Tag: argentina

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Argentina Adds New Cannabis Varieties To National Catalog Of Cultivars

Written by Hazel Norman on November 6, 2022. Posted in Business, Policy, Science.

Argentina has experienced a lot of cannabis industry and policy activity in recent months. For instance, right before the start of last summer lawmakers in Argentina passed a measure to boost the nation’s emerging cannabis industry.

Weeks later, Argentina’s Supreme Court rendered a decision that permitted medical cannabis patients to cultivate their own cannabis in some instances. Roughly a month ago, Argentina’s government issued its first domestic production license, shortly after which the government launched a public company to provide seeds, testing, and training to the emerging domestic industry.

The most recent activity out of Argentina involves new cannabis genetics being added to the nation’s cultivar catalog. Per Minuto Ya:

New varieties were incorporated into the National Registry of Cultivars of INASE , thus expanding the supply of propagation materials destined to supply the R&D projects approved by the Ministry of Health and the users registered in REPROCANN .

The new varieties are ANANDA001, from Anandamida Organic SAS; JEALOUS 10 by Diego Di Maggio; Polaris, by Lucia de Souza Madeira; and TROPICANA WFC, by Facundo J. Meligene.

Any time that growers have more cannabis genetics to select from it’s a good thing. And with that in mind, while it is great that four new cultivars were added in Argentina, it is not nearly enough.

Several countries around the world now permit medical cannabis to be cultivated for industry purposes. Many of them do not limit the types of cannabis strains that can be cultivated, and yet, they have experienced no issues related to strains (and why would they?).

Argentina’s medical cannabis industry is starting to make strides, however, there’s obviously still a lot of unnecessary restrictions and limitations in place. Hopefully Argentina’s program continues to expand, and at a more rapid pace, so that as many suffering patients can be helped as possible in the near future.

Argentina’s Government Launches Public Company To Provide Cannabis Seeds, Testing, And Training

Written by Frank Schuler on October 17, 2022. Posted in Business, Policy, Science.

Earlier this month Argentina’s government issued its first-ever license for domestic cannabis production. It was a big milestone for Argentina’s domestic cannabis industry. Another significant announcement was made this month by Argentina’s government which could have international implications.

Days ago Argentina’s government announced the launch of a new national company dedicated to pushing the nation’s cannabis industry forward. The company, called ‘Cannabis Conicet,’ will focus on providing the nation’s emerging cannabis industry with genetics, testing, and training. Per excerpts from InfoBae:

The legal cannabis universe is expanding rapidly. The Argentine State presented this Tuesday “Cannabis Conicet”, a national technology-based company dedicated to the marijuana plant industry, made up and directed by scientists from the organization, with the idea of ”allowing the democratization of production, distribution and access to cannabis and the hemp industry”, as announced by the Minister of Science and Technology, Daniel Filmus, during the premiere day.

The public company will be made up of professionals from the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research (Conicet), the Arturo Jauretche National University (UNAJ) and the El Cruce Dr. Néstor Kirchner Hospital, but its authorities project that it will be a collective and federal work.

The new company seems to be primarily focused on the domestic industry in Argentina, with the ultimate goal right now appearing to be reducing Argentina’s reliance on the international cannabis community. For example, the term ‘scientific sovereignty’ was used by Ana Franchi, president of the Conicet, as part of the company’s announcement.

The development of tailored cannabis genetics, products, and other forms of intellectual property are going to play a very prominent role in the emerging cannabis industry going forward, and from that perspective, what Argentina is doing is a smart move.

Countries that solely rely on importing medical cannabis products from afar, which some nations currently do, will put those countries at a huge disadvantage once lawmakers finally decide to get on the right side of history.

While lawmakers that fit that description continue to drag their feet on cannabis reform and embracing the emerging cannabis industry domestically, countries like Argentina are stepping up their research and other scientific efforts. An opportunity cost clearly exists, and countries that are sitting on their hands need to get with the program as soon as possible.

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Argentina Issues First-Ever Domestic Cannabis Production License

Written by Hazel Norman on October 12, 2022. Posted in Business, Policy.

The battle to legalize medical cannabis in Argentina has been waged for several years now. Argentina initially passed a medical cannabis legalization measure back in 2017, however, that legislation proved to be largely symbolic due to former President of Argentina Mauricio Macri who did basically everything in his power to hinder the nation’s medical cannabis program from progressing.

The current President of Argentina, Alberto Fernández, issued a decree back in 2020 that greatly increased safe access in the South American country. The decree legalized home cultivation, and also set the stage for Argentina’s legal cannabis industry to emerge, although the home cultivation provision had to be litigated later.

The decree also allowed pharmacies to sell cannabis-derived oils, topicals, and other products, and it directed insurance systems to cover medical cannabis treatments for patients who obtained a prescription, although further rulemaking needed to occur.

The cannabis industry in Argentina still needed one very important thing in order to launch – the issuance of the nation’s first domestic production license. That finally occurred this month. Per elm strador (translated to English):

The Government of Argentina has authorized the operation of a medical cannabis production plant in the northern province of Jujuy, which will become the first to manufacture this product in the South American country, official sources reported Tuesday.

The National Administration of Medicines, Food and Technology (ANMAT) of Argentina authorized the company Cannava, owned by the provincial state of Jujuy, to operate a plant with the capacity to annually process 80 tons of medicinal inflorescences and about 4,000 kilos of active pharmaceutical ingredients.

Argentina’s current president once predicted that the nation’s cannabis industry could support over 10,000 jobs. The issuance of the first license will obviously not yield that result on its own, however, it’s a major step in the right direction.

The South American country is the second largest by physical size on the continent, only behind Brazil. Argentina is home to roughly 41 million people, making it the third most populous country in South America.

Argentina’s Supreme Court Upholds Medical Cannabis Cultivation Rights

Written by Frank Schuler on July 7, 2022. Posted in Policy.

Medical cannabis advocates have tried for many years to get home cultivation officially approved in Argentina. Unfortunately, it has been a very slow process.

As we have mentioned in previous coverage, in 2017 lawmakers in Argentina passed a law that legalized cannabis for medical use. For the next few years, the new law essentially proved to be nothing more than symbolic as industry rules and regulations went nowhere.

In late 2020 Argentina’s President Alberto Fernández signed a decree calling for the legalization of home cultivation along with allowing pharmacies to sell medical cannabis products.

The catch to the 2020 decree, which is essentially the same catch that has hindered Argentina’s medical cannabis program since 2017, is that it relied on the creation of rules and regulations pertaining to licenses. Before someone can cultivate medical cannabis in Argentina they must first obtain a license from the government, and there essentially is no effective licensing process in place.

Medical cannabis advocates have pursued various legal remedies, and Argentina’s Supreme Court recently rendered a landmark decision that provides some legal protections for home cultivation. Per El Destape (auto-translated to English):

The Supreme Court of the Nation unanimously ratified the decriminalization of the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes and made it compulsory to register it in the official records for those who want to carry out this practice . The highest court ruled in this regard when evaluating the proposals of the Medicinal Cannabis Moms Association (Macame) of Santa Fe, which had questioned the constitutionality of the rules regarding the self-cultivation of cannabis for medicinal use by minors in their care.

“The public health and safety reasons involved are sufficient to justify the State issuing administrative authorizations within the framework of Law 27,350 for self-cultivation and the production of products derived from cannabis for medicinal purposes. This determines, in turn, that the intervention of the State in this area does not imply an unjustified interference in the personal autonomy of article 19 of the National Constitution”, he stressed.

Ultimately, what is needed is a fully functioning medical cannabis program in Argentina so that there is no room for doubt when it comes to the rights of medical cannabis patients.

Every patient should be able to cultivate cannabis legally based on codified laws that law enforcement is mandated to follow. Whenever patients have to rely on case law in the absence of codified law, it always creates situations that are ripe for selective enforcement which no patient should ever have to deal with.

Argentina Legalizes Medical Cannabis And Hemp To Revive Economy

Written by Johnny Green on June 4, 2022. Posted in Archives, Business, Policy.

The Latin American country has high hopes that the legalization of cannabis will bring much-needed cash and jobs to the country after Covid

At the beginning of May, the Argentine Congress passed a bill to establish a legal framework for the establishment of a domestic cannabis industry (cultivation and sale) as well as the export of both medical cannabis and industrial hemp.

The move was backed by the country’s president, Alberto Fernandez, who hopes to create new jobs, increase productivity, and create new kinds of exports for the country, which is now facing a deep economic crisis, post-Covid.

The government believes that the industry could create about 10,000 new jobs in the next two years and create $500 million worth of revenue for the country. They hope that of this amount, $50 million will also be exported.

The country has 8 different varieties of cannabis seeds so it will not have to import them, or seedlings.

Cannabis – A Latin American Export Commodity?

Argentina of course is not the only country now exploring the cultivation of cannabis for economic development purposes – not only in Latin America but globally.

At this point, with the exception of Venezuela, Bolivia, French Guiana, Suriname, and Guyana, the entire continent is engaged in medical cultivation of some kind. Even in these countries, the discussion is moving forward toward other things. Uruguay of course is the only country on the continent where recreational use has been legalized. Indeed, Uruguay was the first country in the world to legalize recreational use.

Beyond this, many countries in Africa are now looking to the crop to boost domestic income via exports and for job creation, starting with South Africa.

The question is, of course, will the demand for cannabis actually be this great, globally. Beyond that, there are many questions about the current sustainability of the industry in developing countries. Yes, the prices of cannabis need to drop, dramatically, but there is also likely to be a “race to the bottom” as countries compete with each other for more valuable markets, like Europe.

In many countries on the African continent, cannabis is increasingly being seen as a replacement for tobacco.

In Latin America, in particular, however, the sustainability of the industry, particularly when considering that rain forests could be further decimated to grow the crop, is still in question.

One thing is for sure, however. “South” economies are now in the middle of a green rush. The question is, however, will this return the gold they hope for?

The Cannabis Industry Moves Forward In Argentina

Written by Johnny Green on May 30, 2022. Posted in Archives, Business, Policy.

Back in 2017, lawmakers in Argentina passed a medical cannabis legalization measure. Unfortunately, that legislation proved to be more symbolic than anything, at least in the three years following the bill’s passage.

The lack of meaningful implementation of medical cannabis reform was largely due to former President of Argentina Mauricio Macri who seemed to do everything in his power at the time to hinder the nation’s medical cannabis program.

The current President of Argentina, Alberto Fernández, later issued a decree in 2020 that increased safe access in the South American country. The decree legalized home cultivation, and also set the stage for Argentina’s legal cannabis industry to emerge.

The decree allowed pharmacies to sell cannabis-derived oils, topicals, and other products, and it directed insurance systems to cover medical cannabis treatments for patients who obtained a prescription.

Earlier this month lawmakers in Argentina passed a measure that would create the framework for a more robust medical cannabis industry in Argentina, including provisions for boosting exports around the world. That bill was signed into law this week. Per La Prensa:

The move, backed by president Alberto Fernández, aims to ensure the safety, quality, control and traceability of the production chain as well as create new jobs, increase productivity and generate new exports for the South American country that is facing a deep economic crisis.

Fernández’s government says the industry could create up to 10,000 new jobs by 2025, boost the domestic market by $500 million and increase export revenues to over $50 million.

Cannabis will be used for medicinal purposes while hemp, which is also derived from the cannabis plant, has multiple uses.

Argentina has now become the latest country to embark on a mission to try to gain as much of a footprint in the emerging global cannabis industry as possible.

The President of Argentina’s predictions may seem bold to some people, however, the job creation and revenue goals are entirely possible if the country proceeds methodically and effectively. Only time will tell if that proves to be the case or not.

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Argentina’s Supreme Court May Decriminalize Cannabis Cultivation

Written by Johnny Green on March 13, 2022. Posted in Politics.

In 2017 lawmakers in Argentina passed a law that legalized cannabis for medical use. For the next few years, the new law essentially proved to be nothing more than symbolic as industry rules and regulations went nowhere. That had a direct, negative impact on patients who had no way of legally obtaining medicine.

In late 2020 Argentina’s President Alberto Fernández signed a decree calling for the legalization of home cultivation along with allowing pharmacies to sell medical cannabis products. Part of the decree also called on insurance companies to cover the costs of medical cannabis.

Medical cannabis advocates are understandably frustrated with the situation, and some of those advocates are pursuing legal remedies. Argentina’s Supreme Court will hear arguments next month regarding the current status of home cultivation. Per excerpts from Mugglehead:

The court public hearings on April 27 and 28 will discuss whether it’s unconstitutional to criminalize cannabis cultivation for medical purposes. It will cover whether family members or organizations should be allowed to cultivate medical cannabis for patients, including children.

MAMAS Cannabis-Santa Fe (MACAME) — an organization of mothers who are advocating the therapeutic use of cannabis in Argentina — has been summoned to the hearing. Other professionals and organizations can sign up to speak as well if they have proven knowledge about medical cannabis. MACAME has put together a template to help people through the process if they want to speak.

The same group making the requests in this case made a similar request back in 2018 and it was rejected, however, a lot has changed since that time at the global level. Since 2018 Mexico, South Africa, and Italy have all had their Supreme Courts rule that cannabis prohibition as it applied to personal use (including cultivation) was unconstitutional.

The argument that is being made in Argentina also somewhat echoes what happened in the United States decades ago. When cannabis prohibition was first instituted in the United States it was via a ‘stamp tax’ which essentially meant that you could only have cannabis if you had a federal license, knowing that no such licenses would ever be created.

That public policy was eventually shot down by the Court in the United States because it’s a catch-22 that people could never get around. Something similar is occurring in Argentina, although only time will tell which way the Court rules on the specific arguments being made in this particular case.

President Of Argentina Predicts Nation’s Cannabis Industry Will Create “10,000 Jobs”

Written by Johnny Green on March 2, 2022. Posted in Business, Politics.

Argentina passed a medical cannabis legalization measure back in 2017, however, that legislation proved to be more symbolic than anything, at least in the initial preceding years after passage. That was largely due to former President of Argentina Mauricio Macri who did seemingly everything that he could to hinder the nation’s medical cannabis program from progressing.

The current President of Argentina, Alberto Fernández, issued a decree in 2020 that greatly increased safe access in the South American country. The decree legalized home cultivation, and also set the stage for Argentina’s legal cannabis industry to emerge.

President Fernández recently stated that his country’s legal cannabis industry could generate over 10,000 jobs in the coming years, as seen in the tweet below:

“El desarrollo del cannabis para uso medicinal y del cáñamo industrial nos permitirá generar 10 mil puestos de trabajo que en los próximos años tendrán una clara expresión de perspectiva federal”, dice @alferdez #AperturaSesiones2022

— Senado Argentina (@SenadoArgentina) March 1, 2022

Time could prove the President’s prediction to be too conservative. For reference, Canada’s legal cannabis industry is estimated to have created over 150,000 jobs just since 2018. Canada has a population of roughly 38 million people, whereas Argentina has a population of over 45 million people.

Obviously, Canada’s legal cannabis industry is not an apples-to-apples comparison to what Argentina’s industry will become, however, the comparison provides some context for President Fernández’s recent prediction.

Argentina is home to the second-largest economy in South America behind Brazil and has a GDP that ranks 31st globally. Current top exports include soybeans and derivatives, petroleum and gas, vehicles, corn, and wheat.

Argentinian Police Make Formal Distinction Between Medical And Recreational Cannabis

Written by Marguerite Arnold on November 10, 2021. Posted in Politics.

The chief of police in the province of Corrientes has signed orders that direct local police to avoid investigations of legitimate medical cannabis crops.

As of the last week in October, Commissioner General Félix Barboza, the chief of police in Corrientes, has signed an order officially limiting police in initiating follow-ups and investigations of legitimate medical cannabis cultivations.

Per internal agenda No. 6636, and dated October 27, the resolution is to “avoid the initiation of sterile criminal cases and the ineffective expense of processing a process.”

This does not mean that those growing crops for recreational purposes are off the hook. They will be prosecuted according to existing law. The current regulations for citizens with a special registration with REPROCANN (the registry of the domestic cannabis program), allow the cultivation of up to 9 flowering plants, 30ml of cannabis oil, and up to 40 grams of dried flowers.

A Necessary Step

The police are on the hook just about everywhere right now to distinguish between different kinds of use – and most of them know, at least on a small scale, that this is wasted effort. In Argentina, cannabis is decriminalized for personal use in small amounts and has been since 2009. Medical cannabis has been legal since September 2016. Almost exactly at the same time that the German government voted unanimously to mandate cannabis be covered under public health insurance, Argentina’s Senate approved the medical use of CBD cannabis oil. Since November last year, self-cultivation has been legal as have regulated medical sales.

This recent police initiative, in other words, is an attempt to create state-wide definitions of what the limits for personal use and possession are.

It is exactly this kind of definition that advocates in Germany (for example) are trying to put in front of the new coalition to enact some kind of cannabis reform. So far, aus Deutschland, this kind of statement has not occurred. Indeed, patients continue to get arrested, both for possession and for growing their own.

Towards A Global Tolerance of Home Grow?

The issue of home grow is a sticky one just about everywhere. In Canada, the government has considered limiting the right of patients to grow their own, although such efforts have repeatedly failed. Canadians, just like Argentinians, must register to grow such crops, but the right is constitutionally guaranteed. Other countries and regions (including in Europe) are now wrestling with precisely the same kinds of issues. And this kind of debate will not be over soon.

In the meantime, state and regional if not national police are left to interpret the law – and patients if not recreational consumers continue to pay the price.

For the latest news, trends and analysis about the global cannabis industry, stay tuned to the International Cannabis Business Conference blog!