China is cornering the cannabis patent market

[Sir X]

China is cornering the cannabis patent market
By Heather Timmons @HeathaT January 7, 2014


More than half of the over 600 cannabis-related patents registered with the United Nations’ global intellectual property agency belong to Chinese companies, which have claimed rights to everything from traditional Chinese medicine-related marijuana tinctures to new methods of administering the drug, like a film that sticks to the skin.
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The UN’s World Intellectual Property Organization collects patents from 186 member states that are globally enforceable and organizes them in a searchable database called Patentscope, which shows Chinese cannabis patents including a “Shangxia beverage for relaxing bowels” (and preparation method thereof), a preparation for “assisting in therapy of shivering and sweating” and broader applications like methods of extracting cannabinoids from plants.
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Chinese medicine has relied on cannabis and hemp extracts for thousands of years. According to the US Drug Enforcement Agency Museum: “The oldest known written record on cannabis use comes from the Chinese Emperor Shen Nung in 2727 B.C.” Patenting this knowledge is a much more recent thing—filings from China jumped in recent years, and the country is now filing the most patents of any country in the world via WIPO, beating the US and Japan, a distant third.
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Still, there is plenty of room left for other, creative, patent-hungry investors interested in the world’s growing cannabis market. Ulrich Thomet, a Canadian, has received a patent for this novel “method of producing a preparation containing active substances from cannabis:”
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Milk and milk products are produced having a cannabis content. These products are generated in that milk cows are fed at least partially with hemp plant parts, in particular blossom material of pistillate hemp plants, these hemp plant parts being administered as silage fodder, dried fodder or fresh fodder mixed with usual cattle feed.
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Coming soon, perhaps to Colorado: Green milk.

[Sir X]

Unnuh can tan deh.

[Sir X]

Cannabis Market Leads to China
Added by Jim Malone on January 5, 2014.
Saved under Business, China, Health, Jim Malone
Tags: Business, cannabis, top
CannabisThe medical cannabis market leads to China, thanks to patents relating to the drug which are held by companies there. According to World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) statistics, at least 309 of the total 606 patents filed worldwide relating to cannabis originate with Chinese firms. With legalization progressing in countries across the globe, including parts of the United States (US) and South America, medical cannabis will be a market that is going to take off exponentially. Chinese firms are already ahead in the race to take advantage and profit from the loosening of legal barriers.

In December, Uruguay became the first country to completely legalize marijuana. It is a move that is also being considered in Peru. Members of the Peruvian National Drug Control Commission have suggested that decriminalization of the relatively less dangerous drug would represent a policy improvement which would move away from repeating the political mistakes of the past with respect to drug policy. That attitude is not only gaining momentum in Peru, but in many countries. With the decriminalization of Marijuana for recreational use in a few US states, a similar movement is underway. Without a doubt, the financial gains being make from that market’s emergence in Colorado will provide significant incentive for similar moves to be made across the rest of the country.

The legalization of recreational use is one of the things that will lead to the medical patents in China relating to cannabis becoming widely available on the market. There is already considerable interest in Eastern medicine and remedies both in the US and worldwide. Herbal and homeopathic remedies featuring cannabis will have a ready-made consumer base once the issue of legality is resolved. Without having to invest in developing the remedies into prescription drugs. China has a significant head start in bringing those type of products to the global marketplace.

China not only has the patents, but they have the product. China produces more industrial hemp than almost anyone in the world. Though lower in the psychoactive THC, medicinal applications are largely unaffected. With the supply and a growing demand, China is ready to lead the way to becoming the world’s cannabis connection.

While considerable medical research has been done in the United Kingdom (UK) on cannabis, the laws there have restricted the ability to capitalize on the knowledge. Though prescribed marijuana can be used in the UK, it has been made so expensive that it is not a feasible venture there yet. Jamaica, however, announced the formation of a company specializing in medical marijuana in December called MediCanja. Representatives of the company believe that the potential to become a key supplier for the Caribbean and Latin American market could prove to be an important contributor to the rejuvenation of the Jamaican economy.

Recent findings by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) suggest that cannabis has been somewhat successful in treating certain forms of cancer. With medical research continuing to reveal more and more beneficial applications, there is growing impetus for the nationwide legalization of cannabis in the US. Many people feel that it is just a matter of time. While American companies are scrambling even now to position themselves to take advantage of this trend, it seems clear that China leads the way in the growing cannabis market for the time being.

By Jim Malone

Sources:

Leafly

GlobeNewsWire

Independent