Argentina: Parliament approves cannabis for medicinal use

On 29 March the Argentina Senate approved a bill, which allows the medical use of cannabis oil for certain diseases. The House of Representatives already approved it in November 2016. The law allows importation of cannabis products until the country is able to produce it itself. It was approved unanimously. The initiative authorizes the conduction of research by several scientific institutions.

“We now have a legal framework for research, treatment and production, while there was nothing in Argentina before,” Ana María García, president of Cannabis Medicinal Argentina (Cameda) told reporters. With this approval, Argentina joins other Latin American countries like Colombia, Uruguay and Chile, which already have measures that regulate the therapeutic use of cannabis. “We are very happy. We must continue to increase knowledge on the medical use of cannabis,”added Garcia, a physician and mother of a 24-year-old girl with refractory epilepsy.

Source: IACM Bulletin