A bill has just been tabled to create a supervisory authority, which may see Belgium become part of the wave of countries enjoying the benefits of leglized cannabis in various industries. Illegal Burger, the cannabis-themed restaurant of West Coast Ventures Corp. (OTC: WCVC), has already demonstrated the power of creating a new product to meet the existing demand for cannabis.
The first bona fide CBD (cannabidiol) restaurant company, its successful intersection of CBD with the food & drink sector in the US is an exciting development that is set to have other countries playing catch up.
Illegal Burger’s focus on fresh, quality products and it’s effectiveness at exploring healthy, plant-based options makes its ethos as popular with CBD consumers as its CBD-infused burgers. With the success of such ventures in the US and continuing state-by-state decriminalization of the use of cannabis, countries are taking their first steps towards taking advantage of the benefits of CBD, from the therapeutic to the financial. With this in mind, it may soon be possible to legally cultivate cannabis in Belgium.
On Thursday, in a plenary session of the house, the government parties in current affairs (MR, CD&V and Open Vld) tabled a bill to create a kind of government agency to regulate medical cannabis, said Els Van Hoof and Raf Terwingen (CD&V).
The mission of this agency will be to monitor the cultivation of cannabis for scientific or medical purposes. “For some patients, for whom traditional medicines no longer work, it appears that cannabis oil can relieve pain and spasms,” explains Els Van Hoof. “But before we can do further research to finally offer medical cannabis, we need a ‘government agency’ to ensure safe, standardized and controlled production of medical cannabis. That is what we are aiming for with this bill.”
“It is through this that we can ensure that this is a safe collection of recognized and controlled drugs.” (Els Van Hoof – CD&V MPS)
Security guarantees
Belgium must comply with the United Nations Convention on Narcotic Drugs. It stipulates that cannabis can only be provided for medical purposes and under the strict control of a government agency. The latter must approve the soils from which the cannabis plants will be harvested. It will be responsible for any approvals granted to producers. It will also be responsible for controlling the harvest and ensuring a monopoly on imports and exports of the plant.
Last May, the cultivation of therapeutic cannabis was already in the forefront of the news. A Limburg company, Rendocan, said it was already ready and was only waiting for the green light from Health Minister Maggie De Block.
The health sector is also preparing. Some countries, including Canada, have already legislated in this area. Fagron took the opportunity to enter into an agreement with Canadian CanniMed Therapeutics for the sale and distribution of medical cannabis.
Beverage giants are also trying to make their mark in this global wave of decriminalization of medical cannabis. Coca Cola reported the launch of a cannabis-based drink. With this in mind, AB InBev has teamed up with Canadian Tilray.
The restaurant sector has also been shaken up by pioneers like West Coast Ventures Corp. (OTC: WCVC) who launched America’s first permanent CBD menu at their Illegal Burger locations. This trend is likely to continue to pick up and countries will need to put proper legislative framework in place or risk being left behind.
