Argentina Hosts First Medical Cannabis Congress

The Argentine Congress on Cannabis and Health was held last week, which was the first major medical congress for cannabis. According to the congress’ website, the purpose of the meeting was to bring together activators, activists, cultivators and patients to meet and discuss current medical cannabis issues. The meeting took place at the National University of La Plata (UNLP).

The specific focus, and reason for holding a congress this year, was to discuss the extremely limited medical cannabis laws passed in Argentina. While the country does currently allow medical cannabis, only two government entities, the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET) and the National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA), are legally approved to cultivate cannabis, and the only legal form of medical cannabis is CBD oil. Those attending the congress said they would like to see a more inclusive medical cannabis program in Argentina.

Raul Perdomo, president of UNLP, is a supporter of medical cannabis expansion. According to the website, he has promised to “work to make the regulations for the recently approved law include the national universities in cultivation and research.” It is his hope that the research currently being done on the plant can help influence legalization.

The conference was organized by Mama Cultiva, a group that lead the campaign for medical legalization, the Argentine Front of Cannabis Organizations, and the Study Center for Cannabis Culture and Revista THC, a cannabis publication from South America. These groups met with patients and the academics and scientists from UNLP to discuss how changes could be made to current policy.

Argentina is the fourth South American country to legalize cannabis in some form, along with Columbia, Chile and Uruguay. While many currently have complaints about the limited nature of medical cannabis in Argentina, local influencers are working tirelessly to expand legalization within the country.