As cannabis is widely legalised, China cashes in on an unprecedented boom

[MattSh]

Almost 5,000 years ago, Chinese physicians recommended a tea made from cannabis leaves to treat a wide variety of conditions including gout and malaria. Today, as the global market for marijuana experiences an unprecedented boom after being widely legalised, it is China that again appears to have set its eyes on dominating trade in the drug.

The communist country is well placed to exploit the burgeoning cannabis trade with more than half of the patents relating to or involving cannabis originating in China. According to the World Intellectual Property Organisation (Wipo), Chinese firms have filed 309 of the 606 patents relating to the drug.

About 147 million people – around 2.5 per cent of the world's population – use cannabis, according to the World Health Organisation. And medicinal properties of the drug are increasingly being recognised. It can be used to treat conditions ranging from the nausea caused by chemotherapy for cancer patients and chronic pain to cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis and epilepsy.

Last month, Uruguay became the first country to legalise marijuana in its entirety – from growing the crop to processing and use. Yesterday it appeared that a second South American country, Peru, could follow Uruguay's example and legalise cannabis production. The former director of the Peruvian National Drug Control Commission, Ricardo Soberon, said: "The possibility of removing the criminal element from the cannabis trade – a drug that is a lot less dangerous than others – is the answer to 50 years of repeating the same strategies with no results."

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/as-cannabis-is-widely-legalised-china-cashes-in-on-an-unprecedented-boom-9039191.html

[Oldenuff]

1. Now we see why there appears to be a change in attitude about Cannabis legalization....

Plain and simple.It's not because Cannabis is an exceptional plant with all kinds of beneficial uses,it all about $$$. That is what the world has come to.It's not about doing the right thing,and it appears that more often than not,it is about doing the wrong thing..as long as there is a profit to be made.


Chinese Cannabis.Now with extra Melamine!

[eShirl]

4. I'm not sure when it was ever *really* about doing the right thing. n/t

[CFLDem]

5. Ya it's pretty much always been about money...

[RainDog]

2. Interesting article

not just China, tho

Shares in companies involved in cannabis soared after Colorado's move. One firm, MediSwipe Inc, had its stock jump by nearly 70 per cent on 2 January. The legal trade of cannabis in the US alone could be worth $10bn (£6bn) by 2018. And analysts say it is China that is once again at the forefront of exploiting new economic opportunities.

In December, Jamaica announced it was forming its first medical marijuana company, called MediCanja. Henry Lowe, a scientist and executive chairman of MediCanja, said medical cannabis could help "transform Jamaica's fledgling economy". He added: "Given Jamaica's history with ganja, we could be the hub for medical ganja in Latin America and the Caribbean."

Peter Reynolds, leader of Cannabis Law Reform (Clear), a UK-based campaign group, said China had another advantage over other countries in selling cannabis as it is one of the largest producers in the world of industrial hemp, a form of cannabis with a low amount of the psychoactive compound THC. "The Chinese are smarter and they are on to all the good ideas," Mr Reynolds said. "The potential for cannabis as a medicine is monumental."

[customerserviceguy]

3. How do you patent a plant

that has not been genetically modified? Even if that's true, why would the rest of the world recognize a Chinese patent, they don't respect the intellectual property rights of anyone else on the planet.