The first vending machine selling industrial cannabis has been installed in downtown Athens and is going in full operation this week. Just a couple of years, after the legalization of the sale and cultivation of hemp for industrial purposes in Greece, a company installed in Athens center the first distribution machine in the country.
“This machine is the first in Greece, and next week it will be fully operational and anyone interested can buy their cannabis”, said Grigoris Morakos over the weekend.
His company Hempoil was founded in 2016 and specializes in the sale of industrial cannabis.
In collaboration with the Italian firm Terre di Cannabis, the machine was placed in front of a Hempoil store in Pesmatzoglou Arcade between Panepistimou and Stadiou avenues.
Cannabis packets “from 1 to 3 grams,” are sold “at a cost of between € 10 and 15 per gram”, Morakos said.
The “cannabis ATM” offers 450 different products. Theso-called industrial cannabis contains CBD and cannabidiol at 0.2%, which means – according to the company – that it is not psychotropic, has no stimulatory action and other similar side-effects.
The products in the vending machine can be consumed as tea, as a variety of hemp flowers is offered. The customer can pay also per card.
At the site where the machine is going to work next week and a shop with cannabis products, the immediate plans of the company are to place another vending machine opposite the White Tower in Thessaloniki, other major cities, hotels and tourist areas.
The idea is to take advantage of “the tourist season that will begin very soon,” Morakos said. He plans to install one more vending machine opposite the White Tower in Thessaloniki as soon as possible. But also in other major Greek cities, hotels and touristic areas.
The sale and cultivation of cannabis for industrial purposes was authorized in Greece in 2017, and in March 2018 a law voted by parliament authorized production for therapeutic purposes and derived pharmaceutical products.
In November, the authorities handed out the first permits to grow those for medicinal use.
Initially, the permits were extended to two companies, both with their base of operations in Greece. The investment of € 185 million is expected to create 770 jobs.
At least 12 other companies are awaiting for the licensing of their projects.
