Argentina’s President Signs Legislation To Legalize Medical Marijuana & Industrial Hemp

Argentina is loosening cannabis laws. 

More specifically, the country has created regulations for the production of hemp and cannabis products for medicinal use. 

So far, medical marijuana is not entirely legal until it passes through the government. However, President Alberto Fernández recently signed the regulatory bill, so medical cannabis legalization should be right around the corner. 

The bill was allegedly designed to help create new jobs in South America and promote the safety, quality, control, and traceability of the cannabis and hemp production chain. 

The bill creates a regulatory scheme for the following;

• Cultivation
• Production
• Distribution
• Commercialization 

All of which apply to the cannabis plant, seeds, and other cannabis products for medicinal purposes or industrial use. 

The ARICCAME will be responsible for;

• Giving licenses to cultivators, producers, distributors, etc. 
• Creating a new legal framework for handing out licenses
• Creating a control mechanism for licensees to abide by

The ARICCAME will look into different research initiatives for cannabis and help create more scientific findings around the plant. It will look for help from Argentinian universities and other provincial science and tech organizations. 

The country also created the National Seed Institute (INASE), which will look after and regulate seed production and distribution with an eagle-eye view from the Ministry of Agriculture. 

Argentina’s President hopes that creating a regulatory framework for medicinal cannabis and industrial help will;

• Create roughly 10,000 new jobs by 2025
• Increase the domestic market by $500 million
• Expand export revenues by $50 million

The country will also look into using hemp for industrial purposes like;

• Creating resistant ropes
• Creating clothing
• Using in the production of biofuels
• Constructing new, low-impact houses
• Producing hemp-based paper

There’s currently no news on when Argentina will fully legalize medicinal cannabis and industrial hemp. But with President Fernández having signed the law and passing it, the move should be a matter of months, if not weeks.