Is the war in Ukraine sending cannabis prices skyrocketing across Europe?

Amidst this ongoing turmoil between Ukraine and Russia, it is high time to consider its impact on the European cannabis industry.

European nations’ progress in legalizing cannabis could be nullified or delayed in the coming months. Less than a month ago, worlds like sanctions, bombs, missiles, war crimes, etc. could hardly be heard in the European space. Since last Thursday – when Russia officially declared war on Ukraine – that’s all you’ve heard on media platforms.

This article in no way undermines the seriousness of what is currently happening in Ukraine. It only tries to explain how this animosity between most European countries and Russia would affect cannabis reforms and the legal industry across the continent.

Effects of war on Europe’s cannabis space

The reality emerging for cannabis operators in Europe is that reforms and key policies that would have supported post-COVID space growth will take a back seat to current security concerns.

While Ukraine isn’t the leading center for cannabis defense in Europe, its security issues could backfire on other countries in the region. A quick Google search reveals that Germany is less than a day’s drive from Ukraine, while Poland and Hungary share borders. Many operators are concerned that the production and supply chain of the region’s cannabis industry will be impacted

Supply chain for cannabis in Europe

Regulators have allayed cannabis operators’ fears by making it clear that the cannabis supply chain will not be affected.

Ukraine does not supply cannabis used in the medicinal market. Production sites include Germany, Colombia, Uruguay, Australia, Denmark, Portugal, Holland, Greece, Lesotho, Uganda and Spain. The European cannabis industry is supplied by countries around the world.

Europe’s representative for life sciences, Franziska Katterbach, believes that the war cannot disrupt the region’s production and supply chain.

The biggest challenge at the moment is the rising gas prices. Every industry requires energy to function, including the cannabis industry. The industry cannot escape the rising energy costs in the region. Germany, the UK and the Netherlands are bearing the greatest impact of this increase. Domestic medicinal cannabis growers in the region are required to grow cannabis indoors. Note that the regular running costs of indoor cannabis production are higher than outdoor production. As a result, rising gas prices will weigh more heavily on farmers and processors.

Concerns about price increases

The rising price issues will be the biggest obstacle for the medicinal cannabis industry in the coming weeks.

Lio Pharmaceuticals CEO and German distributor Alain Menghé à Menghé doesn’t think these latest hostilities won’t affect the entire industry. Menghé is currently building a production facility in Solingen, Düsseldorf.

He said his pessimistic view of the war and its impact on industry stemmed from higher energy prices. Although it may not be obvious, rising energy costs will affect all sectors of industry in some way. Transport, storage and production of the drugs themselves will be most affected.

Ukraine and cannabis

The ongoing situation in Ukraine has been described as the largest ground war in Europe since the end of World War II. Many industries have been affected, including the burgeoning cannabis industry.

Before all of this began, Ukraine had just embarked on the path to legalizing cannabis. At least key milestones have been crossed out to show public readiness for the legal cannabis industry.

A petition has been submitted to the country’s parliament to scrutinize the use of medicinal cannabis. The 2019 petition explained that the drugs would benefit cancer patients. It emphasized the chronic pain and high cost of treating cancer symptoms. However, Parliament has not adopted any measure in this regard.

The results of a 2020 poll showed that 65 percent of the Ukrainian population supports the use of medicinal cannabis.

Last year, lawmakers changed a provision to allow the use of drugs like nabilone, nabiximol, and dronabinol. However, many proponents claim that these changes had minimal impact in making the drugs more accessible to people in dire need.

If this current chaos had been avoided, Ukraine would have moved forward with cannabis legislation. During the election campaign, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (then a candidate) supported the legalization of cannabis. Whether or not he would have acted accordingly during his tenure may never be known. Because it’s almost certain that once the war is over, cannabis will be last on the government’s priority list.

Political consequences everywhere in Europe

The inevitable consequences of ground wars, particularly in Europe, are political and personal. In Germany, for example, politicians who have vowed to look into recreational cannabis legislation could use the unrest in Ukraine as another distraction to push back on the conversation. The same applies to the United Kingdom, Germany and any other member of the European Union.

Menghé à Menghé said that the war was the EU’s priority while all other issues were being postponed. He expects the momentum of regulatory changes for cannabis use to be halted and delayed, most likely until Ukraine is settled.

Cannatech companies are also affected by this war. HelloMary, an AI-centric cannabis e-commerce platform, was one of the few cannatech companies to feel the direct effects of the war. The company’s CEO, Ziya Gaziyev, said members of the company’s programming team are scattered across Europe. He added that the company was very concerned for its Ukraine-based friends and colleagues. However, he promised that the available core team members would maximize their potential to meet all deadlines.

bottom line

This is a critical time in Europe. The cannabis industry must stand up for itself to prevent decline. If the cannabis sector can take charge of its own destiny and prove it’s a major employer and a massive economic boost, lawmakers may have no choice but to proceed with legalization.

This period should preach peace and diplomacy to nations at war, rather than escalating problems. Governments must consider the medical patients who are in pain due to the inaccessibility of the drug.

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