Australian and New Zealand companies could one day export medicinal cannabis products to Japan, following a recommendation by the country's health ministry to overhaul its existing drug legislation.
A ministry advisory panel concluded that Japan should permit the importation and use of medicinal cannabis to address medical needs and align the country with international norms.
Under current Japanese law, the import, manufacture and use of controlled substances is prohibited.
Any reform would cover products whose safety and effectiveness have been verified under pharmaceutical and medical device regulations.
Should the change be adopted, it would open the door to the cannabinoid-based epilepsy treatment Epidiolex, which is presently in clinical trials within Japan.
Separately, Morocco has granted the first 10 licences allowing farmers to legally cultivate cannabis for industrial and medicinal purposes, following legislative reform introduced last year.
Cannabis is already widely cultivated in Morocco outside the law, and the new legislation, passed in June 2021, stops short of legalising recreational use.
The law is instead designed to boost farmers' earnings and shield them from the drug traffickers who have long controlled the cannabis trade and driven illegal exports into Europe.