Argentina launches new agency to boost cannabis industry

Argentina officially established a new government agency on Wednesday to boost the country’s medical marijuana and hemp industry.

Reuters reports that the agency, known as the Regulatory Agency for the Hemp and Medicinal Cannabis Industry, or ARICCAME, “represents the first working group of a new national agency that will regulate and promote the country’s burgeoning cannabis industry, which ministers hope will create new jobs and exports that bring new revenue to the South American nation.”

“This opens the door for Argentina to embark on a new path in terms of industrial exports based on huge global demand,” Argentina’s Economy Minister Sergio Massa said at an event launching the new agency.

According to Reuters, “Massa said the agency will start regularizing programs and coordinating with various provinces starting Thursday [the] industrial sector, adding that Argentina had already anticipated demand for projects related to the agro-industrial sector.”

On the ARICCAME official website, the agency describes its mission and goals.

“We are the agency that regulates under any title the import, export, cultivation, industrial production, manufacture, commercialization and acquisition of seeds of the cannabis plant, cannabis and its derivatives for medicinal or industrial purposes,” the website reads. via an English translation.

The website lists the following “overall objectives” for the agency: “Establish the regulatory framework for the entire production chain and the national marketing and/or export of the Cannabis Sativa L. plant, seeds and derivatives through the respective regulations for use.” in favor of medicinal and industrial hemp; Promotion of a new agro-industrial production sector for the commercial production of medicines, herbal medicines, food and cosmetics for human use, medicines and food for veterinary use, and the various products made possible by industrial hemp; Establishing the framework for aligning the cultivation and production of cannabis derivatives with the regulatory system for use in existing health, ensuring the traceability and quality of products to safeguard the right to health of medicinal cannabis users; Reintroduction of hemp in Argentina and all its derivatives: food, building materials, textile fibers, cellulose and bioplastics with low environmental impact; [and] Promote scientific research and sectoral technological progress, promote favorable conditions for these existing industries in our country.”

ARICCAME’s specific objectives include: “Introduce clear rules that provide legal certainty to the sector and encourage federal participation; Articulation through agreements and conventions with other state bodies that intervene in the matter: INASE, SENASA, INTA, INTI, AFIP, INAES, BCRA, UIF, national universities, etc.; Determine the system of licenses and administrative permissions for the production chain; Establish quality standards that protect the right to health of users and consumers of cannabis/hemp products; [and] Check for non-compliance with the regulatory system.”

In 2017, Argentinian politics legalized cannabis oil for medicinal purposes. Three years later, the country legalized home-growing cannabis for medical marijuana patients.

The creation of the new agency is part of the Argentine government’s frontier efforts to further reform its medicinal cannabis program, something the South American country identified as a priority over the past year.

According to Reuters, the newly formed agency will be headed by Francisco Echarren, who “said the industry could create thousands of new jobs, as well as create technological developments and new products for export.”

“We have a great challenge ahead of us,” Echarren said, as quoted by Reuters, “not only to create a new industry, but to give millions of Argentines access to products that improve the quality of life.”