<\/span><\/h2>\nAs recently as 2019, Lithuania was the second-largest producer of hemp and its derivatives in Europe, after France, with a cultivated area of 9,000 hectares (in Poland, that area was about 3,000 hectares)<\/b>. Since then, the area on which hemp was grown has gradually declined, and more hemp farmers have abandoned growing it due to confusing and unclear regulations that have reduced the profitability of their operations. The Lithuanian government has long had a peculiar approach to hemp, which can be seen in the pace of implementing regulations that could help develop this market with enormous potential. Lithuania was one of the last EU members to introduce the possibility of legal cultivation of fibre hemp (this only happened in 2013). Medical marijuana was introduced in 2018, but the law is not functioning in practice, as the procedures are very demanding.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nIn accordance with EU regulations, Lithuania has allowed its farmers to grow true hemp, but it must not contain more than 0.2% THC.<\/b>\u00a0To start such cultivation, one must first register with a special database and obtain a permit. It is legal to grow plants derived only from certified hemp seeds whose grown inflorescences contain no more than 0.2% THC. Ironically, the 0.2% THC designation, which should clarify which plants can be legally grown and processed, is usually misinterpreted by growers, producers and consumers themselves. The 2021 regulatory change regarding the maximum level of 0.2% THC applies only to the type of the plant that can be grown, so it is only important for farmers, and not for producers of hemp products.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nWhile there is still no general rule on the maximum amount of THC that can be considered safe for the final cannabis product, current national cannabis regulations, even including their updates, are still not fully in line with existing EU legislation.\u00a0<\/span>Lithuania has set lower permissible THC levels for products manufactured by domestic hemp growers and processors.<\/b>\u00a0It is for this reason that the European Commission has repeatedly pushed to bring Lithuania\u2019s hemp laws into line with those of the European Union. There are plans to amend the law to allow the sale of <\/span>CBD<\/b> products, in the case of which the THC content does not exceed 0.2 percent. It is estimated that when Lithuanian companies are able to use the entire hemp plant for production, their turnover will increase to 100 million euros.<\/span><\/p>\n