Greece Launches Nationwide Kiosk Raids as Cannabis Retail Ban Takes Immediate Effect, Jail Terms Included

Joint inspection teams from the Greek constabulary and the Ministry of Development will begin nationwide raids connected kiosks and mini-markets Thursday to prehend cannabis product inventories, arsenic a caller instrumentality banning retail income of each cannabis products takes contiguous effect with mandatory jailhouse presumption for non-compliant shopkeepers, and nary grace period.

The legislation, introduced by the Ministry of Health, extends the prohibition to vending machines and requires that convicted merchants service existent situation clip before any information of the condemnation tin beryllium converted to regular fiscal fines — a consequence of caller Greek Penal Code reforms that destruct suspended sentences for this class of offense.

Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis said the crackdown targets a regulatory unsighted spot that allowed low-THC and CBD products to circulate freely done neighborhood convenience outlets, creating casual entree for minors.

"The goal of this exigency regularisation is to found implicit oversight implicit the supply concatenation and halt the unregulated circulation of these products," Mr. Georgiadis said.

The instrumentality also establishes a Digital Registry for Cannabis Product Control wrong the Health Ministry, which volition way authorized products from accumulation oregon import through to licensed dispensaries — efficaciously removing cannabis derivatives from wide commerce entirely.

Associations representing Greece's ubiquitous 24-hour kiosks, known locally arsenic periptera, have raised interest implicit the abrupt fiscal interaction of an overnight enforcement regime.

Officials gave nary denotation that their objections would hold Thursday's raids.

By Vassilis Venizelos