This is just a glimpse. Want to receive every issue of Cannabis Wire Daily, our newsletter that is sent to subscribers each weekday morning, and unlimited access to cannabiswire.com?
Report on Europe’s illicit cannabis market finds concerns over potency, organized crime.
Five EU Member States —Czechia, Germany, Luxembourg, Malta and the Netherlands — either already regulate cannabis, or plan to do so. These are changes that “highlight the need to invest in monitoring and evaluation to fully understand their impact on public health and safety,” the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), noted on Thursday in its announcement about the EU Drug Market: Cannabis report produced by the Centre and Europol.
One major takeaway: cannabis products are becoming “increasingly potent and diverse, while collaboration between criminal groups is creating new security risks in Europe.”
Specifically, Europe is seeing trends that map against the U.S., in that products are now “often exceeding” 90% THC. The report also noted an uptick in synthetic cannabinoids.
The report also noted that the cannabis trade in Europe is an “attractive market for serious and organised crime,” including through the use of boats, helicopters, and drones.
“The methods used to smuggle cannabis have also diversified, highlighting how adaptable and opportunistic criminals can be. In addition to the traditional means of transportation, for example, unmanned semi-submersible vessels have recently been seized during investigations,” the announcement about the report noted.
The report also highlighted the environmental impact of illicit cannabis cultivation.
The report concluded with some “key areas for action at EU and Member State level to respond to developments in the illegal cannabis market. These include: improving the strategic intelligence picture; enhancing monitoring of potency and emerging health risks; investing in capacity-building; fostering technological innovation; and strengthening policy, public health and safety responses, including responding to environmental risks.”
Congressional Research Service report: “Breadth” of banks working with industry is “unclear.”
On the heels of the Senate Banking Committee advancing the SAFER Banking Act in September, the Congressional Research Service published a Legal Sidebar called “Marijuana Banking: Legal Issues and the SAFE(R) Banking Acts.”
The report covers anti-money laundering laws, asset forfeiture, the Bank Secrecy Act, and administrative enforcement. It also covers that, as of June, FinCEN reported that it had received almost 350,000 Suspicious Activity Reports related to cannabis and that nearly 675 depository institutions were serving cannabis businesses.
“However, the depth and breadth of financial services that depository institutions are providing to
marijuana businesses is unclear. It is also uncertain whether these depository institutions are serving businesses directly involved in cultivating and selling marijuana or are serving only entities indirectly involved in the marijuana business (e.g., landlords renting office space to marijuana businesses),” the report noted.
WSWA leans into hemp for Access LIVE 2024.
This week, Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA) announced its broad agenda for Access LIVE 2024.
A theme is emerging, and it’s hemp.
The “first-ever exhibitors from the hemp-beverage industry” will include the Hemp Beverage Neighborhood. This area will “feature emerging brands competing in the growing marketplace of intoxicating hemp-derived products, creating opportunities and challenges for the beverage alcohol industry,” WSWA announced. “It is important for all three tiers to understand the innovations and players bringing these socially sensitive products to market.”
+ More: WSWA is increasingly interested in the cannabis space, steadily building its case for cannabis for years. Cannabis Wire first reported on the group’s interests in cannabis back in 2018, and, not long after, on its lobbying.
Most recently, Doug Shaw, chair of the board, spoke to the association members during its annual membership meeting in September, highlighting, as a strategic opportunity, “advocating for the comprehensive federal regulation of cannabis.”
In May, WSWA hosted a panel titled Capitol Conversations: Federal Cannabis Reform that included Rep. Nancy Mace.
