"The Medical Cannabis Law is another triumph of society against hypocrisy"

President Alberto Fernández affirmed this Tuesday that the Medical Cannabis and Industrial Hemp Law “It is a step in accessing the right to health” and, at the same time, “a triumph of society against hypocrisy“, announcing the promulgation of the norm sanctioned by Congress at the beginning of May that will allow the generation of a new productive activity in many provinces.

Fernández led this afternoon in the Women’s Hall of the Government House the act of presentation of the promulgation of the new law, together with the Minister of Productive Development, Matías Kulfas; and the founder of Mama Cultiva, Valeria Salech, the Non-Governmental Organization that carried out the claim for the legislative sanction of the project.

The President assured that “cannabis was a forbidden word for a large part of society, but the voices of some mothers caught the attention of many: they could solve people’s problems”,

Fernández added that having this new Law “is another victory for society against hypocrisy”, because despite the prejudices it will allow “helping solve the health of many people who need it and who have proven that these medicines serve them and do more their lives bearable.”

“Today we take a very important step towards an industry that works, that produces, that exports and generates foreign exchange, but also in the concrete exercise of access to the right to health”highlighted the head of state.

Fernandez also reported that “by 2024 the international cannabis market will reach US$42.7 billion, and Argentine producers will be able to compete with many” that are already launched in this industry today, and listed Israel, Canada. United States and Colombia.

“The law was the result of consensusfirst of those who sent the project, then the Ministry of Productive Development, the Economic and Social Council and then Congress,” the president outlined, and said that “it is profoundly federal, because in the northwest it can be produced more easily and It is the possibility of generating work.

For his part, Kulfas said that heThe law “responds to a need for many years, which has absolutely proven the therapeutic capabilities of cannabis”but which will also provide “the appropriate framework to produce on a scale, with quality traceability and generate regional development with the presence of Argentina with cooperative and entrepreneurial SMEs.”

The minister reiterated that “a new industry is being founded in Argentina” and that this new productive sector “may be creating close to 10,000 quality jobs, with a presence in research and development, and will generate 500 million dollars a year in the internal market and 50 million dollars of annual exports”.

Kulfas recalled that “it was a project discussed, agreed upon and then validated by the Economic and Social Council” and considered that the new standard “responds to a need for many years, (after being) absolutely proven the therapeutic capacities of cannabis and hemp as an industrial input.

“It will provide the appropriate framework to be able to produce on a scale, with quality and traceability, and generate general development; it is an industry that will have a presence in different regions of Argentina, with a strong presence of SMEs, cooperatives and entrepreneurs, giving job opportunities,” he said.

The minister explained that with the enactment of the law “This agency is launched, which will have the capacity to establish production and export licenses to generate a federal production network”.

The norm for the development of medicinal cannabis and industrial hemp is the regulatory framework for public and private investment throughout the chain and made it possible to complement the current legislation, Law 27,350, which authorizes the therapeutic and palliative use of this plant.

In the case of industrial hemp, it aims to legalize the productive links, the commercialization links and their by-products.

The law also contemplates the creation of a regulatory agency, a new public actor that will act as the governing body and articulator of the cannabis production chain and will be in charge of the multiple regulatory bodies involved: the Regulatory Agency for the Hemp Industry and the Medical Cannabis.

This entity will have technical, functional and financial autarchy, and will orbit within the scope of the Ministry of Productive Development.

When analyzing applications for licenses to produce medicinal or industrial cannabis, the new agency will establish the requirements and background information that will be requested from the applicant, in order to “maximize the controls aimed at preventing illegal activities, including money laundering.”