Puerto Rico expands its medical cannabis program

Ricard Rosselló, governor of Puerto Rico, has signed a new medical cannabis bill, according to local newspaper TeleMundoPR.

This bill aims to regulate the study, development and research of cannabis, sectors which had been «forgotten» by the previous law.

The Governor of Puerto Rico said, «We have consolidated our efforts to create an effective legalization system for patients as well as for the medical cannabis industry. With this legislation and with the contribution of all our experts in the field, we are nonetheless maintaining the ban on recreational cannabis and addressing the concerns of the sectors involved.»

At the signing of the bill, the Governor was accompanied by the Board of Directors of the Puerto Rico Medical Cannabis Association (PRMCA) as well as several patients living in the United States who use therapeutic cannabis as a treatment.

Among them is Narelis Cortes, a veteran who suffers from Parkinson's disease , Karla Santiago, a cancer patient, explains that medical cannabis soothes her pain and helps her to eat properly. Karla Santiago, a cancer patient, told reporters how cannabis improves her daily life.

The government reiterated that this amendment to legalize medical cannabis directly addresses a public health issue for the country.

«This new medicinal law will provide absolute certainty of treatment for patients and all those involved in the industry. This law will support the research and development of therapeutic cannabis, which will encourage the country's economic development and the creation of new jobs,» explains Ricard Rosselló.

The country will also be able to collect new revenues from taxes on medical cannabis. For example, 10% of these taxes will be donated to a trauma hospital in the city of San Juan.

Puerto Rico had adopted the Regulation 155 in December 2015, which authorized the cultivation, processing and distribution of cannabis for medical use. Medical cannabis is prescribed to patients suffering from serious pathologies such as terminal cancers, epilepsy, Alzheimer's, migraines, multiple sclerosis...

Puerto Rico currently has around 4,000 people with a medical cannabis card, and 7,000 people waiting for one. Medical cannabis is sold in dispensaries and can be administered via patches, sprays or drop oils, but also with dried flowers, although local authorities regularly try to ban them.

Mehdi Bautier