{"id":494020,"date":"2025-10-12T16:41:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-12T16:41:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/494020\/"},"modified":"2025-10-12T16:41:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-12T16:41:11","slug":"will-canada-lead-or-lag-as-the-international-market-opens-up-for-medical-cannabis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/494020\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Canada lead or lag as the international market opens up for medical cannabis?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Canada needs a national cannabis export strategy to secure a global advantage, but three structural problems are holding us back.Tijana Martin\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

Rick Savone is senior vice president, global government relations, of Aurora Cannabis.<\/p>\n

As a former trade commissioner, ambassador to Brazil, and consul general in China, I spent three decades helping Canadian businesses compete globally. From my vantage point within Canada\u2019s cannabis industry, I see rich opportunities for our country \u2013 if we can navigate the pitfalls.<\/p>\n

Canada was <\/b>the first G20 country to legalize and regulate cannabis, building on a medical regulatory system dating back to 2001. That pioneering step gave <\/b>it a head start and <\/b>positioned Canadian producers to lead internationally as global demand for medical cannabis accelerates. <\/p>\n

In the years between legalization in 2018 and 2024, cannabis has contributed about $76.5-billion to Canada\u2019s gross domestic product (GDP), according to a recent report from the Ontario Cannabis Store and Deloitte. It also showed that the industry supports more than <\/b>98,000 jobs.<\/p>\n

But that <\/b>initial lead in the industry is slipping. Outdated barriers are preventing Canadian producers from seizing the full opportunity of medical cannabis exports. Canada needs a national cannabis export strategy to secure a global advantage in a regulated industry the federal government itself helped create.<\/p>\n

Cannabis stocks surge after Trump endorses cannabidiol for senior healthcare<\/a><\/p>\n

Three structural problems are holding us back.<\/p>\n

Canada lacks domestic Good Manufacturing Practices certification for cannabis, considered the global standard for quality compliance, relying instead on Good Production Practices. Being GMP-certified, however, is necessary for cannabis exports to international markets such as Europe. Canadian exporters must secure GMP approval from every importing country \u2013 a costly, duplicative process that hands control of quality standards to foreign regulators.<\/p>\n

Canada is not leveraging its leadership role internationally. We were among the first to integrate medical cannabis into a regulated framework, yet we aren\u2019t using that experience to help shape how other countries introduce medical cannabis into their health care systems.<\/p>\n

And the export permit process takes too long even as demand surges, creating friction for licensed producers with a track record of medical cannabis exports. <\/p>\n

This is our industry\u2019s \u201cAvro Arrow moment.\u201d Without action, we risk losing our first-mover advantage just as the global market takes off. That\u2019s why it\u2019s time to call for a national cannabis export strategy.<\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Staff work in a cannabis grow room at Canopy Growth’s Tweed facility in Smiths Falls, Ont., in August, 2018.Sean Kilpatrick\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

Health Canada should adopt domestic GMP certification and potency testing standards for medical cannabis, enabling mutual recognition agreements with importing markets and allowing Canada to define, not follow, global quality benchmarks.<\/p>\n

The federal government should modernize cannabis export permitting at Health Canada by <\/b>creating <\/b>structured support to facilitate transactions by known medical cannabis exporters to established foreign importers. Service standards need to be competitive to keep pace with rising demand. <\/p>\n

Finally, cannabis must be integrated into Canada\u2019s broader economic diplomacy. Industry representatives should join trade missions, and cannabis should be part of global trade advocacy, underscoring our regulatory expertise as a lever for market access.<\/p>\n

These steps would not only secure market access but also strengthen public health protections and patient outcomes worldwide. Strong export standards elevate quality across the industry and reinforce Canada\u2019s reputation for responsible regulation.<\/p>\n

As legal cannabis flourishes in Morocco, country\u2019s black market still dominates<\/a><\/p>\n

The global medical cannabis market is projected to exceed US$9.5-billion by 2027, according to cannabis market research firm BDSA. Industry sees that as a conservative estimate, with growth expected to accelerate if the U.S. reschedules cannabis at the federal level to acknowledge its medical value. Canada has a short window to expand into non-U.S. markets before American firms begin to compete globally. Across Europe, Australia, Israel and Latin America, governments are increasingly recognizing the medical potential of cannabis. This is not just a consumer trend but a public health opportunity, helping patients manage conditions from chronic pain to epilepsy and reduce opioid misuse. <\/p>\n

Canadian medical cannabis already reaches markets such as Germany, Poland, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, with emerging opportunities in Spain, France, Czechia, Turkey, Ukraine and Slovenia. Last year, Canada exported about $403-million in medical cannabis products, representing 7.3 per cent of national production. This figure is on track to surpass $500-million this year. Canada\u2019s longstanding regulatory framework for medical cannabis and research partnerships give the products credibility that few competitors can match. <\/p>\n

But global rivals are scaling rapidly with more flexible regulatory regimes, and U.S. producers are acquiring Canadian companies as staging grounds for exports. If we stand still, others will capture the markets Canadian producers opened.<\/p>\n

Canada has rallied around aerospace, critical minerals and agri-food. Cannabis deserves the same focus. Acting now is not just smart policy; it\u2019s sound economic strategy when we need it more than ever as the country works to increase exports to global markets. <\/p>\n

The world is not waiting for Canada to take the pole position in medical cannabis. Global competitors are moving forward \u2013 with or without us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Canada needs a national cannabis export strategy to secure a global advantage, but…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":494021,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3091],"tags":[6934,6925,6935,1500,6918,6936,51,943,6917,6930,6931,6927,6919,6916,1700,2266,728,6929,6923,6946,6920,6921,1234,6926,388,3611,6607,2441,603,6941,6942,6944,6939,6943,6937,6940,6922,6932,6933,285,3027,6938,6924,53,183,6928,16,15,727,263,6945],"class_list":{"0":"post-494020","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-markets","8":"tag-alberta","9":"tag-arts-news","10":"tag-bc","11":"tag-breaking-news","12":"tag-breaking-news-video","13":"tag-british-columbia","14":"tag-business","15":"tag-canada","16":"tag-canada-news","17":"tag-canada-sports","18":"tag-canada-sports-news","19":"tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","20":"tag-canadian-breaking-news","21":"tag-canadian-news","22":"tag-economy","23":"tag-education","24":"tag-environment","25":"tag-federal-government","26":"tag-foreign-news","27":"tag-globe-and-mail","28":"tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","29":"tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","30":"tag-government","31":"tag-life-news","32":"tag-lifestyle","33":"tag-local-news","34":"tag-manitoba","35":"tag-markets","36":"tag-national-news","37":"tag-new-brunswick","38":"tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","39":"tag-northwest-territories","40":"tag-nova-scotia","41":"tag-nunavut","42":"tag-ontario","43":"tag-pei","44":"tag-photos","45":"tag-political-news","46":"tag-political-opinion","47":"tag-politics","48":"tag-politics-news","49":"tag-quebec","50":"tag-sports-news","51":"tag-technology","52":"tag-travel","53":"tag-trudeau","54":"tag-uk","55":"tag-united-kingdom","56":"tag-us-news","57":"tag-world-news","58":"tag-yukon"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494020","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=494020"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494020\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/494021"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=494020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=494020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=494020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}