In the 1st Supplement of the Official Gazette No. 107 of December 24, 2019, the Reform of the Criminal Law was published, which will enter into force in June 21, 2020.

Included among the reforms, is the decriminalization of possession of drugs that contain cannabis or derivatives as their active ingredient for therapeutic, palliative or medicinal ends, or for the practice of alternative medicine. In addition, the Law of Control and Prevention of the use of Drugs has been amended, excluding non-psychoactive or hemp cannabis from control, extended to the cannabis plant or any part of the plant, whose delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content is less than 1%.

The Ministry of Agriculture will have 120 days from the entry into force of this law to issue the regulations to control the import, planting, cultivation, harvest, sale, industrialization and exportation of industrial hemp. Furthermore, shortly the National Assembly must approve the Health Law, in which cannabis and its derivatives for medicinal and therapeutic use will be regulated.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.