New research just came out of SOG Law Firm, related to a topic that is very popular globally today, but also in the regional and domestic surroundings. It addresses the Serbian cannabis legal framework and intends to offer helpful information about permissions, registration, and the legal status of cannabis in our country.

Some of the critical points of this overview point out that the laws of the Republic of Serbia, for the most part, do not differentiate industrial hemp and marijuana. The applicable law governing this subject matter recognizes cannabis as PCS. And there are strict conditions under which it can be cultivated, produced, traded, or advertised.

Important Notes Regarding Permits and Registration of Cannabis

Our analysis goes into the specifics related to the issuance of the permits in front of the Ministry of Agriculture. For instance, requests must be submitted to a specific year’s date before planting cannabis. It must contain the business name, registered seat, company identification number of the legal entity requesting the permit, and other meaningful details. Indeed, some of the essential parts include pointing out the purpose of the cultivation of cannabis, data on the land status, and cannabis seed. But also the information about the planned planting and harvesting.

Mainly, there are three types of permits. The first one is a permit for production/trade issued by the Ministry of Health, with a validity period of five years. The second one is the permit for cultivation – issued by the Ministry of Agriculture each year, and the permit for import/export, issued by the Ministry of Health. For example, to undergo the process involving cannabis production and trade, obtaining a production/trade permit is required. Such a permit can be obtained as just trade permit under the condition that it has particular premises intended only for trade or as a production permit, in which case it also authorizes the holder to trade with cannabis.

And when it comes to registration, there are three necessary registrations in this process to be handled. The first one is the registration of the brand before the Ministry of Agriculture, then comes the registration of the seed producer before the Ministry of Agriculture, and finally (before the same Ministry) – the registration of the seed processor. According to the Registry of brands, there are currently seven brands of cannabis registered therein, some of which are even recognized as autochthonous domestic brands. The holder of registration for most of them is the Institute of Agriculture and Vegetables. – “Novi Sad’s hemp” is one of the registered brands, but there are others. Some of them are registered by the USA firms such as Crookham Company Inc.

Until now, what we had were numerous examples from Europe. According to Clifford Chance’s research, medicinal cannabis products and cannabis-based consumer goods in EU member states often face considerable legal uncertainty, particularly regarding the issue of foods and food supplements, and cannabis is still a controlled substance. To make cannabis a viable raw material for industrial purposes, some EU member states make exceptions for cannabis plants grown in the European Union from certified seed or those with a low THC content. The exception tends to be cannabis plant seeds that are not intended for use in illegal cultivation.

But what about the Serbian legal framework regarding all these topics? On this link, we are bringing a shorter version of a more extended, in-depth analysis available upon your request.

If you want to get familiar with this topic or have a professional interest and get the Serbian cannabis legal framework COMPLETE overview – get in touch with us.

This text is for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice. Should you require any additional information, feel free to contact us.

Contact:

Miloš Velimirović, Partner
milos.velimirovic@sog.rs

Stefan Petrović, Associate
stefan.petrovic@sog.rs