Cannabis Regulatory Digest — October 2026

United Kingdom — MHRA and Home Office

A replacement draft of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Amendment) Order 2026 was laid in both Houses on 27 October 2026, and the Government tabled the motion to approve it in the Commons the same day (Parliament procedure record). It replaces the draft laid on 14 September 2026, which was withdrawn on 21 October 2026.

The laid draft adds ten semi-synthetic cannabinoids (HHC, HHCP, HHCH, the hydroxy-HHC variants, HHC-C8, HHC-C9, 11-OH-THC) and THCA-A and THCA-B to Class B, each "save where they are contained in cannabis or cannabis resin". The new definition of "cannabinol derivatives" carries the same carve-out. Cannabis flower is "cannabis" under section 37(1) of the 1971 Act and stays in Class B as before. The new listings do not apply to the named compounds where they are contained in cannabis or cannabis resin, so, on our reading of the text, the presence of THCA in flower does not bring flower under the new entries. Isolated THCA (for example crystals) and semi-synthetic cannabinoids are caught. How the exception applies to highly purified extracts and single-compound isolates is not settled in the text; we have not found guidance on it. Neither the Explanatory Memorandum nor the Economic Note mentions flower or cannabis-based products for medicinal use, so this is our reading of the draft, not a Home Office statement. It has not been confirmed by UK counsel and is not legal advice.

The Explanatory Memorandum says the matching changes to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 will be made by a separate instrument, which must come into force at the same time as the Order and had not been laid when we checked. The Home Office Economic Note (dated 19 August 2026) gives an expected implementation date of February/March 2027; treat that as an indication only.

The Home Office page an importer works from, Controlled drugs: import and export licences, still shows its last public change as 10 August 2026. Timings and fees on it are as before: NDS account about 5 working days, licence application about 10, import licence valid 3 months, export licence 2 months, or in line with the importing country's permit if that expires first, £24 per licence.

MHRA published nothing on cannabis or controlled drugs in October that we could find.

Germany — BfArM

No change in force. The MedCanG amendment (BT-Drs. 21/3061: in-person contact before a first flower prescription, no mail-order dispensing of flower) is still with the Bundestag health committee. The health ministry's bill page still lists the first reading of 18 December 2025 as the last step. A patient-facing tracker that reads the Bundestag's DIP record (420doc, status 26 October 2026) reports the same: referred to committee, no committee recommendation, no second or third reading. Telemedicine prescribing and pharmacy mail order of flower remain lawful.

BfArM's import chart has not moved. The import/export FAQ still reads Stand 1. Quartal 2026, so Q1 2026 at 67,569 kg of dried flower is still the latest official quarter. Q2 is now four months past quarter end and not out.

The register of changes to narcotics law still ends at 23 May 2026. Nothing was added in October.

Australia — TGA and ODC

The one cannabis item the TGA published in October is enforcement. On 30 October the Federal Court ordered CDA Clinics QLD to pay $6.5 million and its former director $450,000 in civil penalties for advertising medicinal cannabis to the public, including unapproved products and claims about cancer, mental illness, chronic pain and other serious conditions (TGA media release). It changes no rule. It does show where the TGA is spending its attention: on how prescription-only cannabis is marketed to patients. A partner that runs a clinic or a patient-facing website is exposed to exactly this.

TGO 93, the quality standard for medicinal cannabis, sunsets on 1 April 2027 and has to be remade before then. It appears on the Register's list of instruments due to sunset on 1 April 2027. No draft replacement was published in October. Trade press (Cannabiz, 21 October) quotes the TGA as planning only "minor amendments" without an industry consultation, with plant growth regulators on its radar; we have not seen that in a TGA document, so treat it as a pointer. Cannabis Council Australia set up a TGO 93 working party in October; the TGA has said sponsors will get a transition period for any new requirements (CCA).

For an exporter, TGO 93 is the specification the Australian buyer tests against. Any change to it lands on our certificates of analysis from April 2027.

ODC import guidance for medicinal cannabis showed no dated October change on the pages we found: licence plus a permit per consignment, applications to NCS@health.gov.au, about 20 business days (ODC guidance).

Switzerland — Swissmedic

Two items, neither on the narcotics import path.

On 29 October Swissmedic replaced the checklist for an establishment licence to cultivate cannabis for medical purposes (BW102_50_005d_CL). The Cannabis Agency page now carries the version dated 29.10.2026, where it carried one from 14 March 2024. A day later the supplementary sheet for the responsible person for controlled substances (BW102_50_010d_FO) was also reissued (October document updates). Both concern Swiss licence holders, not foreign suppliers.

From 15 November 2026 Swissmedic will not list an active substance on an establishment licence or GMP certificate unless it is already registered in the EMA's SMS substance database (Swissmedic, 1 October). Where cannabis flower enters Switzerland as an active pharmaceutical ingredient, the Swiss licence holder has to check that the substance entry exists. That is a question to put to a Swiss buyer before a first shipment.

The narcotics import/export page did not change: import application 19.06.2026, export application 21.01.2026, No-Objection Certificate 29.06.2026, customs information sheet 03.09.2026. The Merkblatt Cannabis für medizinische Zwecke is still the 01.06.2026 version.

Portugal — INFARMED

No cannabis-specific publication in October. The cannabis activity report for H1 2026 is still the one dated 21 August.

The monthly export-control refresh came out as Circular 094 of 15 October, published 16 October (Deliberação 101/CD/2026), updating the lists under the rules on export of medicines. Same machinery as in August and September; it covers finished medicines in shortage, not cannabis flower. The other October circulars on the circulars list (096 on reference prices, 098 on Monoprost Duo, 100 on flu vaccine) do not touch us.

For supply discussions: export@elite-organic.com