Cannabis and Greece

Greece is the land of warriors, gods and philosophy, a Mediterranean country blessed with beautiful geography and a wonderful climate. In recent times, it has been in the news for its economic and financial crises. The country which, in its heyday became the essence of Western culture, has been forced to rely on bailouts by the European Union to tide over the current economic crisis leading to widespread hardship for its people. Things seem to have turned a corner for the country at the moment as it gradually tries to find its footing once again.

The earliest evidence of the use of the opium plant point to Greece. It is from here that the plant is said to have found its way to Egypt and then China, Burma (Myanmar) and today's opium production centers, Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and India. The British are said to have tested cannabis prohibition in Greece in the 19th century with the aim of promoting the opium plant and its usage. This indicates that cannabis also existed as a part of Greek society during this time. Cannabis may have reached Greece through the ancient trade relations with India. Today, opium forms the backbone of the legal and illegal pharmaceutical industry. Besides opioids, Greece's proximity to the Middle East mean that amphetamine type substances (ATS) find their way easily into the country. Not only that, methamphetamine from East Asia also now appears as a part of the potent mix of choices for the Greek people in the absence of cannabis. To top it all, Tramadol, an opioid from India, has been seized in significant quantities in Greece in the recent past. During the economic crisis, Greece went through a methamphetamine epidemic that ravaged many lives. Along with the abuse of pharmaceutical drugs, this has taken a toll on the health of people. 

 

Introduction of cannabis in the mix of available recreational drugs provides a safe, healthy and proven way for people to recreate with less harmful drugs resulting in improved health and much better social and economic indicators. Greece is one of the world's top tourist destinations and a large part of its economy relies on tourism to sustain itself. But this may not be enough as more needs to be done to revive the economy. Recently Greece announced that it would be cultivating cannabis for export to places like Canada and Israel as it has started seeing the economic benefits of doing so. With a Mediterranean climate in which wonderful varieties of sun grown cannabis could thrive, this is definitely a positive step. The step however is a very small one compared to what Greece could take, probably taken to test the waters and see where the country can go from here with regard to cannabis. Possibly a much larger step may incur sanctions and opposition from its EU partners making Greece vary of taking it.

Yet the initial step taken is in the right direction and should be encouraged especially by any country that wishes to see Greece reach sustainability once again. I am sure that nobody would want it more than Greece itself. Greek cannabis laws must be changed to legalize cannabis for adult recreational use and medical use. Farmers all across Greece should be encouraged to cultivate cannabis. If indigenous varieties of cannabis exist they must be protected, nurtured and revived. If not, Greece should evaluate the best varieties suited for its climate and geography and promote its cultivation among its farmers. Opening up cannabis will see a ripple effect through the Greek economy with more jobs and industries being generated using the plant for recreation, medicine and business. The sustainable nature of cannabis should prove beneficial for a country experiencing climate change. The benefits of introduction of cannabis into Greek tourism, cultural events, wellness, food and beverage industries should not be underestimated. Redirection of law enforcement resources from targeting cannabis to focusing on violent crime, theft and financial fraud will go a long way in balancing society.

Many European countries like Denmark, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Norway, Luxembourg, Switzerland and the Netherlands have been quietly going about embracing cannabis while maintaining an external stance of cannabis prohibition. All these countries and Greece need to speak out in favor of cannabis in the EU parliament and at the UN as the rescheduling of cannabis will provide Greece with a genuinely sustainable path to long term recovery and a possible return to its heydays as one of the world's centers for art and philosophy.   

In December 2020,  the UN voted to remove cannabis from its most restricted Schedule IV category of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. It does however still remain in Schedule I, which is the least restrictive. This one move by the UN itself should be sufficient to bring about the recreational legalization of cannabis in every nation and an overhaul of national drug laws. 

 

It must be noted that in most places where cannabis legalization has happened it took the efforts of the people who mobilized themselves through grassroots level movements to bring about this change. Left to lawmakers legalization would have been impossible, as the main interests of lawmakers concern the protection of the big industries opposed to cannabis such as pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, medical, alcohol and tobacco. For something that truly benefits the people, the people themselves have had to make the change.

Listed below are articles taken from various media related to the above subject. Words in italics are the thoughts of your truly at the time of reading the article.    

'The bulk of tramadol seized in the period 2014– 2018 was seized in West and Central Africa (notably in Nigeria, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire and the Niger), followed by North Africa (notably Egypt, Morocco and the Sudan) and the Near and Middle East (notably Jordan and the United Arab Emirates). In some instances, countries in Western and Central Europe (notably Malta and Greece) have been used as transit countries for tramadol destined for North Africa (Egypt and Libya), although some of the tramadol seized in Europe (in particular Sweden) was also intended for the local market. For the first time ever, significant seizures of tramadol were reported in South Asia (India) in 2018, accounting for 21 per cent of the global total that year, which reflects the fact tramadol was put under the control of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act of India in April 2018.

 As the full-scale scheduling of tramadol in India took place in 2018,218 and India had been the main source for (illegal) tramadol shipments, the decline in seizures outside India in 2018 may have been the result of a disrupted market. By contrast, and probably as a result of the control in India, seizures of tramadol in that country increased greatly in 2018, and thus in South Asia as a whole (more than 1,000-fold compared with a year earlier).' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_BOOKLET_4.pdf

'Pitsiorlas said the first medicinal cannabis products were expected to hit the market within a year or more, while he stated that the industry is mainly export-oriented, adding that “there is huge interest, mainly from Canada and Israel”.'
http://www.greeknewsagenda.gr/index.php/topics/business-r-d/6915-greece-business-opportunities-in-cannabis


'Greece on Monday issued the first licences to private companies for growing medicinal cannabis in the country, part of an attempt to tap a burgeoning market worth billions.

Greece legalised cannabis for medical use last year and in March lifted a ban on growing and producing it. Two licences were granted on Monday, and another 12 will be issued by the end of this year, the Economy and Development Ministry said.

“There is huge interest, mainly from Canada and Israel ... some of them (potential investors) are huge,” Stergios Pitsiorlas, the deputy economy minister, told a news conference.'
https://in.reuters.com/article/greece-medicine-cannabis/greece-eyes-pot-of-gold-as-medicinal-cannabis-licensed-idINKCN1NO201


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