Paraguay begins its path toward cannabis normalization

Latin America is slowly but steadily advancing towards the normalization of cannabis, even though it has not been able to cast off the stigma that the War on Drugs, introduced by the United States in the 1960s, imposed on the ancestral plant.

It is precisely that stigma that has prevented, until now, the main producers in the region, Mexico and Paraguay, from being at the forefront of an industry that continues to flourish.

It is changing.

In Mexico, the June 2021 Supreme Court ruling that issued a General Declaration of Unconstitutionality annulled the prohibition of planting, harvesting, transporting, and distributing marijuana among private individuals.

Also, the decision of last May allowed the possession of more than five grams of the herb.

Paraguay, on the other hand, decided to whitewash in Congress what until now was its most profitable clandestine activity with the first international conference on industrial cannabis to debate new policies aimed at the cultivation of marijuana.

And, as was the case in Mexico, the authorities turned their attention to Uruguay, a pioneer country in the world, in regulating all uses and exploitation of hemp by law.

That is why key figures of the Uruguayan legalization sanctioned in 2013 participated in this public hearing.

The invited referents were the head of the Technical Advisory Department of the General Directorate of Agricultural Services of the MGAP, Sergio Vázquez; the advisor of the Agronorte Cooperative, Pilar Milesi; the businesswoman and pioneer of cannabis cultivation in Uruguay, Mercedes Ponce de León; and the first director of the Uruguayan Institute for Regulation and Control of Cannabis (IRCCA) Augusto Vitale.

“The Congress of the Republic of Paraguay summoned a delegation from Uruguay to this important public hearing on cannabis in Paraguay’s history. We presented our experience and how we live it, and it was excellent, impressive,” Cannabis Business Hub co-founder Mercedes Ponce de León tells Sputnik Agency.

A BLOW TO DRUG TRAFFICKING

Another of those present was the former Paraguayan president and current legislator Fernando Lugo, who highlighted: “This positive experience that with the approval of the Cannabis Law and the free use has been a great blow to drug trafficking, freedom was given, and this scourge in Uruguay was reduced considerably”.

“This first International Conference on Industrial Cannabis brings us together to form an inter-institutional public/private work table in charge of elaborating a normative proposal in no more than 60 days,” announced Lugo.

Paraguay’s participation in the South American medical marijuana market could change the game’s rules for this industry, which in the last year grew by 17%, but still obtains much lower profits compared to Asia or North America.

However, and beyond the numbers, the normalization of cannabis production could benefit thousands of farmers who remain on the margins of legality, exposed to situations of violence and slavery.

Thus, many social organizations participated in this public hearing that also forged the necessary links between members of civil society to transform the reality of these social actors.

“After the hearing, there was a reception where the entire peasant movement and the Agronorte cooperative gave the Mamá Cultiva social movement a kilo of flowers (marijuana) and the promise that they will never again be short of flowers” for the production of medicines for their children, adds Ponce de León.

Although it is already a law in Paraguay, it is still not 100% enforced. The most critical pending issue is to legalize the crops. The seed is already germinating.

With information from Sputnik