Argentine President Signs Law Regulating Medicinal Cannabis and Hemp – What Next?
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Argentina’s Congress passed legislation in early May that aims to create a regulatory framework for public and private investment in the production of hemp and cannabis products. The bill had to be signed by President Alberto Fernández, which he did this week.
“This is another triumph of society against hypocrisy. I’ve lived with divorce law, same-sex marriage and abortion. I am an inveterate fighter against hypocrisy. Today we are winning another battle,” said President Fernández.
Photo by Angelica Reyes via Unsplash
RELATED: Argentina’s lower house legalizes medicinal cannabis and industrial hemp
The new legislation legalizes the production of cannabis for medical and industrial purposes, creating a new industry that will help Argentina’s struggling economy recover. In addition, the law provides banking services for cannabis companies and opens up a huge potential market of around 45 million people.
Matias Kulfas, Argentina’s Minister of Productive Development, said the cannabis industry could create up to 10,000 new jobs by 2025, expand the domestic market by $500 million and boost export earnings to more than $50 million.
Cannabis and hemp: multi-talented
Cannabis can be used for medicinal purposes, while hemp has numerous practical uses, including in the construction and textile industries.
Thanks to its highly durable fibres, Argentine hemp is used in the clothing industry, the production of biofuels, the construction of green housing and, due to its high cellulose content, in papermaking.
Global industrial sales are expected to triple over the next 7 years, growing from $4.71 billion in 2019 to $15.26 billion in 2027.
Argentina now has at least eight different varieties of cannabis seeds, good news for keeping costs down as well as the need to import the plant.
What’s in the bill
The bill creates the Regulatory Authority for the Hemp and Medicinal Cannabis Industry (ARICCAME), whose function will regulate the import, export, cultivation, industrial production, manufacture, marketing and acquisition of seeds of the cannabis plant and its derived products for medicinal or industrial purposes .
This article originally appeared on Benzinga and has been republished with permission.
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