Brussels, Belgium — The European Commission said on Tuesday that Greece is using its anti-cannabis law to block the sale of harmless hemp-based products such as sandals, shawls and trendy writing-paper.
“Part of the problem is that, in Greek, the word cannabis refers to both the illegal drug and the plant hemp, whose use … is entirely legal,” the Brussels-based Commission said.
It asked Greece to lift what a spokesman called “inappropriate” restrictions that constitute a barrier to free trade in legitimate products, just because they may bear the characteristic leaf logo.
The Commission also told Belgium to remove red-tape barriers to free trade in non-Belgian wheelchairs and asked Finland to relax laws that prevent the over-the-counter sale of what the rest of Europe considers ordinary vitamins.
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