Due to the new legislation, the country will create a National Cannabis Control Agency, that will operate under the authority of the health minister. The NCCA’s purpose will be to oversee, regulate, and inspect the cultivation and processing of the cannabis plant, as well as the production of its by-products for medical and industrial use. The THC limit has been set at 0.8%, higher than other European countries that go with 0.3%.
Licenses will be granted through a Licensing Commission established by the agency for various activities, including the import of seeds or seedlings, their reproduction, the cultivation of medical cannabis or industrial hemp, the production of by-products or final products, and the distribution and circulation of medical cannabis-based products. You must have at least three years of experience in at least three main activities related to the production, cultivation, and circulation of the cannabis plant for medical purposes. Too add, applicants must have a company capital of at least of about $1 million.
The law places no limits on the volume of hemp which can be grown for grain and fiber, and will allow for the creation of a domestic market for those outputs, according to Joe Spencer, Chairman of the National Albanian Hemp Industry Association.
“We believe that Albania’s new industrial hemp regulations will provide a sustainable economic future for agriculture-dependent rural communities,” Spencer said. “Development of the hemp grain and fiber industry will not only increase agriculture employment but also employment within the manufacturing industries.”
The hemp production chain will be under a mandatory track-and-trace scheme, Spencer said.
The overall area granted for cultivating the cannabis plant for medicinal purposes must not exceed 200 hectares across the country. Furthermore, the area designated for each licensed unit engaged in medical cannabis activities should range from five hectares to a maximum of ten hectares.
Photo by Sadik Brika
