The letter of intent was granted to EMMAC under terms of the Production of Cannabis for Medicinal Use Act, 2018, Chapter 578 of the Laws of Malta. The letter of intent is preliminary approval for the issuance of a full license — covering cultivation, production, importation and exportation — under the terms of the Production of Cannabis for Medicinal Use Act, 2018, according to the press statement.

EMMAC aims the turnkey GMP facility in Malta to be the group’s importation, exportation, testing and distribution hub for Europe and other international markets.

“We are delighted to have had such strong support from the Maltese Government and relevant public and regulatory authorities,” says Antonio Costanzo, CEO of EMMAC. “As the demand for premium quality medical cannabis continues to grow, our facility in Malta will form a critical part of EMMAC’s unique European infrastructure as our group import and distribution hub,” Mr Constanzo adds.

European medical cannabis company EMMAC Life Sciences Plc says it is committed to working to join together the latest science and research with cutting-edge cultivation, extraction and production. The firm has supply and distribution partnerships throughout Europe.

The post Malta Enterprise signs letter of intent with cannabis firm EMMAC first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

Under the agreement, Relax Gaming is taking all games from GiG, planning to announce the first game on its platform in the first quarter of the year. GiG expects the agreement to have a limited impact on its, revenues this year, with a possible increase from onwards.

“We are pleased to be opening 2019 with an agreement of this calibre, providing GiG Games with access to our partner network of more than 350 online casino brands to further enhance the range of content we offer to operators with GiG’s highly regarded games,” says Daniel Eskola, CEO at Relax Gaming. “This agreement represents a significant milestone as we continue to deliver against our strategic ambitions, adding value to both our commercial proposition and global distribution,” Mr Eskola adds.

“Relax Gaming is a very important strategic partner for GiG Games,” says Mathias Larsson, Managing Director at GiG Games. “They have a great platform and are serving most Tier 1 operators in the market with games. Adding our games to the Relax platform will give us access to all these operators and their end users in the quickest way possible,” Mr Larsson adds.

Both GiG, a technology company providing products and services throughout the entire value chain in the iGaming industry, and Relax Gaming, B2B content delivery platform, have strong ties to the Maltese market. The Malta Gaming Authority regulates GiG’s B2B services, including GIG Core, GIG Games and GIG Sports products. Relax gaming also holds licences in multiple jurisdictions including the Malta Gaming Authority, Alderney Gambling Control Commission, the UK Gambling Commission, and the Danish Gambling Authority.

The post GiG, Relax Gaming ink distribution pact first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

GCAN is a biopharmaceutical company focusing on the development and commercialisation of innovative delivery systems for the cannabis market. iCAN is an Israeli developer of cannabis-based formulations, clinical trials and cannabis testing.

The eluting patch platform is an “innovative delivery system, which uses a patented mucoadhesive and multilayered orally dissolving thin film to deliver a precise dose of cannabinoids into the body through the buccal mucosa,” the press release says. Clinical studies, funded in part by the US-based National Institutes of Health (NIH), have shown the delivery system’s capability in achieving higher bioavailability in the body using lower and controlled, dosing when compared to other routes of administration, according to the press release.

The agreement with iCAN will include commercial-ready formulations to meet medical and recreational market demands. Distribution and marketing rights for iCAN will consist of Malta, along with another list of countries — Israel, Australia, South Africa, Netherlands, South Africa, Mexico, Colombia, Panama, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Macedonia, and Portuguese territories.

Focusing globally on the cannabis ecosystem, iCAN operates a global platform for distribution of such products through its iCAN Serve unit and works with a portfolio of like-minded companies, including but not limited to CannRx, CMTREX, CannaTech and endoCRO.

“I am very excited about the prospect of offering GCAN’s products through our many distribution channels,” says Saul Kaye, CEO of iCAN. “I have seen many groundbreaking innovations come through our CannaTech conferences, and the eluting patch technology was a platform I was particularly impressed with. I believe this technology can redefine how consumers think about cannabis. From the lower-dosage form to the controlled and slow-release mechanisms, and the ability to use it anywhere, I believe the product will resonate really well with consumers and generate rapid traction in the markets we intend to bring it to,” he adds.

“I am pleased to announce our partnership with iCAN,” says Aitan Zacharin, CEO of GCAN. “Saul [Kaye, iCAN CEO] is an industry leader who is at the forefront of everything tech in cannabis. His desire to partner with us is a testament to the strength of our technology and its capabilities. We are excited to establish this important partnership in the medical and adult-use cannabis industry. We are focused on transactions that will accelerate the commercialisation of our products, and the iCAN deal does that globally. iCAN shares our enthusiasm for seeing healthier, standardised, pharmaceutical-grade, and more cost-effective cannabis products introduced into the market. We look forward to working with iCAN to bring our cutting-edge technology to consumers worldwide,” he adds.

Cannabis in Malta

Views on cannabis have been transforming globally in recent years. Many countries have made measures of decriminalisation, allowing medical usage and some even legalising recreational usage to a certain extent. Malta has already made steps towards decriminalisation and medical usage, in 2015 and 2018, respectively.

New policies were introduced in 2015 in Malta to decriminalise cannabis, though simple possession is still considered as an “arrestable offence”, according to press reports. People caught with quantities smaller than 3.5g of cannabis are subject to fines ranging between €50 and €100, but they do not need to appear in court but before a Justice Commissioner. However, the police is allowed to detain people caught with small quantities for up to 48 hours to interrogate them for information to fight drug trafficking.

The Maltese legislation is more lenient towards cannabis than any other drugs. An individual caught possessing small quantities of drugs other than cannabis for the second time in two years will need to appear before the Drug Offenders Rehabilitation Board and attend due rehabilitation. However, in the case of cannabis, offenders are exempted from appearing before the board, regardless of how many times they are caught.

At the same time, pressure had appeared to be growing in terms of the medical use of cannabis. Although the 2015 reform partially legalised medical cannabis as a last resort solution for patients suffering from chronic pain, news reports suggested only a few patients had been treated in practice due to a stock shortage of such products, as well as hiking prices of the ones available on shelves, according to a report by Malta Today.

In 2018, Malta officially legalised medical cannabis. After its third and final reading, amendments to the Drug Dependence Act were enacted by Parliament on the 26th of March. The law allows family doctors to prescribe non-smoking forms of medicine available at pharmacies for patients, after the Superintendent of Public Health has approved of a control card, according to another report by Malta Today.

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