Cultivation of cannabis for medical and industrial purposes is expected to be carried out under some strong criteria. The details are defined in the draft which has been revealed recently.
The National Agency for the Control of Cannabis will be in control of the entire process from the licensing of companies, to the planting, cultivation and then to the processing of cannabis.
All holders of a license are obliged to mark and trace the plant, seed, substance, and product. The draft provides that the license for cultivation activity is granted for open, covered or greenhouse areas and cannot be smaller than 5 hectares and not larger than 10 hectares.
The license for companies is granted for a period of 15 years.
The draft law provides for strong criteria for obtaining a license. the company seeking to engage in this activity must have 3 years of experience in the cultivation, production, processing, circulation and administration of the cannabis plant.
The entity must be equipped with a production certificate issued by the European Medicines Agency and the American Food and Drug Administration. Also, the company must have a capital not less than 100 million ALL.
In order to obtain a license, the administrator, members of the management bodies, partners or shareholders must not be under criminal prosecution or in trial for any criminal offense. In case of violations, the penalties are from 500,000 to 5,000,000 ALL, as well as the temporary ban on carrying out the activity for a period of 6 months to 3 years./abcnews.al
