Who can legally grow marijuana in Spain?

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Obtaining licenses to grow marijuana plants is still a challenge even today, where in the XXI century we are still bound by laws on the cultivation of medicinal plants related to narcotics from the 60s. It is clear that medicine wants to advance and more and more permits are requested to be able to work with medicinal cannabis for therapeutic purposes. In fact, to date, the Government stated that they had received 160 applications to authorize the cultivation of cannabis .

Alcaliber: first Spanish company licensed to grow marijuana

At the beginning of the year, the news was given that the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products (AEMPS), dependent on the Ministries of Health, granted authorization to Alcaliber to be able to cultivate cannabis in a legal in a large area, an area of ​​1,086 hectares . Alcaliber is a leading Pharmaceutical company in the World Narcotics Industry of morphine and thebaine. It also produces poppy, codeine and other narcotics and narcotics destined for the pharmaceutical industry and mainly for the manufacture of analgesics to treat pain, among others. 93% of its raw material has been exported in 67 countries and for years, and before obtaining permission to grow cannabis, it already had the green light for the cultivation and production of other narcotics and narcotics for medicinal use.

With the dimensions of growing cannabis in the open field, Alcaliber could produce millions of marijuana plants in a totally legal and authorized way, with a THC concentration of up to 0.2 % and for clearly medicinal and therapeutic purposes. In this way, Alcaliber has become the first Spanish company with a license for the legal cultivation of cannabis together with the production, manufacture, import, export, distribution and commercialization. It should be noted that Alcaliber has never wanted to brag about it or appear in the press and they have been discreet and concise in their statements. They comment that they do not have a communication department and that they do not lend themselves to interviews or statements, referring any query or request of this type to the Ministry of Health since they do not want to risk their license. On the part of the Medicines Agency, they do not want to give much information about permits when dealing with the production of narcotics. In fact, Alcaliber has had a permit since October 2016 and meeting the criteria and requirements of the 1967 legislation , according to the United Nations Convention of 1961 and the Spanish order of 1963 on the cultivation of medicinal plants related to narcotics . On the other hand, Alcaliber partnered with the Canadian company Canopy Growth Corporation to share knowledge and material about the cannabis plant, a fact that Canopy Growth considers strategic having a partner in European lands. It is a remarkable union as Canopy Growth is a large publicly traded company with an international business and Alcaliber is a leader in the pharmaceutical industry and production of medical narcotics.

Other entities authorized to grow marijuana

In addition to this company, we also find other entities that have permission to grow marijuana legally for therapeutic, medicinal, research or educational purposes: CIJA-Preservation, DJT Plant Spain SL, Phytoplant and the Polytechnic University of Valencia . All of them make up the total of the only 5 entities throughout Spain that have a valid authorization to grow marijuana legally up to a maximum of 20,000 hectares.

At Phytoplant , they are also cautious with the information they give publicly, although their spokesperson has stated that their cultivation is intended for research purposes and medicinal uses . They develop different varieties of cannabis to study their chemical compositions and therapeutic effects, although the information about their production is confidential, they argue. We also know that their plantations are in Córdoba but they do not want to give more exact data since they want to avoid any controversy. The residents of the area have already called the Civil Guard on previous occasions when they felt the smell of the marijuana fields. However, when the agents come, they can verify that they have all the permits in force and that all the papers are in order.

Therapeutic cannabis

At the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV), they are studying the genetics of the plant to achieve the creation of a hybrid of medicinal cannabis and therapeutic, commissioned by the Valencian company Hemp Trading, which sponsors said research. The cannabis plant contains various chemicals that produce different effects:

  • On the one hand it has THC, which is the psychedelic or psychotropic substance.
  • On the other hand, it contains cannabinoids such as CBD, the component with so much medical interest due to the palliative effects it produces and which are so beneficial to combat many pain and diseases.

The objective of the study is to be able to hybridize the cannabis plant so that it contains high content of CBD and very low or almost nonexistent levels of THC . In this way, we would have legal cannabis for fully therapeutic and medicinal use, taking into account that the maximum THC content that we can legally have in Spanish territory is 0.2%.

The Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products granted the permit and required the presentation of the detailed project and exhaustive controls during the study and investigations: a work plan, materials and maximum security. The scientists work in a relatively small space for their cultivation, a culture chamber similar to a 10 square meter freezer, locked and with a meticulous control of the people who have access to it. They are only allowed to work with 100 specimens in the seedling stage, without flower and up to 20 specimens in the flowering stage . The researchers, some UPV professors, are those responsible for transporting the disposable material to the port of Valencia for the same Police to destroy it. The scientists carry it with their own vehicle and always with the authorization of the AEMPS in hand so as not to be confused by traffickers, in case the Police stop them. These are the only 5 entities that we can find in Spain with permission to grow cannabis. And as we can see, it is still the laws of 50 years ago that block scientific and medical advances with natural plants with such positive and beneficial effects as cannabis. Many patients, researchers and entities continue to demand the revision of these laws for a national regulation adapted to the present day, so that society can benefit from this ancient plant and its medicinal properties of cannabinoids as therapeutic use.