Ever more countries are approving regulations to allow the medical cannabis industry to step in the respective national borders. Europe is surely poised to become one of the most florid markets, where countries like Denmark are leading the way in terms of allowed production. The same thing can be said with regards to Greece, according to Marios Anastasios Kitsaras with GreenCann. He takes care to outline the situation in Greece. “GreenCann is a company focused on everything related to cannabis cultivation and products. We grow and manufacture final products. As of now, we’re developing very innovative products which we cannot wait to introduce into the market.”
A very promising regulatory environment
According to Marios, the situation in Greece is very promising. “I think Greece will be one of the leading countries in Europe in terms of regulations,” Marios remarks. “We have many advantages here, also compared to other advanced countries such as Denmark.”
“The legalization process started last year in May,” he says. “Most of the companies started working on their project during the summer. As of now, 3 companies received their licenses, and there are more in the waiting line.”
Marios continues highlighting the enthusiastic atmosphere in Greece with regards to this new opportunity. “This is something very new to us,” he says. “This is a global challenge, and we cannot wait to participate in this. The global market will accept us in a positive way because we have a great combination of growing knowledge and a very liberal regulatory environment.”
Marios further explains that the medical cannabis industry is first and foremost a pharmaceutical industry, and thus there are many things that growers need to be aware of if they wish to apply for a growing license. “The regulation is very well outlined, everything is meticulously detailed,” he says. “What you can do is to follow the rules, if you follow them everything is ok – and this is exactly what we have done. There will be no surprises in the future, and we are looking forward to it.”
The Greek advantage
According to him, the regulatory agency carries out in-depth checks and controls on applicants and their plans. “The check control is very deep,” he says. “They check on the criminal record of the applicant, for instance. The industry is very open to regulation and compliance – it is just like the pharma industry. This is a good part: there are a lot of rules, and if you follow them and know what you want to do, you will thrive.”
One of our main competitive advantages is that in Greece we have everything under one law,” he points out. “Not only that, but also the environment is particularly suitable for these types of endeavors: we have a very good climate for this product.”
Even though there is a widespread lack of knowledge within the cannabis industry, Marios points out that the search of a specialized workforce will not be an issue for them at all. “Here, the working capital is lower than other countries in Europe,” he remarks. “On top of that, our regulation allows us to export to 17 other countries. Additionally, we have a lot of educated people in Greece, therefore we do not have to outsource labor. This is very different from Denmark, for instance, where finding a specialized workforce could be an issue, other than being particularly costly.”
For more information:
GreenCann
8 Nik. Chanteli str. 45221, Ioannina, Greece
+30 2651029600
[email protected]
greencann.gr