CANNABIS IN KAVOS: What's with the weed on sale in shops in party resort?

"WEED" is apparently being openly sold in shops in the popular holiday resort of Kavos on Corfu.

Packets of dried leaves and buds, labelled as cannabis, are on sale in a specialist shop and even small supermarkets along the main strip of the Greek Resort, popular with British school leavers and university students.

One shop in Kavos sells nothing else after opening up as the "Kavos Cannabis Store Amsterdam."

Inside it were packets that looked to contained marijuana and even cannabis resin.

So what is going on?

HIGH EXPECTATIONS? Cannabis-like substance on sale in the 24HRS AZDA store in Kavos

Greece is known to have taken a softer stance on recreational use of cannabis, but it has not been legalised.

In 2018 it allowed the cultivation of CBD cannabis for medicinal use.

This means cannabis containing CBD, which is said to have many medicinal benefits, but not THC, the component of the drug that has psychoactive effects and gets people high.

According to a report on the Daily Star website in June, shops in Kavos were selling 12.5g packs of “Cannabis Satvia L” to revellers for as little as €10, that would be "popular with British holiday makers."

The product was marketed as being for use as a tea, but a shopkeeper told the website it was really "meant for smoking."

However, Cannabis Sativa L is described as a non-psychoactive Cannabinoid, meaning it has high levels of CBD and next to no THC, and is unlikely to get people stoned.

The "weed" found on sale in Kavos by Essex News and Investigations was also marketed as containing CBD, so it is not clear if it would actually get users high at all, or as high as they would from smoking illegal cannabis strains with high levels of THC.

ON SALE: The 24HRS AZDA store in Kavos strip sells CBD cannabis leaves

The 24HRS AZDA store on the strip had packets of Honolulu Purple Haze and Honolulu White Berry, which said they contained 15 percent and 13 percent CBD respectively, with the latter having less than 0.2 percent THC.

The packets say they are not for smoking.

At the Kavos Cannabis Store, a man inside said that to be sold legally the cannabis had to contain "less than two percent THC."

So, anyone who did smoke it may not get stoned in the traditional sense.

But, at the same time it is not clear what checks are done on the products being sold to see how much CBD and THC they actually contain.

BUSY: Kavis is popular with young British tourists

Many smokers of illegal cannabis, including high-strength THC, have reported having feelings of intense anxiety and even paranoia coupled with the intense high.

Cannabis smokers have reviewed the effects of smoking high CBD, low THC, cannabis on websites including Reddit and YouTube.

It appears it may not induce the anxiety or paranoia of illegal weed.

One user on Reddit said of smoking Honolulu Haze: "What I will say is it’s working great.

"My brain is feeling calm and focused. Chilling out enjoying a video game for the first time in a while."

Taz, the man behind the YouTube channel Smoking Legal, which sees him review high CBD cannabis, swears by the fact he has no anxiety from smoking CBD cannabis.

He says it also often leaves him feeling energetic, while illegal cannabis can lead to extreme lethargy.