Paraguay issues 12 medical cannabis production licenses

Paraguay has granted its first 12 licenses for the production of medical cannabis. The selected companies may now import seeds, cultivate, manufacture, and distribute medical cannabis both domestically and for export.

El @msaludpy, via #DINAVISA, following a selection process with @senad_paraguay @SENAVEParaguay y @MIC_PY, began issuing licenses for the medical production of cannabis. A treatment option for selected patients and a step forward for the national pharmaceutical industry! pic.twitter.com/9qH76BqNNK

— Julio Mazzoleni (@MazzoleniJulio) February 24, 2020

Cannabis strains are currently limited to 0.5% of THC, a limit that is expected to be lifted soon, according to information from MJBizDaily.

Paraguay has legalized medical cannabis in 2017. For now, its use is limited to oil and imports of foreign products. The country has thus Originally issued 5 production licenses in October 2019, then 10 in late January 2020, and finally granted 12.

Authorized producers will be required to give 2% of their production to the government, which will distribute the cannabis free of charge to eligible patients. Production must take place under strict safety conditions, which are reflected in the selection of the companies that have been granted licenses. Paraguay has, in fact, adopted a specific approach by allowing only pharmaceutical companies to apply for licenses

«By issuing licenses only to companies that are already GMP-certified pharmaceutical manufacturers,» said Henry Edwards, COO of Improlabs, one of the companies that was granted a license, «(Paraguay) has raised the bar in the cannabis industry.»

It would take Paraguay some time before it actually began producing cannabis, and even longer before it began exporting it, as license holders still had to build their production facilities and have them certified.

Edwards stated that Paraguay «is expected to emerge as a strong player in the industry, with a low overall cost structure, strict pharmaceutical-only regulations, and the ability to export quickly to developing Latin American markets and around the world.»