“Medical cannabis, limited production in Italy and San Marino sniffs the deal”.

This is the title of the article on production of medical cannabis in Italy and San Marino written by the journalist Rita Rapisardi and published in the November 14, 2021 issue of “L’Espresso”, a well-known Italian magazine that has been dealing with politics, culture and economics since 1955 with exclusive inquiries and insights.

“(…) The free production of legal Italian hemp has been possible since 2016 but the therapeutic one is limited to the Military Pharmaceutical Chemical Plant of Florence (Scfm), in the amount of about 150 kilograms (only in 2020 it was 250 kilos). According to a report by the International Narcotics Control Board, the Italian requirement for patients is 1,950 kilos per year, other estimates of three tons. Although the Italian law on medical cannabis is fourteen years old, the supply chain is unable to guarantee it for everyone, so it is necessary to obtain supplies from elsewhere, mainly from Canada and the Netherlands.”, Writes Rapisardi in“ L’Espresso ”.

“From tomorrow they will be the cousins ​​of nearby San Marino I new competitors in the sector. June 1st in fact, the Republic unanimously approved a draft law on the trade and use of cannabis-based products, intended exclusively for medicinal or therapeutic use. It took several governments, blocks and resumptions to achieve the result “, says the journalist of the famous Italian magazine”.

“One of the major intentions is to insert itself as a reference distributor for our country, with economic and employment revenues, then expanding earnings to the continent – explains Rapisardi -. Our neighbors also move along this line, first of all Germany which in the meantime has become the largest cannabis market in Europe, with over 70 million dollars in revenues per year. After the 2017 law, it is now aiming for ten tons per year. Greece instead approved a law for cultivation and trade in May, just like San Marino “.

“It doesn’t often happen that everyone agrees, given the great political conflict in San Marino. Even parties that by their nature were in different positions found themselves on the pharmacological aspect “, comment Roberto Ciavatta, Secretary of State for Health, on the columns of “L’Espresso”.

Also Ciavatta has already announced numerous potential investors: “We will be aligned with Italy, our primary commercial partner: Aifa is the regulatory body, which is why we first contacted the Italian Ministry of Health, the management of the Central Narcotics Office and the Florence factory. Our will is to create a direct relationship between San Marino and Italy“.

“The real turning point of the Republic of the Titan is the address not only to a single body, but to other subjects: the opening to private individuals, with State authorization and the sole purpose of selling to pharmacies of the health system, and the consequent economic fallout of which in San Marino everyone is aware, from right to left“, says the journalist of” L’Espresso “, who finally adds:”The small Republic moved well and on time, starting a long learning path with the Florence plant as a reference point.: Aifa standards are high and every slightest mistake would mean pounds and pounds of pulped cannabis; the guidelines for quality, inspections and controls must follow the Italian ones; the plants designed for therapeutic purposes have specific requirements, the lots are carefully certified and various types of contamination, such as mold or fungus, must be avoided “.