On May 25, the Danish Parliament, also known as «Folketing», agreed to allow the cultivation of medical cannabis on a sustainable basis. As can be seen in the Danish newspaper fyens.dk, this step follows a four-year pilot project that has been running since 2018.

Interesting: The pilot project was primarily intended to test patient access to medical cannabis. However, so far only four foreign cannabis products have been approved by the Danish Medicines Agency and no products from Danish production. The paradox is that the pilot project laid the foundation for the domestic production of medical cannabis in Denmark in addition to the distribution to patients. The best-known player in the field is Aurora Nordic, a subsidiary of the Canadian Aurora, which has entered into a joint venture with the Danish tomato grower Pedersen & Søn.

In this context, an almost 10,000m2 greenhouse on the island of Funen was equipped for the production of medical cannabis, which corresponds to an annual yield of 10,000 kg of medical cannabis per year. With this amount plus imports from Canada, Aurora predicts that it will be able to cover the entire European demand for the coming years, according to Krautinvest.de.

The matter appears paradoxical against the background that the largest production facility for medical cannabis in Europe has now emerged in Denmark, which is mainly used to meet the demand for medical cannabis in the rest of Europe. However, the medical cannabis flowers produced in Denmark are not yet approved on the domestic market, as Jane Heitmann from the Liberal Party announces with annoyance.

Extension of the pilot project for patients by 4 years

The period for testing the dispensing of medical cannabis in Denmark has been extended by a further 4 years with the new decision. The cultivation of medical cannabis, however, was allowed indefinitely with the parliamentary vote. So one could almost conclude that Denmark will initially benefit primarily from economic benefits of the cannabis boom. Because Aurora’s activities in Odense on the island of Funen primarily secure jobs and strengthen the local economy through tax revenue rather than give the domestic patients big benefits.

How big the focus of Denmark is on the patient’s well-being can currently only be guessed at. It is to be hoped that domestically produced cannabis products will soon be able to be sold in Denmark. After all, the medicinal cannabis flowers produced there are already available in Germany and four other European countries. So while the model project for cultivation has already produced a very positive result for the country of Denmark and it’s foreign investors, the level for domestic patients is far from being acceptable, sums up fyens.dk.