Police seize 1.5 tonnes of cannabis from licensed Strumica grower
Police raided a licensed medical-cannabis company in Strumica on 8 February 2022 and seized about 1.5 tonnes of undeclared cannabis over irregularities, Interior Minister Oliver Spasovski said. No arrests were made.
On 8 February 2022 police raided a company licensed to grow cannabis for medical purposes in the southern town of Strumica and seized about 1.5 tonnes of cannabis that had not been declared, Interior Minister Oliver Spasovski said the next day.[1]Spasovski said in a written statement that the quantity was confiscated over irregularities in the firm’s operation; no arrests were made.[1]
North Macedonia has issued more than 60 medical-cannabis cultivation licences since 2016.[1]A later review of the diversion of licensed crops to the black market noted that no arrests ever followed the Strumica raid.[2]
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The government announced a further six cultivation-licence withdrawals following the Health Ministry commission’s inspections. Its spokesperson attributed the decisions to failures to meet legal conditions. These were individual licensing decisions within the medical cultivation system.
The government withdrew cultivation approvals from six companies after thirteen inspections, citing storage, reporting, documentation and stock discrepancies. The Health Ministry announced checks across 43 licensed entities. It also promised stronger legislation after the inspections, rather than announcing that a new law was already in force.
The Interior Ministry reported a criminal complaint against ten people suspected of unlawful drug production and distribution under Article 215. Two suspects were in 48-hour custody, and investigators were examining links to cannabis seized in Serbia. The ministry said some inspected companies operated lawfully; the complaint was not a conviction.
Police in North Macedonia seized more than 40 tons of cannabis from licensed medical producers in raids around Skopje and Strumica in early February 2026. The Interior Ministry said the cannabis was suspected of diversion to the illegal market; no arrests were disclosed.