Iceland amends narcotics regulation to allow hempseed imports

Farmers in Iceland will be allowed to import industrial hempseeds for the first time this year after the health minister gave regulators the power to grant exceptions to the Nordic island’s total ban on cannabis and cannabis products.

Health Minister Svandís Svavarsdóttir brought forth an amendment that authorizes the Icelandic Medicines Agency (IMA) to bypass the country’s cannabis import ban and grant exceptions for industrial hempseeds. The amendment was published on Tuesday in the government’s official gazette and is permanent.

“The goal of the amendment is to allow farmers to cultivate strains of industrial hemp found in the EU plant variety database in Iceland,” Kjartan Hákonarson, the IMA head of communications, told Hemp Industry Daily.

The new article permits the import, handling and storage of seeds for the cultivation of industrial hemp, so long as the amount of THC in the seeds and in the plants they produce does not exceed 0.2%, the IMA said in a statement. The imports of the seeds are subject to review by the Icelandic Food Agency, the IMA added.

Iceland’s narcotics regulation previously banned the import and handling of all cannabis and cannabis-related products.