Ireland is undergoing a hemp awakening with the number of cultivation applications soaring dramatically.

The Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) received 77 licence applications by July 2019, compared to 24 for the whole of 2018 and just seven in 2016, reports the Irish Mirror. It says there are now almost 1,000 acres registered for cultivating crops of hemp and this is expected to rise to as much as 5,000 acres.

Strict Hemp Growing Rules

But, as in most European countries and its large neighbor the U.K, strict rules govern the cultivation of the plant. The HPRA stipulates that plants must contain less than 0.2% of THC, and cannot be cultivated in an area which is visible from the road.

The location of the crop has to be proven to Gardaí (the police) via land mapping, prior to the commencement of planting, and all farmers must be Garda vetted. The Irish Times reports cannabis expert Kaya O’Riordan of CB1 Botanicals saying an Irish hemp industry has the potential to create over 80,000 jobs.

Law Change Allows For Medical Cannabis

The Government is encouraging this diversification into hemp growing after earlier this year passing legislation allowing for patients access to medical cannabis.

Irish industry publication Irish Farming has also picked up on the potential for the hemp in the country highlighting how it can reduce its carbon footprint. It says the ideal time for planting hemp in Ireland, renowned for its wet and temperate climate, is late April, early May when the last frosts have gone.

It reports the Irish Hemp Growers and Processors Association saying that the hemp sector will ‘only get bigger and better over the coming years, as the world seeks more renewable and environmentally friendly ways of producing products’. 

Ireland A Staging Post To Europe

Hemp has thousands of applications applications including bioplastics, construction, high protein foods and beverages, food supplements, textiles, paper products, composites, biofuel and graphene substitutes.

Major environmental benefits from its use include; carbon sequestration, enhanced biodiversity, land reclamation and the production of environmentally responsible industrial and consumer goods. The emergence of the Irish hemp industry comes as North American firms are looking to the country as a staging post for the European mainland.

Province Brands, a Canadian cannabis drinks brewer, is planning to launch CBD beer in Ireland next year. The Cronos Group, with a market cap of $5 billion, has established Cronos Group Celtic Holdings in Dublin.

Meanwhile Colorado business Mile High Labs has established a base in Belfast and Satipharm, a subsidiary of of Vancouver’s Harvest One recently established operations in Ireland 

California’s cannabis regulations are the most business-friendly in the nation, according to an analysis conducted by the legal firm Thompson Coburn LLP.

The firm recently produced a “holistic state-by-state ranking guide that breaks down how favorable each state’s cannabis regulations are to businesses,” that put California at the top of the list of all 50 states plus Washington, D.C., according to a statement released on behalf of the firm.

The ranking gauged states on eight metrics, including legality and availability of recreational and medical cannabis, availability of commercial cannabis licenses and business opportunities.

“Overall, California’s attitude toward cannabis legalization and regulation is welcoming when compared to other states,” the report found. “With a robust supply chain for both medical and adult use emerging throughout the state, California leads the nation in its regulation of commercial cannabis activity and cannabis use.”

Though California got top marks, the report pointed out that there are several problem areas for marijuana companies looking to do business in the Golden State.

The report pointed out that a majority of municipalities prohibit commercial cannabis activities, creating a patchwork of legal statuses for marijuana businesses across the state.

“While some municipalities impose further restrictions or prohibit adult use, there are many that see legalization as an economic opportunity to be capitalized on,” the report found.

California took No. 1, ahead of Nevada, Colorado, Massachusetts and Oregon.

Rounding out the bottom five, rated least favorable for doing business in the cannabis industry, were the states of South Carolina (No. 46), Tennessee (No. 47), North Carolina (No. 48), South Dakota (No. 49), Idaho (No. 50) and Nebraska (No. 51).

North American companies are wading into the German market at a rapid pace as its medical cannabis program blossoms.

Germany’s cannabis has been imported from mainly Holland and Canada, but a competitive tendering exercise has now selected three companies to create a domestic supply. Aphria and Aurora from Canada and Demecan from Germany, successfully bid to win the licences, say Prohibition Partners in its recent ‘Cannabis Legal Report’. 

Three Winners In German Growing Contest

The London-based analysts say the overall contract is for 10,400 kilograms, with Aphria and Aurora each winning five of the 13 lots, and Demecan the remaining three. While there are no official figures on the number of medical cannabis patients German cannabis firm Cannamedical Pharma, estimates 30,000 patients were served in 2018, and imports totaled 22,000 kilograms. 

A well as Aurora and Aphria, Canopy Growth has also also bought into the market with the purchase of the continent’s largest cannabinoid-based pharmaceutical company, Germany’s C3 Cannabinoid, for 27.1 million euros. Cresco Labs launched on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FSE) earlier this month with its CEO Charlie Bachtell saying in a press release that it ‘will allow European institutional and retail investors to pursue an investment’ in the firm.

German Market Listings De Rigueur

In the same week Vancouver-based testing company XPhyto Therapeutics announced its FSE listing, with CEO Hugh Rogers saying that given its  ‘German cannabis licence and its commitment to building import and distribution capability in the country, a Frankfurt listing was a logical choice’.

Canadian cannabis licensed producer Pasha Brands listed on the FSE in July as did U.S. firm Columbia Care saying it will help company break into the European market. Prohibition Partners estimates that Europe’s total cannabis market will reach a size of 123 billion euros within 10 years.

And, in its ‘Cannabis Legal Report’ report launched earlier this month it elaborates on the attraction of Germany for North American firms, saying its ‘medicinal market alone promises to be larger than Canada’s medicinal and recreational markets combined, making it an essential outpost for ambitious firms’. 

One of the added attractions of Germany for North American cannabis firms is its advanced insurance regime, and, while Southern European countries may become the leaders in production due to their warmer climates, Northern European countries such as Germany and the U.K. are stronger in research and development.

Claudia Gracia pushes her daughter Paulina in a wheelchair through the aisles of an exposition centre in search of the latest innovations in cannabis at the annual ExpoWeed gathering in Mexico's capital.

Paulina has lived with convulsions and shooting pains since birth 32 years ago, when her brain was deprived of oxygen and she suffered cerebral paralysis. Her body tenses with spasms and her fists clinch as her mother explains how cannabis has changed their lives by easing her pain and convulsions, though its use is illegal in Mexico.

"She has taken very strong painkillers and what has worked best is cannabis," said Gracia, who has been administering cannabis concentrate to her daughter for the past year. In that time, she says, her daughter's convulsions have diminished noticeably.

"I love cannabis now," the mother said, placing a reassuring hand on her daughter's quivering shoulder.

Gracia plans to seek a pardon from the Mexican court system so her daughter can consume cannabis legally.

The Mexican Supreme Court in August ordered the Health Ministry to publish guidelines for medicinal cannabis use within 180 days.

Last October, the court also ruled that the prohibition of personal use, possession and private cultivation of cannabis is unconstitutional because it violates "the fundamental right to the free development of the personality." In Mexico, such rulings do not automatically extend to everyone, though they often prod Congress to change laws.

And cannabis advocates now have hopes that Mexican legislators will decriminalize marijuana before the end of 2019.

Users have been lobbying for more than a decade to decriminalize consumption of marijuana and its derivatives. The government has at times put obstacles in their way, but that dynamic is expected to change under President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who took office Dec. 1. His interior minister has called for decriminalization and regulation of illicit drugs so as to take away power from the cartels and stop punishing users.

"The security strategy needs to be reoriented toward crimes that really have victims," such as killings and other violent acts, said Lisa Sanchez, director of Mexicans United Against Crime, a group that has campaigned to decriminalize drugs.

Mexican President Lazaro Cardenas decriminalized use of marijuana and opioids in 1940, but quickly reversed course under pressure from the United States. Capos such as Joaquin"El Chapo" Guzman got rich smuggling marijuana into the U.S. in recent decades, although the cartels' marijuana proceeds have begun to dwindle as several U.S. states have legalized pot.

The civic group Mexico SOS says Mexico is the second-biggest producer of cannabis in the world, with the plant grown across 16,500 hectares (40,772 acres). Mexico's climate and cheap labour allow cultivation year-round.

Sen. Cora Cecilia Pinedo Alonso says the Mexican market for decriminalized or legalized cannabis could be worth $12 billion by 2029 -- about half that of the current Canadian market.

Entrepreneurs are preparing for the change.

At ExpoWeed, which has been held in Mexico City the past four years, Brenda Hernandez set up a stall over the weekend to sell vapes, pipes and other items as well as to evangelize about the benefits of marijuana, which she said she smokes almost every night just before going to bed.

"I grew up with a lot of prejudices -- I even looked down on people who smoked a lot (of marijuana)," said the 33-year-old mother and founder of Chicks Vs Stigma, a group that encourages women to consume cannabis without shame.

She said her prejudices melted three years ago after her mother turned to marijuana for relief from severe chronic back pain. "She had a crisis of pain for which not even morphine helped," Hernandez said.

A 2018 survey by Mexico's Center for Social Studies and Public Opinion said half of Mexicans polled oppose legalization of marijuana and seven out of 10 disapprove of its recreational use. However, when asked specifically about legal use for medicinal purposes, nearly 90% said that was acceptable.

Hernandez worries her pot use could be helping bankroll violent drug-trafficking networks. She would much rather be able to purchase high-quality marijuana from regulated vendors. She says she spends anywhere from 30 pesos ($1.50) to 400 pesos ($20) per gram on the street.

Nearby, a dreadlocked dub musician who goes by the name Booba Roots said he got involved with pot as a teenager "in a very criminal way -- on the street." Now 40, and consuming cannabis three times a day, he says it's time for legalization.

"A plant, as well as the consumers, has been criminalized, when it's something very natural," he said.