Peru Launches Medical Cannabis Program

[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]P[/dropcap]eru officials have issued brand new cannabis regulations that will officially kick-start their medical cannabis program, an industry that has been poised and waiting for a long time.

According to Marijuana Business Daily, guidelines for the medical cannabis program were finally issued after a long wait, since cannabis was effectively legalized in 2017. The first medical products that have been imported from overseas are also now officially available to patients. The new ruling legalizes importing cannabis, and also starts the industry within country lines. 

Andrés Vázquez Vargas, executive director at agribusiness consultancy ACM Peru, told Marijuana Business Daily that “the long-awaited guidelines just published allow businesses to really start having meaningful operations in the country.”

Still, despite this amazing progress, there are still some problems with the pending medical industry. At this time, it’s unclear how exactly cannabis will be exported from Peru, even though that’s a big part of the proposed business model. “While there are always more details that regulators need to figure out, these guidelines represent the initial building blocks that will allow Peru to create a framework for companies to start capitalizing on different businesses opportunities, joining the global cannabis industry” Vázquez said.

Under the new medical cannabis program in Peru, business licenses are now officially available for research, wholesale import and commercialization, and retail commercialization. When it comes to these licenses, there is one issue—a special proclamation from 2019 established some rules for cannabis, but it did not detail how exactly licenses can be obtained.

Peru lawmakers have already legalized medical cannabis oil, and they are clearly making some progress in their new legal industry. However, up until now, many residents are frustrated that the government originally approved medical cannabis in 2017 and things are just now getting underway.