The Cannabis Production Landscape in Malta Malta: From guarded conservatism around cannabis to medical marijuana tech mecca. The history of cannabis production in Malta Prior to 2015, possession of cannabis and cannabis products was considered a criminal offence in Malta, of the Maltese Islands. Later that year, Malta decriminalized minor amounts of marijuana (under 3.5g) for personal use. Fines were still issued, and court ordered rehabilitation was often a mandatory sentence for those found with trace amounts of cannabis. Breaching these conditions resulted in a prison sentence. Along with the decriminalization cannabis, Sativex, a CBD spray, was approved for prescription use. Two years later, by July 2017, no patients had been treated with it. Restrictions and lack of access made it almost impossible for the people of Malta to use Sativex. In March 2018, medical cannabis use with a prescription was signed into law.
Opportunities for Medical Marijuana Processing and Distribution in Malta Although legalization of medical marijuana has passed, Malta still has some of the strictest of guidelines around cannabis use globally. Recreational cannabis use is still an arrestable offence. The general population of Malta cannot grow cannabis for personal use or otherwise. Agricultural businesses wanting to cultivate, process and distribute medical marijuana must be approved and licensed. Malta is catching on to how lucrative the medical marijuana market can be. The population of Malta is relatively small, 460,297 people, who spend an average €820 million on health care per annum. This is a quaint market compared to Germany or even Portugal. Malta’s Mediterranean climate of sunny days, hot summer months and mild winters, makes it ideal for growing Sativa strains. Although unexpected fluctuations in weather may make it less ideal for outside crops, the abundance of sunshine makes it ideal for greenhouse method grow operations. While Malta’s agricultural landscape may be lacking, their pharmaceutical field is thriving. Many years ago, the Maltese government began investing in the pharmaceutical sector, which has continued to grow. The geographic location of Malta, the multi-lingual population, socioeconomic status, and intellectual property landscape have made it especially appealing to outside generic pharmaceutical companies. Malta’s top grossing industry is electrical equipment and machinery. It represents 31% of Malta’s total exports and earning the island $783 million USD in revenue. In the cannabis market, pharma and tech are the two fastest growing sectors, which may marry well with the island’s capacity in these areas.
International Cannabis Corp’s role in cannabis production and distribution in Malta International Cannabis Corp (ICC) has been awarded a license to manufacture finished-dose medical cannabis. ICC has also received an initial allocation of 2,750 square meters of industrial processing space. This facility will be supplied elite strain cannabis from ICC’s other holdings. The supplied cannabis will undergo advanced post-processing to create pure cannabis distillates. These distillates will become the core of true pharmaceutical manufacturing and will advance ICC’s timeline for delivering its full line of products to the European market.
Could Malta be a medical marijuana mecca? ICC and many other cannabis companies have realized Malta’s value, both in proximity to greater Europe, and aptitude for pharmaceuticals and technology. Malta is coming to this realization as well, touting itself as a blockchain to the European market, and inviting AI businesses and others to establish themselves on the island. The inaugural Malta Cannabiz Summit being held in November 2019, is sure to solidify Malta as a point of focus in the world of medical marijuana processing and distribution. Mecca or blockchain, or not, the medical cannabis produced by ICC in their Malta facility is sure to put the country on the map simply for the high standards and care in processing, quality of ingredient, and purity of the finished pharmaceutical products.