Ben Stevens
Ben is the editor of Business of Cannabis. Since 2021, he has researched, written, and published the vast majority of the outlet’s content, delivering agenda-setting journalism on regulation, business strategy, and policy across Europe.
Ben Stevens · page 11
- Industry Trends
Is Spain Set to Become the Next European Cannabis Processing Hub?
As the European medical cannabis market has developed, expanded and matured over the last half-decade, Portugal has played a critical role in the global supply chain, earning a reputation as the ‘doorway to Europe’.
- Industry Trends
Germany Now Represents 62% of Canadian Cannabis Flower Exports as Portugal’s Share Collapses
Canadian cannabis exports totalled CA$51.6 million in February 2026 across the three main cannabis HS codes tracked in export data, up 8.7% on the same month a year earlier.
- Medical Cannabis
The Right Reforms, the Wrong Narrative: Why the Medical Cannabis Debate Is Missing Half the Picture
Over the last few weeks, the UK’s medical cannabis industry has been written about in The Times, The Guardian, the BBC, The i Paper, Private Eye, and a swathe of other national and local publications.
- Public Markets
Green Shoots: Spring 2026 Brings Integration, Recovery, and New Supply Chains to Global Cannabis
The second quarter of 2026 has brought tentative signs of stabilisation to a cannabis sector that spent much of 2025 fighting for survival.
- Medical Cannabis
Five Years, 74 Patients: Ireland Moves Forward With Review of Its Failing Medical Cannabis Programme
The Irish government has appointed a public health academic to chair a formal review of its now five-year-old Medical Cannabis Access Programme (MCAP) following months of parliamentary pressure.
- CBD Market
CBD Enters US Healthcare Through Medicare Pilot, But Coverage Remains Limited
US Medicare patients have now been given access to cannabidiol (CBD) products through a landmark federal pilot scheme, helping boost cannabis stocks.
- UK & Europe
Züri Can Extended By Two Years As Results Point To Black Market Deterrence
Zurich’s municipal parliament has voted to extend its flagship adult-use cannabis pilot, Züri Can, by a further two years to October 2028, and to provide an additional CHF 800,000 in funding, in a 101-13 vote that laid bare the fault lines in Swiss cannabis politics.
- Industry Trends
Germany’s Cannabis Reform Shows No Signs of Harm its Critics Predicted, Government Mandated Data Shows
On the second anniversary of Germany’s landmark Cannabis Act (CanG) coming into force, the most comprehensive data and analysis of its impact to date has been published.
- Medical Cannabis
Oliver’s Law: The Campaign That Could Reshape UK Cannabis Prescribing
Written by Ben Stevens & Sarah Sinclair A new campaign is calling for urgent regulatory changes to how medical cannabis is prescribed to patients in the UK, following what is believed to be the first time a coroner has found that a prescription for cannabis contributed to a death in the country.
- CBD Market
Has UK’s ‘Brexit Reset’ Derailed 5-Year CBD Approval Battle?
The UK CBD industry’s long and hard-fought battle to become the first in the world to receive official regulatory approval looks likely to have been in vain, as the Food Standards Agency (FSA) raises serious questions over whether the process can deliver before it is overtaken by an EU alignment initiative.
- US & Canada
‘How Does the DEA Plan to Reschedule Without a Judge?’ – Lawmaker Demands Answers on Cannabis Rescheduling Chaos
The White House’s commitment to push through rescheduling has been challenged by a Democratic Senator, who has demanded answers on the administration’s radio silence.
- CBD Market
White House to Meet With Cannabis Industry On Overdue CBD Enforcement Policy
Six weeks after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) failed to meet its 90-day deadline to clarify which cannabinoids will be impacted by a controversial incoming ban, the White House has scheduled three meetings with industry executives to discuss the matter.
