SLOVAKIA’S decision to end its ban on CBD is paving the way for new business opportunities.
One of the first to take advantage of this reclassification is Canadian firm Pivot Pharmaceuticals. It has announced the purchase of a 51% stake in iAmHealth, a German-based online ‘nutraceutical distribution and sales platform’.
Germany, Czech Republic & Slovakia
Pivot says the deal will provide it with an immediate online store and virtual footprint for its portfolio of CBD products and allow it to focus on ‘three key European markets; Germany, Czech Republic and Slovakia’.
Slovakia has had a long-standing closed-door policy towards cannabis and is currently the only country in the European Union (E.U.) to denote CBD as a regulated substance. Since 2011, CBD has been included in the list of psychotropic substances, but this is now changing following the drafting of a new law, just a few weeks ago.
CBD No Longer Psychotropic In Slovakia
The new proposal, due to come into force in January 2020, acknowledges that CBD does not have the potential for ‘addiction or abuse and can therefore be removed from the psychotropic substances’ list’.
The Slovakians say the decision to remove CBD from the list of psychotropic substances was justified by the World Health Organization (WHO), which now considers it harmless. However, the current position of Slovakia in relation to CBD has prompted a complaint to the European Commission.
The Free Movement of Goods
The complaint regards violations of the single market rules; it contests that the ban on CBD breaches the E.U. rules on the free movement of goods in, reports CBDepot.eu.
Pivot Pharmaceuticals is a science-based, consumer-focused cannabis company with a 50,000sq ft manufacturing facility Quebec.
It says the tie-up with iAmHealth will see them focus on CBD-related products and products using micelle technology for vitamin supplements, power drinks, other nutraceutical products; products supporting cancer patients during radiation and chemo therapy, and ‘tapping into the fast-growing nutraceutical market in key European markets’.
Pivot’s product lines include; topical creams and gels, intimate lubricants, roll-on pain relievers, stick packs, infused beverages, vegan capsules, dissolvable tablets, and bulk powder for the edibles market.
CBD is gaining worldwide popularity as an all-natural therapeutic supplement. Hemp-derived CBD is finally legal in the U.S. as well, so long as it contains less than 0.3% THC and adheres to federal and state regulations. ?