Entrepreneurs hoping to cash in on the legalization of marijuana are happy with the draft bill approved by three Senate committees on Wednesday that seeks to regulate the plant for medicinal, recreational and industrial use.
“We see it as a way to provide security and certainty to both national and international investors,” said Erick Ponce, president of the Cannabis Industry Promotion Group, which has 25 Mexican and foreign members.
The bill, which seeks to regulate cannabis for medicinal, recreational and industrial use, proposes legalizing the possession by adults of 28 grams of marijuana for personal use.
Ponce highlighted that the bill approved on Wednesday does not prohibit local entrepreneurs from receiving more than 20% foreign investment for cannabis-related business ventures in Mexico, as an earlier version of the proposed law did. The elimination of the 20% investment ceiling will allow Mexican businesses to receive greater support from people who already have experience in the legal marijuana industry, he said.
The recreational use of marijuana was legalized in Canada in 2018 and the plant is also legal in some U.S. states such as Colorado and California.
Ponce noted that the bill proposes granting two different cultivation licenses, one for marijuana destined for the recreational market and one for hemp to be used by industry.
“The two types of cultivation will be allowed under a licensing model that will be defined by the cannabis regulatory institute; there aren’t very specific details. It appears that [the regulatory institute] will be a specialized independent body. It’s not yet known if it will be part of the Interior Ministry or the Health Ministry,” he said.
Slated to begin operations on January 1, 2021, the institute will also have responsibility for granting permits to sell marijuana and products that contain its psychoactive ingredients.
In accordance with a directive from the Supreme Court – which has established that prohibiting marijuana is unconstitutional – the Congress must legalize the plant for recreational and medicinal use by April 30.
Source: El Financiero (sp)
