The European Union has granted start-up MG Health permission to export cannabis flower as an active pharmaceutical ingredient for medicinal use, reports Reuters.

The company has become the first African cannabis-grower to receive permission under the EU's Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) protocol and will be allowed to export its cannabis flower to EU countries where it will be used to treat chronic pain caused by serious illness.
MG Health was launched in Lesotho 4 years ago and plans to export its products to Germany and other EU countries as well as to UK and Australia. It currently produces around 250 kg of packed cannabis flower a month with a production footprint of 5,000 m2, which will be expanded to 10,000 m2 as soon as exports start, according to Reuters.
MG Health chief executive Andre Bothma said the firm had been granted permission to export its cannabis flower as an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) under the GMP.
"What this means is that we have authorisation to export our products as an API into Germany and the wider European market. We expect to start in June," he said.