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ACKRELL
CAPITAL
Cannabis Investment Report | December 2017

Greece announced in 2017 that the use of cannabis extracts would be permitted for patients who
obtain a doctor’s recommendation and are diagnosed with chronic pain, neuropathic pain, chemo-
therapy-induced nausea, certain eating disorders and cancer.

In the United Kingdom, the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Drugs Act) generally prohibits the manu-
facture, supply and possession of any “controlled drug,” including cannabis and cannabis resin, with-
out a license issued by the Home Office, a ministerial department of the U.K. government. There is
no exception to this general Drugs Act prohibition that would facilitate patient access to cannabis or
concentrates for treating specified medical conditions. However, within the Drugs Act framework, the
Home Office has issued to U.K.-based GW Pharmaceuticals licenses to cultivate, possess and supply
cannabis for medical research and for commercial purposes. GW Pharmaceuticals produces Sativex,
a mouth spray that contains cannabis-derived THC and CBD and is used for treatment of spasticity
caused by multiple sclerosis. Sativex is generally recognized as the first prescription drug in the world
to include plant-based cannabinoids. It was first approved for use in the U.K. in 2010 and has been
approved for use in at least 30 countries (but not in the United States).

Middle East, Asia and Africa

Throughout the Middle East, Asia and Africa, cannabis cultivation, sale and possession generally
remain prohibited and punishable as criminal offenses. Only a handful of countries from these regions
have enacted laws that decriminalize possession of small amounts of cannabis for personal use or facil-
itate patient access to cannabis or concentrates for treating specified medical conditions.

In 2017, particular sections of South Africa’s Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act, which prohibit cul-
tivation, possession and personal use of cannabis on private property, were declared unconstitutional.
During the same year, Lesotho (an enclave surrounded entirely by South Africa) granted a license to
a pharmaceutical company to grow, process and sell cannabis for medicinal use or scientific purposes.

In Israel, the country’s Dangerous Drug Ordinance generally criminalizes the manufacture, posses-
sion and use of cannabis. However, medical cannabis in smokable and other forms has been legal since
the 1990s for patients with a range of serious medical conditions, including multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s
disease, cancer and post-traumatic stress disorder, and the country is widely recognized as a global
leader in medical cannabis research and cultivation. Under Israel’s medical cannabis rules, the Ministry
of Health can issue permits for the production, distribution and use of medical cannabis products.
Patients must first obtain a doctor’s recommendation and submit it to the ministry in order to receive a
medical cannabis use permit. In August 2017, the Israeli Ministries of Health and Finance announced
that licensed producers and distributors of medical cannabis would become eligible, for the first time,
for permits to export medical cannabis to jurisdictions where it is legal to import.

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© 2017 Ackrell Capital, LLC | Member FINRA / SIPC

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