drug in curing many illnesses that tend to take lives. Seeing the development in Poland, many countries in EU are also reversing their laws on marijuana processing. Inspired by the way Poland is handling everything and growing its economy as well, countries have begun to rethink about legalizing cannabis in their country. This means that the cannabis industry would keep growing in both Poland and every other country around it. ICC’s Future in Poland ICC International Cannabis Corp. has taken the initiative towards growing the cannabis processing industry in Poland. ICC holds the company Polannabis which controls a Polish marijuana processing and extraction license that allows the company to extract and manufacture CBD derived products. Estimated to produce to 6800 tons of cannabis products, Polannabis has about 850 acres of land with premium marijuana crops cultivated. The company has a robust extraction and manufacturing facility that runs with the proprietary Hydrocarbon extraction technologies. Polannabis will be producing CBD tinctures, paste, bulk oils, distillates, and isolates. Moreover, Polannabis has authenticated excellent testing procedures and postprocessing separation protocols through the agreement it has with the largest university in Poland - Maria Curie-Sklodowska University (“MCSU”). This joint venture with the MCSU offers product and process development support, analytical services, and product testing. Furthermore, the company is stocked with professional marketing, logistics, scientific, engineering and sales personnel. ICC has invested in Polannabis to increase the CBD extraction and marijuana production capacity of more than 200,000 grams per month. The Polish government and Polannabis are still working towards growing the industry and increasing employment as well. You too can invest like ICC in the marijuana industry in Poland.