Uruguay to begin mass producing marijuana in September

August 26th, 2015 (PanAm Post) The Uruguayan government announced on Thursday, August 20, that local companies looking to begin mass producing cannabis in the country will finally be given the greenlight on September 3.

Eleven companies are still in the race to secure a state license to produce marijuana and supply it to pharmacies, which will then sell the drug to registered users at a government-fixed price.

Uruguay legalized the growth, production, and sale of marijuana in 2013 as a way to combat drug trafficking, but the mass production of cannabis and sale through pharmacies has stalled.

The government claims it postponed pharmacy sales to avoid “making any mistakes.” The tender process is expected to end in late August, and the government plans to give all bids “one last review,” according to Juan Andrés Roballo, head of the National Drug Board (JND).

The JND expects legal marijuana sales to begin before April 2016, in time for the United Nations Special Assembly on Drugs in New York. Uruguay has been lobbying to secure a regional bloc and present a joint case for regulation instead of prohibition.

Once Uruguayan officials decide who will be granted license to mass produce marijuana, each firm will prow their plants on special government-owned plots of land. The first harvest could be ready four months later.

Companies will then sell the drug at government-designated pharmacies to individuals over 18 years of age who are registered with the Institute for Regulation and Control of Cannabis (IRCCA).

Currently, Uruguayans can grow marijuana in their homes or join cannabis clubs, but must also be registered with the IRCCA.

Uruguay became first country to fully legalize the production and sale of marijuana in late 2013.

Congress passed the drug reform during the administration of José Mujica (2010-2015), who spearheaded the change, but current President Tabaré Vázquez, a physician, has not made the initiative a priority.

Copyright (c) 2015 PanAm Post.  (Republished under license: CC-BY-ND). 

Costa Rica medical marijuana bill to be debated this month

August 3^rd, 2015 (ICR News) A controversial medical marijuana bill is amongst 54 bills and initiatives that are scheduled to be read and debated in the extraordinary session of the Legislative Assembly, which begins on Monday and will continue through the month of August.

The bill seeks to legalize and regulate marijuana-derived medicines and medical treatments, including tablets, suppositories, ointments, sprays, patches, and injections amongst others.  The smoking of marijuana however would remain off-limits.

Supporters of the bill say that such treatments could benefit patients with diseases such as cancer, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and a range of other afflictions.

Support and Opposition

The bill has some surprising supporters, but opposition also remains strong.

Costa Rica’s National Academy of Medicine categorically denounced the bill in June, saying that the medicinal uses of marijuana and its derivatives are “very limited,” adding that the “potential benefit [of medical marijuana] is no better than conventional medications currently available and in use.”

The Academy also expressed its concern that the bill, if approved would open the door for legislation legalizing the use of marijuana for recreational purposes, which it said “would lead to unpredictable and negative consequences” especially in “susceptible groups” such as minors.

Meanwhile, the Costa Rican public health system known as CCSS and the Ministry of Health have endorsed the bill with conditions, including the prohibition of recreational use.  CCSS has gone as far as to say that such treatments would be covered and provided to patients free of charge.

Perhaps the bill’s most surprising endorsement so far has come from Costa Rica’s Lutheran Church. In June, the president of Costa Rica’s Lutheran Church described marijuana as a “plant of God,” while expressing his approval of medicinal use of the plant, adding that “[marijuana] should not be demonized, the plant itself is harmless and can have a proper use.”

A 2013 survey conducted by the School of Statistics at the University of Costa Rica (UCR) found that 52.9% of Costa Ricans said they would support medical use of marijuana, though the same survey found that just 15% of Costa Ricans would support blanket legalization for recreational use.

Actual article, http://insidecostarica.com/2015/08/03/costa-rica-medical-marijuana-bill-debated-month/