Argentina presents its plan to legalize medical cannabis

After several delays, the Argentine initiative aimed at promoting the production, research, and sale of medical cannabis and industrial hemp is finally seeing the light of day.

The announcement, made during a meeting of the Argentine Economic and Social Council, encourages the development of the production chain and, above all, promotes the inclusion of cooperatives and small and medium-sized enterprises in the sector.

«The market for medical cannabis and industrial hemp is experiencing exponential growth worldwide and represents a new source of quality jobs and productive development,» said Matías Kulfas, Argentina’s Minister of Productive Development.

The official emphasized the «great opportunity Argentina has to be a regional leader, thanks to its agricultural and industrial capabilities and its productive scientific network.» Furthermore, he noted that «the project creates the conditions for the development of the supply chain at the local level, drawing on best international practices» and that «the development of the supply chain will have multiple positive impacts on the country: more jobs, more exports, more innovation, federal development, and access to healthcare.».

Creating Jobs Through Cannabis

One of the challenges of Argentina’s regulatory framework is to create «high-quality jobs» similar to those in Canada, where 2 out of every 10 jobs in the cannabis industry are in research and development, quality control, and process engineering.

«Advances in genetics are opening up more and more possibilities: over the past three years, the number of patent applications for plant varieties has increased. And this is also an activity that generates high added value,» he said explained The minister. «If we look at the entire chain, starting with the seed, we can see that there are more than 200 goods and services related to this chain. For this reason, investing in the development of this sector involves a large number of related activities.»

With regard to hemp, he emphasized that the main objective is to «enable the development of this industry, which involves a specific variety with a low THC concentration.» To maximize opportunities, Argentina has set a THC limit of 1% to classify the cannabis plant as hemp, as is already the case in Uruguay, in Ecuador, in Colombia and Mexico.

«This is an industry that, given the growth we anticipate, could create 10,000 new jobs (of which perhaps 20 % will be in research, development, and innovation).»

A €400 million market

The Argentine regulatory proposal calls for the creation of a Regulatory Agency for the Hemp and Medical Cannabis Industry (ARICCAME).

It will also provide a regulatory framework for public and private investment across the entire medical cannabis supply chain and supplement the current legislation, Law 27.350, which authorizes the therapeutic and palliative use of cannabis. In the case of industrial hemp, the bill aims to legalize the production and commercialization of hemp and its byproducts.

The agency will be composed of the Argentine ministries of Productive Development, Health, Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Science and Technology, and Security.

According to the project, the country plans to generate more than 400 million € in domestic sales per year and 40 million € in annual exports.