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 7
- Medical Cannabis
Curaleaf Becomes First to Register Cannabis Preparations Under Spain’s New Medical Framework
Spain’s medicines regulator has officially approved the first two oil-based preparations as part of its recently approved national medical cannabis scheme.
- Pharmaceutical
World’s Largest CBD Insomnia Trial Could Hand Avecho an Australian Monopoly
The world’s largest clinical trial on cannabidiol (CBD) as a treatment for insomnia has been given the green light to complete its Phase III trial, transforming the fortunes of Avecho Biotechnology, and potentially the lives of insomnia sufferers worldwide.
- Patient Access
Germany Bans Cannabis Flowers from GKV and Mandates Six-Month Trial for Extracts
Germany has today voted to ban medical cannabis flower from its statutory health insurance scheme, in a controversial move critics say will have an outsized impact on the ‘seriously ill’.
- Cultivation
‘No Right to GMP Washing’: German State Challenges Cannabis Flower Import Compliance
Authorities from the German state of Hesse have taken aim at the practice of ‘GMP washing’ in its thriving medical cannabis market, an intervention that could have significant implications for the industry at large.
- Cultivation
EU Medical Cannabis Faces Its Most Consequential Regulatory Overhaul
Cultivation is perhaps the most complex, highly regulated, and expensive part of the cannabis supply chain.
- Medical Cannabis
France Breaks Medical Cannabis Deadlock as Reimbursement Decree Filed for Legal Review
France’s incoming generalised medical cannabis framework has edged tantalisingly close to clearing its last remaining hurdle, as the outstanding decree governing the reimbursement of cannabis medicines has been submitted to France’s highest administrative court.
- US & Canada
DEA Opens Rescheduling Hearing With Science-Based Support for Its Own Rule
On Monday (June 29), the most consequential hearing in the history of US cannabis policy began proceedings, as the DEA and the seven invited representatives made their opening statements.
- Adult-Use
Switzerland Launches Eighth Cannabis Pilot, Testing Home Delivery for the First Time
Switzerland has granted approval for a new five-year, 5000-participant adult-use cannabis pilot trial, marking the eighth since the groundbreaking project began in 2023.
- Interviews
Green Rush to Grown Up: Cannabis Investment No Longer Needs Hype
Investment in the cannabis industry has long been dominated by specialists, speculators, and momentum traders, but that is beginning to change.
- UK & Europe
Ireland’s Cross-Party Drug Committee Calls for Full Decriminalisation. The Government Has Already Said No
Ireland’s Oireachtas Joint Committee on Drugs Use has recommended the full decriminalisation of personal possession of all drugs, calling on the government to repeal Section 3 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977.
- US & Canada
‘A Giant Ship With a Rusty Rudder’: What Six Weeks of Cannabis Rescheduling Has and Hasn’t Changed
On June 29, 2026, one of the most consequential hearings in the history of US cannabis policy, the crucial DEA Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) hearing that could determine whether adult-use cannabis joins state-licensed medical cannabis on Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act, begins proceedings.
- Prescribers & Clinics
Nine of the Ten Top CBPM Prescribers Are Pharmacists, FOI Data Shows
New data acquired by Business of Cannabis has, for the first time, shed light on the professional types behind England’s CBPM prescribing record, raising further questions about assertions that ‘10 doctors prescribe half of the UK’s medical cannabis’.
