THE DIMECANNABIS
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Ep. 311Nov 6, 202656 min

Europe's 51st State, EU GMP, and Building Before the Market Arrives ft. Michael Sassano

Michael Sassano

portugalmedical cannabisebitdaeu gmpdistribution
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The expensive decision rarely looks intelligent before the market needs it.Operators can build for the regulations in front of them, or for the direction regulators are already moving. Across global medical cannabis mark...

Full show notes

The expensive decision rarely looks intelligent before the market needs it.

Operators can build for the regulations in front of them, or for the direction regulators are already moving. Across global medical cannabis markets, internal labs, stability programs, EU GMP manufacturing, and control of distribution are beginning to separate companies that can scale profitably from those that can only trade product.

This week we sit down with Michael Sassano

  • Europe's 51st state
  • Pharmaceutical discipline
  • EBITDA before volume

Chapters

  • 00:00 Schedule III and Europe
  • 02:15 Europe as the 51st state
  • 07:44 Building for pharmaceutical lead times
  • 11:44 What EU GMP changes
  • 16:14 Creativity inside the rulebook
  • 19:40 Why pharma owns the lab
  • 22:50 The economics of internal validation
  • 26:34 Could the United States adopt this model
  • 28:34 The EU GMP supply shortage
  • 32:32 Regulators close the conversion loophole
  • 35:23 Distribution consolidation begins
  • 39:46 The missing vertical
  • 43:25 A country by country strategy
  • 46:37 What SOMAI will not do
  • 49:42 Why extracts start with full bud
  • 51:38 The rules become the moat
  • 53:15 Europe as a totality of growth
  • 55:21 Where to find Michael

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The analysis behind this episodeThe Most Expensive Decision Might Be the One You Didn't Make

Building ahead of regulation can create an advantage competitors cannot quickly buy. The hard part is knowing which capabilities are worth funding before the return is visible.

First Principles · November 6, 2026
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