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 9
- International Regulation
Stop Consulting, Start Implementing: South Africa’s Cannabis Industry Demands Action as Businesses Suffer
South Africa’s long-suffering cannabis operators have demanded that the government make good on its extensive plans for a regulated framework, as frustration with its lack of meaningful action reaches a boiling point.
- International Regulation
Australian State to End Automatic Licence Loss for Medical Cannabis Drivers
Australia’s New South Wales has moved to end the automatic penalisation of medicinal cannabis patients caught driving with THC in their system, introducing a registration and threshold-based framework that leaves most of Australia’s one million cannabis patients still without equivalent protection.
- UK & Europe
Germany’s Drug Commissioner Backs Cannabis Pilot Projects in Break With CDU Party Line
Ever since the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) became the largest party in Germany’s ruling coalition government in February 2025, the country’s booming cannabis industry has been bracing for a crackdown.
- Medical Cannabis
Vertanical Secures Milestone FDA Breakthrough Designation for Cannabis Pain Drug Ahead of Imminent European Launch
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation (BTD) to VER-01, the flagship full-spectrum cannabis drug from Munich-based Vertanical, putting it in prime position to become the first FDA-approved cannabis-derived medicine for pain, and only the second such approval since Epidiolex in 2018.
- Industry Trends
Cannabis Europa London 2026: Key Insights, Day 2
Live Cannabis Europa 2026 London, UK From Plant to Patient: Why Genetics Must Lead Medical Cannabis Outcomes Arjan Roskam, Green House Genetics; Dave Auger, Big League Genetics; Adele Hollman, Sanity Group; moderated by Alex Fraser, Grow Group Telemedicine in Germany: Maturity, Regulation and What Comes Next Kristine Lütke, 365 Sherpas GmbH; Dirk Heitepriem, German Cannabis…
- Industry Trends
Cannabis Europa London 2026 – Key Insights, Day 1
Live Cannabis Europa 2026 London, UK Cannabis Europa London is back at The Barbican Centre for two days of conversations with global cannabis leaders, policymakers, industry analysts and patient representatives, and, as ever, the sun has shown up.
- Industry Trends
Jersey’s Cannabis Industry Posts First Profit as Exports Triple, But the Real Value Is Still Leaving the Island
Jersey’s medical cannabis industry turned a profit for the first time in 2025, posting revenues of £12m, almost £50m in cumulative investment, and exports of nearly seven tonnes.
- Cultivation
PGP Farmer Launches 30-Variety Dutch Trial to Set Dordogne Production Blueprint
PGP Farmer, the French biotech developing what it describes as the country’s first EU-GMP medical cannabis production site, has launched a proof-of-concept phenotyping programme in the Netherlands, testing 30 cannabis genotypes from its own genetic library to determine which varieties will be cultivated at its Dordogne facility.
- US & Canada
DOJ Sues TerrAscend for $8.3m in First Known 280E Refund Clawback
The US Department of Justice has filed a federal lawsuit seeking $8.3m plus interest from New Jersey-based cannabis multistate operator TerrAscend (TSX: TSND), in what appears to be the first known instance of the government attempting to recover 280E tax refunds made proactively by a cannabis company.
- Supply Chain
UK Medical Cannabis Imports Hit 30 Tonnes as Canadian Producers Bypass European Processors
Canadian producers shipped 17,067kg of medical cannabis directly to the UK in 2025, more than six times the 2,578kg recorded the year before, according to the latest official Home Office data seen by Business of Cannabis.
- CBD Market
Greece Moves to Ban Hemp Flower Sales, Despite Government Advisory Body Warning of ‘Conflict’ With EU Law
Last week (April 27), the deadline for Greek industry stakeholders to have their say on a controversial new hemp ban expired.
- US & Canada
‘Not Immediately Compliant’: What the CRS Says America’s Rescheduling Order Actually Delivers
Since President Trump issued an executive order to expedite cannabis rescheduling in December 2025, questions over the legal implications of this route have hung over the industry.
