The legal production of marijuana could be green gold and the farmers already ‘know the plant’, said a lobby in favor of medical marijuana.
Mexico could become the world’s largest producer of medical marijuana in five years if the government gives the green light for plant cultivation, according to the president of an industry group.
Luis David Suárez Rodríguez, president of the Mexican Medical Marijuana Association, told the newspaper El Universal that there is no country that is better suited to the cultivation of cannabis than Mexico, adding that farmers already have extensive experience in cultivation.
“Although [they cultivate it] illegally, they know the plant, they have worked with it to legalize its medicinal use to change the equation.” It is a problem of social justice. . . our country . . . would change and those communities that were hit by the war on drug trafficking could be legal producers. It would be our green gold, ”he said.
Suarez said the government’s approval and regulation of the use and cultivation of medical marijuana would allow Mexico to take advantage of a lucrative global market, whose annual value is currently estimated at around US $ 150 billion.
“I am convinced that if we consider [cannabis cultivation] as a development policy and start planting marijuana, we would be the world’s largest producer in five years.” The whole world would buy us cannabis and hemp. It could be a strategy to fill the coffers of the nation, ”he said, adding that the government currently does not collect any marijuana taxes.
“. . . The Latin American region has been devastated by the war on drugs, but countries such as Uruguay, Colombia, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico have begun to change that paradigm. The laws have changed and now we want to be players on another level. . . We want to carry out clinical research and produce and sell the products derived from the plant, and we want the communities that cultivate this wonderful medicine to benefit, ”said Suarez.
In August, the Supreme Court ordered the Ministry of Health to publish guidelines for the use of medical marijuana within 180 days, while last February it published eight precedents on the recreational use of marijuana that determined that the drug ban It is unconstitutional.
Suarez said last month’s ruling is “very important” because it is essential to have guidelines that regulate the sale and use of medical marijuana.
He said patients will be more certain that the marijuana-based medications they buy actually contain cannabis and are free of contaminants such as pesticides.
“. . . If the market is not regulated, anything can enter [the country], from a wonderful product to one of poor quality and that only [seeks] to deceive people. . . “
To address all the benefits that medical marijuana regulation would bring, the Mexican Association of Cannabinoid Medicine, AC, will hold a symposium called FarmacanMx on September 5 and 6, where international exponents will share experiences and knowledge with professionals of the Mexican health, in order to bring them closer to the subject and tear down taboos that have not allowed the use of cannabis-containing products.
In that sense, he considered that the publication of the regulation could bring as the main benefit that patients can buy their medicine with the certainty that it contains cannabis, that there is no presence of pesticides. By regulating production and marketing, costs will be much lower.
“It is a matter of social justice, because our country, which has so many consequences of a policy of persecution, would change, and those communities that were hit by the war on drug trafficking can now be legal producers. It would be our green gold and would benefit battered communities, clinical research, and patients, ”he said.
Source: el universal. vanguardia, psn.si
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