ZAGREB, March 29, 2019 - Health Minister Milan Kujundžić said on Friday that only companies and pharmacies that make drugs would be allowed to grow and produce Indian hemp for medicinal purposes and that private citizens would not be allowed to do it.

"Only drug producers will be able to grow cannabis, it won't be possible for just any person to do that," Kujundžić said, dismissing the possibility that private citizens could be allowed to grow cannabis for personal use.

The growing of cannabis for medicinal purposes has been made possible by amendments to the Act on the Prevention of Drug Abuse, which were adopted by the government at a session held on Thursday. Under the amendments, pharmaceutical companies and pharmacies that are authorised to make drugs are the only ones to be allowed to grow and produce medical cannabis.

"This will help lower the prices of drugs made of cannabis and define the conditions as well as risks related to the growing of cannabis," said the minister.

Even though some European countries allow their citizens to grow cannabis for medicinal purposes and personal use, the Croatian government is not considering such a move, said Kujundžić.

More news on the hemp in Croatia can be found in the Lifestyle section.

Hemp and its health and economic potential is a topic that has been debated for years, but in Croatia there have been no concrete or significant moves towards a higher degree of legalization, although Croatia is, by some estimates, near the top of Europe by its consumption, reports Poslovni.hr on March 3, 2019.

Some companies in the region have decided to use its legal alternative. One of them is Sena Flora from Slovenia, established last year with the aim of selling cannabis products. The company cooperates with the Croatian brand Garica and the eponymous business that will soon open its first store in Zagreb.

“Existing laws blur positive aspects of one of the oldest crops," say Martin and Peter Fon, directors of Sena Flora. "One of the major goals of our company is to introduce people to the benefits of cannabis. We have a shop in the centre of Ljubljana and a webshop,” say the two brothers. In close cooperation with licensed laboratories, Sena Flora ensures that all products strictly comply with the limit, which permits hemp cultivation if the THC share is not above 0.2%.

"The use of approved varieties with the EU certificate is one of the most important criteria. The second is compliance with legal restrictions; all of our products are inspected in laboratories in Slovenia and Austria, and we aim for the best possible quality", explain the directors.

“We have gained the trust of numerous customers. Some have never tried a cannabis product before, but those who have say they help them, for example, with skin problems," they say, adding that the client base includes students, pensioners, physicians, lawyers... They have no problems with the police because they operate transparently and in accordance with the law. Their goal is to offer the widest possible range of top-quality products on the market. “We want to also focus on edible hemp products. The next step will be certified organic production on five hectares", they say.

They are present in Croatia with the help of Garica from Split. It is a social networking site and the first Croatian cannabis brand, and its owner Mario Božović has recently officially founded a business. Božović says he launched the website with a goal of marijuana liberalisation and in order to enable him to participate in what he calls the industry of the future. "Our main goal is to offer the highest quality available flowers of hemp and flower powders, and we want to offer oils and creams," says the Split entrepreneur, adding that everything is legal.

The products can for now be purchased through the Garica CBD webshop. In the case of a police check, the police should be informed that the product was purchased at garicacbd.com, and the receipt is considered as evidence. "If the police do not trust you, agree to an analysis, which will confirm that you are eligible for the return of the seized products," Božović notes.

He believes that Croatia has progressed somewhat as a society since marijuana is no longer considered equal to hard drugs. "Unfortunately, legal regulations have not changed much, and there is still police repression towards users. And when the legalisation comes – and it will happen – who will compensate the users for the damage and correct the injustice done to them,” asks the entrepreneur.

Translated from Poslovni.hr (reported by Lucija Špiljak).

More news about marijuana in Croatia can be found in the Lifestyle section.

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