Supply issues from Luxembourg’s medical cannabis supplier, Tilray, Inc. (TSX: TLRY) (Nasdaq: TLRY) are causing a shortage of medical pot, according to the country’s top health official.
In response to a parliamentary question on Monday, Health Minister Paulette Lenert said that by Nov. 17, the country had gone through two-thirds of the 13.5-kilogram medical pot shipment it received from Tilray last month.
Read more: Tilray chosen as supplier of medical pot in Luxembourg
That was only for Tilray’s THC9: CBD9 product, and Lenert said that Luxembourg doesn’t have any flower with 18 per cent THC.
“A quality problem in the production of the [Tilray’s] THC18 cannabis blooms on the manufacturer’s side led to this,” she said.
The health minister said the “shortcomings are not due to a budget shortfall” but are solely due to “supply problems” with the cannabis producer.
The firm’s EU Campus in Portugal serves as an GMP-certified production hub for medical cannabis across the region. Image via Tilray
Lenert added the budget can be reviewed when asked if that was necessary to prevent a similar shortage next year.
Luxembourg’s next shipment is expected in December.
Mugglehead has reached out to Tilray for more information on the supply issue and upcoming shipment.
The health minister also confirmed the first shipment of medical cannabis oil came in early November but didn’t provide an updated inventory. The delivery included:
- 100 bottles (25 millilitres) of cannabis oil with 10-per-cent THC and 10-per-cent CBD10,
- 100 bottles (25 millilitres) of cannabis oil with 25-per-cent THC, and
- 50 bottles (40 millilitres) of cannabis oil with 5-per-cent THC.
In June, the Luxembourg Times reported a medical pot shortage due to higher demand, with doctors prescribing 140 kilograms in 2020 — nearly three times more than in 2019.
Medical use of cannabis has been legal in the country of nearly 640,000 since 2018, but Luxembourg’s government hasn’t followed through on its promise to legalize the production and sale of adult-use cannabis.
The government has said it’s working on legalization and proposed plans for home cultivation.
If the proposal becomes law, Luxembourg will be the first in the European Union to allow recreational pot use in some form, though Germany has indicated plans for legalization as well.
Read more: Luxembourg set to greenlight cannabis cultivation for adult-use
Read more: Germany’s coalition parties want to legalize adult-use cannabis
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