Advocates Assail Argentina Medical Marijuana Measure

The medical marijuana advocacy organization Mamá Cultiva, which has been advocating on the issue across South America, is criticizing the new measure just passed by Argentina’s Senate for failing to legalize personal cultivation. 

The Senate voted unanimously on March 29 to legalize cannabis oil and other derivatives for medical purposes. Talking Drugs blog reports that the bill is set to become law immediately upon receiving President Mauricio Macri‘s signature, as it was already passed by the lower-house Chamber of Deputies in November.

Under the law, patients must register with a planned national program to be overseen by the Ministry of Health.

The law will restrict cultivation to two government agencies—the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET) and the National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA). Additionally, the available products will be limited to the cannabinoid CBD—not the psychoactive THC.

Mamá Cultiva tweeted after the Senate vote (translated from Spanish): “Without a doubt, self-cultivation is a form of democratizing medicinal cannabis, and we will continue struggling for this…”

Mamá Cultiva president and co-founder Valeria Lasech has taken the bold step of coming out of the closet as a grower—publicly admitting that she cultivates for her son, who suffers from epilepsy. With this stance, she hopes to shame Argentina’s lawmakers into a more expansive medical marijuana measure.

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