The Danish Medical Cannabis Hybrid model – European scale, Danish standards
The Danish Medical Cannabis Hybrid model – European scale, Danish standards

Insight

The Danish Hybrid model – European scale, Danish standards

Insight

The Danish Hybrid model – European scale, Danish standards

Learn about one of the reasons why Denmark is emerging as a leading European country for medical cannabis and how Danish forward thinking framework conditions allow you to be a part of a full medical cannabis ecosystem. Across the European countries that have implemented medical cannabis programs, the Danish ‘hybrid’ model is unique.

Variations in European medical cannabis framework conditions

The Danish regulatory model provides structural advantages for companies that want to access the European market, combining European scale based on strong standards intended to meet the needs of Danish patients and their doctors. 

In some European jurisdictions, cultivation is intended for export markets under a “cultivation for export” model. Standards are set to be able to establish, cultivate, and export to other markets without any local distribution. The number of licenses is open ended, and there is no limit on the amount, which can be cultivated. Products are exported directly to other jurisdictions and is not an option for patients or their doctors. 

The other European model is a “patient-driven” model that is based on the needs of patients and their doctors. In this model, medical grade cannabis is seen as a new treatment option for a set range of indications, and is prescribed by doctors. In these countries (including Germany, Italy, France, the Netherlands), the government would normally issue a tender for suppliers of the domestic market with a cap on production and the number of licenses issued to serve the local market. In some cases, the government takes a monopoly role in distribution domestically and internationally. In other such systems, there is limited or no domestic cultivation. 

The Danish hybrid model

Looking at the regulatory models across the European medical cannabis landscape, Denmark can be characterised as a “hybrid” model of the two dominant approaches for establishing a medical cannabis industry. 
 
This hybrid model is based on a domestic program that allows for research, evidence, and feedback from patients and their doctors. Drivers emerge here, such as preferences for product types, formulations, and evidence. But it is built on a European-scale model with possibilities for export, no cap on production, and no limit on the number of licence holders. This is the ideal model for developing a full medical cannabis ecosystem at European scale and built on Danish standards.  

The Danish hybrid model allows for a full medical cannabis ecosystem that includes cultivation at scale and for downstream segments like extraction, manufacturing, quality testing, industrial scale synthetic cannabinoid production, distribution, and product development to emerge. And most important, it allows for doctors and their patients to generate evidence and provide feedback.

Read more on the Danish hybrid model

Do you want to know more on why the Danish hybrid model is especially interesting? Dive into the topic in a special feature of the Danish and European medical cannabis industry by Hanway Associates. 

Read more about the unique Danish hybrid model here

get in touch

Want to know more about medical cannabis in Denmark?

Please contact our dedicated life science experts here:

Copenhagen

  • Sarina Lohmann

    Title: Special Advisor – Maritime and transport – Analysis & Partnerships

    Area: Copenhagen

    Phone: +4533920423

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