Last week, Peru voted to legalize medical cannabis, joining South American countries like Colombia, Chile, and Brazil in allowing the sale of cannabis products to treat specific medical conditions. The bill received support from the majority of the country’s Congress, passing with 68 votes, with only five opposing and three abstentions. “Science is on our side, the regional current is on our side,” said Congressman Alberto de Belaunde, the author of the bill, to his fellow legislators before the vote. “Let’s not let our fears paralyse us.”
The bill will become law in 60 days, giving legislators two months to draft regulations for the production and sale of medical cannabis. Lawmakers are planning to introduce a confidential registry for patients that allows doctors to diagnose an individual’s illness and recommend a form and dose of medical cannabis. Cultivation and production licenses will be granted to state institutions and universities, who will also be permitted to conduct medical research on the drug.
The debate over medical cannabis began in earnest this February, after Peruvian law enforcement raided a makeshift lab where marijuana was being made into oils…