Medical Marijuana, Inc. (OTC: MJNA) (the “Company”), the first-ever publicly traded cannabis company in the United States that launched the world’s first-ever cannabis-derived nutraceutical products, brands and supply chain, announced today that its subsidiary Kannaway® is proud to support the European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA) in its recent opinion letter to the European Commission on the legal status of cannabidiol (CBD) and hemp.
EIHA’s letter was written in response to the European Commission’s decision to suspend all applications for hemp extracts and natural cannabinoids under the European Union’s Novel Food rules and also deem under a “preliminary conclusion” that extracts from the flowering and fruiting tops of the hemp plant should be considered a drug under the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961. EIHA explains that the decision is “not based on the latest scientific literature nor inspired by the current debate at the United Nations level.”
EIHA believes that industrial hemp and its downstream products are not narcotic or psychotropic drugs. Hemp is exempted from the scope of the United Nations Single Convention of 1961, which features a clear distinction between cannabis varieties grown for the production of drugs and exempting cannabis grown for any other purpose (with low levels of THC).
“Hemp has been a food source for centuries and for decades the EU has stated that hemp extracts are not novel. It seems like a political move to now attempt to change its legal status,” said Kannaway® Managing Director of International Janne Heimonen. “There is great consumer demand for products and hemp farming supports the EU’s ambitious sustainability goals. We are fully committed to helping the industry keep providing consumers the products they need.”
Kannaway® has led the CBD industry in Europe since 2018. In December 2019, Kannaway® executives spoke in the European Parliament at a special event on “The State of Hemp in Europe” about how to improve the European hemp market for all of its applications including CBD products.
“Kannaway has pioneered the hemp CBD industry in Europe and plans to continue to grow its robust market there,” said Kannaway® CEO Blake Schroeder. “Our portfolio of Companies has worked with government leaders around the world to make sure that people have legal access to CBD and we will do the same in Europe.”
