Patients and producers of medical cannabis in Peru can enjoy a fiesta as the country joins several of its Latin American neighbours in the rapidly expanding market.
While Peru first legalized cannabis oil for medical use two years ago, it’s been a long wait for the government to pass legislation to sanction further economic activity.
On Wednesday, it was announced that the Ministry of Health (Minsa) approved the technical legal document entitled Guidelines for the medicinal use of cannabis and its derivatives.
Read more: New Zealand and Brazil move to relax cannabis policies
Publishing of the guidelines allows companies to apply for research, wholesale import, retail and production licences, which have been outlined in previous legal documents.
(Read the full February 2019 decree that lays the groundwork for commercial medical cannabis, courtesy of Marijuana Business Daily.)
Canopy is literally everywhere
Some major companies have positioned themselves in advance of legalization.
Canopy Growth Corporation (TSX: WEED and NYSE: CGC) announced in January that it had launched a production business on Peruvian soil. Through its Latin American subsidiary Canopy LATAM, Spectrum Cannabis Peru was established as part of the weed behemoth’s global expansion and in a stated effort to reduce stigma and educate medical professionals in the region about medicinal applications.
The stated goal of the new legislation is to protect citizens of Peru who use medical cannabis.
“Health is an indispensable condition of human development and fundamental means to achieve individual and collective well-being. Health protection is of public interest. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the state to regulate, monitor and promote it,” it reads.
Peru first legalized medical cannabis oil in 2017 with strong political support following the raid of a small-scale production outfit, which primarily involved parents making extract to treat their epileptic children.
Top image courtesy of Wikipedia Commons and AgainErick – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0
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