Imported Medical Marijuana In Australia Not Tested For Quality, Canada's Cannabis Industry Eager For Tax Cut & More

Australia: Imported Medical Marijuana Is Sold Without Testing According To Standards 

Many medical marijuana products dispensed in pharmacies across Australia are labeled "Australian made," which feels a bit misleading for some patients because this doesn't necessarily mean that they are made with cannabis that is grown on the continent. 

Under the rules enforced by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), medical marijuana products sold to Australian consumers can be cultivated anywhere in the world. “The ‘Australian made’ claim is about the production process rather than content of a product,” a spokesperson for the Australian Made Campaign told the ABC.

The TGA has admitted that it is not testing imported marijuana for quality. 

Now, Australian medical marijuana growers want imported plants to be tested and their producers held to domestic standards. 

ECS Botanics managing director Nan-Maree Schoerie explained that domestic growers had to follow strict rules usually not seen in other countries. “There’s a lot of attention to making sure that the product that the customer gets is clean,” Schoerie told the outlet. She added that the "loophole" in TGA's rules enables importers to lower costs and undercut domestic cultivators.

See Also: Cannabis Arrests In Japan Hit Record High, Australia’s Hemp Sector Faces Setback, Morocco’s 294-Ton Legal Harvest And More

Various marijuana developments across the world will be carefully tackled by a slew of industry experts at the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference this week. 

Morocco: Government’s Official Logo For Legalized Cannabis Products 

The Moroccan government has come up with a logo for the country's legal cannabis products in an official gazette, writes Morocco World News. 

The logo displays a red border and the interior features a green cannabis leaf. According to the notice, the logo should be used as a label on all legal marijuana products.

In 2023, Morocco's first legal cannabis harvest reached 294 metric tons.

Canada: Cannabis Industry Hopes For An Excise Tax Cut Announcement This Week 

Canadian cannabis industry eagerly awaits for the government to unveil its 2024 budget on Tuesday. The one thing people in the industry are hoping to hear is that the budget will present relief from a heavy excise tax burden, writes MjBizDaily's Solomon Israel. 

In February, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance recommended limiting the excise tax rate to 10%. 

See Also: Justin Trudeau Says There Are No Downsides To Cannabis Legalization, Slams International Treaties’ Excuse To Reject Reform

Senior analyst Pablo Zuanic recently delved into the significant impacts potential excise tax changes could have on the Canadian cannabis industry. According to Zuanic, these marijuana businesses could see valuations soar by up to 300% with tax reform. 

Zuanic will discuss how new regulations affect stock valuations and market growth at the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference on April 16-17. 

Some industry experts, however, are not so hopeful that the excise tax reform will be announced this week.

"We don't have any indication at this point that there will be something in the budget," Paul McCarthy, the newly appointed president of the Cannabis Council of Canada (C3) industry group told the outlet. 

Frederico Gomes, a cannabis equity analyst with Alberta-based ATB Capital Markets agrees that the chance of an excise cut is "very uncertain." 

Unpaid cannabis excise taxes hit CA$273.4 million (about $200 million) close to the end of last year. 

Now Read: Pakistan Launches Regulatory Body For Cannabis Trade To Fuel Economic Growth

The Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference is returning to Florida, in a new venue in Hollywood, on April 16 and 17, 2024. The two-day event at The Diplomat Beach Resort will be a chance for entrepreneurs, both large and small, to network, learn, and grow. Renowned for its trendsetting abilities and influence on the future of cannabis, mark your calendars – this conference is the go-to event of the year for the cannabis world. Get your tickets now on bzcannabis.com – Prices will increase very soon! 

Photo: Courtesy of Roxana Gonzalez via Shutterstock