Mikey, here's the website you linked, translated:
Post# of 85504
https://www.calcalist.co.il/local/articles/0,...13,00.html
All cannabis companies received a gift: Which one will benefit from it?
Israeli companies that worked on time to make sure they can export cannabis to Europe will be the big beneficiaries here
Hagit Weinstock 17: 0004.05.20
Served on behalf of DUN'S 100
Global demand for medical cannabis has grown rapidly since the beginning of the Corona crisis. Many more people sit at home for much longer, seeking access to the drug to cope with the signs of the period, including anxiety and depression. The strong increase in demand is rapidly increasing the deep shortage of cannabis that already exists in European markets, which creates an opportunity for the Israeli cannabis industry. Israeli companies that worked on time to ensure that they could export cannabis to Europe will have the big profits here, but they do not constitute the majority.
An essential branch
Cannabis companies have received a gift - the ability to operate continuously during the Corona-era health crisis, regardless of the closures and strikes, while many sectors are experiencing human injury and the economies of entire standing states are paralyzed. The state of Israel has recognized the need for medical cannabis, both as a remedy and as a huge economic potential of the industry for it, and we have seen this recognition embodied in the moves of government ministries. The Ministry of Economy has handed the cannabis companies a non-public draft "Free Export Order for Medical Cannabis" for its upcoming official publication; And the Ministry of Health has defined the cannabis industry as an essential service, put it in the list of essential jobs, giving all sector companies the opportunity to continue to operate normally. We also saw the results this month in the capital market, with increases in cannabis shares, as well as the business activities of the companies that continued to report daily new distribution agreements signed, export and import shipments, and even hand-raising during Corona days.
Export of medical cannabis from Israel
Now, Israeli cannabis companies looking to benefit from the ability to export cannabis and cannabis products overseas, and not just from selling their products within Israel, should also be prepared for the moment of the official export order being published. Although in terms of their operations and operating systems, marketing, sales and service, many of them Hold real agreements with players in Europe, and while their vaults in the country contain very large high-quality cannabis that can be used for export abroad, but those among plants that grow plants from seeds that have not passed the European regulatory filter will not be able to bring material to Europe on the date of publication. Many of them are unaware of the path they need to take to get through this filtering and the actions they need to take.
The truth is that today, many Israeli companies lack all the ability to comply with the EU-GMP standard, and secondly, they do not have permission to import from the country to which they wish to export. In fact, only about 30% of Israeli companies meet the criteria for approval of such a standard, and they will only receive it within two or three months, if the European regulator's activity is not significantly slowed because of the corona effect.
Attorney Hagit Weinstock
Attorney Hagit Weinstock
Credit: Leahy Adele-Hasson
Potential for sales, mergers and acquisitions
It is well known that Israeli medical cannabis is considered to be excellent, worldwide. However, it does not comply with the Bfarm regulation - the German body corresponding to the Medical Cannabis Unit of the Ministry of Health (YCR), which is in charge of marketing cannabis medical permits, and which regulates the entire European regulation. Companies that can comply with EU-GMP standards and export to Europe with The publication of the official export order by the Israeli government is only the one that will be able to present to the German regulator in an orderly and competent manner the plant component analytics, and the plant monograph (or COA - Certificate of Authenticity), which is the legal history of the seeds sown even before they arrived at the plant. No Israeli company meets this requirement today, and the companies that we applied for in the process, which usually last about nine months, will only finish it in two or three months.
In the near future, we are expected to see an increase in the merger trend between Israeli companies, to meet demand, and to improve service and distribution systems for patients. The trend will create financial stability for cannabis companies, with ongoing operational activities over time. In addition, the companies will increase their employee lineups to increase their activity across the entire cannabis value chain due to increased demand, and we will begin to recruit thousands of employees for the links in this chain, starting from breeding and genetics, through growing and harvesting, continuing production and packaging, through product development And pharmaceuticals, and into marketing and distribution.
Israeli cannabis companies that have uncompromising quality, research innovation, an efficient operating base and a stable financial position will be more attractive than ever for tens and hundreds of millions of shekels and mergers by overseas investors and companies. However, which Israeli companies would like to take part in the celebration , To stay in the game and move to the playing field of the greats, must already take care of proper regulatory readiness.
By: Attorney Hagit Weinstock, Co-Founder in Weinstock-Zahavi's Attorney's Office, which specializes in international cannabis transactions and regulation since 2015 and represents six out of ten German cannabis companies