Cartagena (Colombia), Sep 16 (EFE) .- The new regulation on medicinal cannabis in Colombia invigorates the industry and allows great economic returns, in addition to the growth of this business, experts who participate in a forum on the subject in Cartagena de Indias.
Efraín Armando López, consultant on regulatory issues for medicinal cannabis, explained to Efe during the ExpoCannaBiz Business Conference that this way “the production chain is reduced, production costs are lowered and the export of the flower is allowed.”
On July 23, President Iván Duque signed a decree authorizing the export of the dried flower of cannabis for medicinal purposes to provide more incentives to the pharmaceutical industry in the country and guarantee access to medicines derived from the plant.
According to López, this will create “income in the country in the short and medium term” and will allow Colombia to enter “to play a leading role in the international market.”
MORE GOVERNMENT SUPPORT
The president of ExpoCannabiz, Julián Andrés Tovar, although he applauds the advances in the regulation of the cannabis industry in Colombia, says that “more support from the Government” is needed.
“Unfortunately we have not had that jovial support from the Government to be able to move the cannabis industry forward,” he says, adding that he does not know if there is “a lack of interest from the current government or if they have not really seen the importance of the industry” .
Likewise, he warns that cannabis will turn into “green gold” when the way of thinking is changed and it is accepted that recreational marijuana “does no more harm than a glass of brandy.”
“By promoting this industry and legalizing consumption, many social problems are solved,” he highlights.
