Regulation on medical marijuana in Mexico to be issued within six months

On Wednesday, Mexico’s Supreme Court (SCJN) ordered the Ministry of Health (SSA) and the Federal Commission for the Protection from Sanitary Risks (Cofepris) to issue regulation within six months on the use of medical marijuana, saying its failure to do so after legalization in 2017 had jeopardized the rights of patients, including children.

The court made the decision as part of its ruling in favor of a child who needed medication derived from cannabis substance THC to treat epilepsy .

“Due to the absence of rules regulating the therapeutic use of cannabis, it was impossible for the plaintiff to access treatment based on this substance or any of its derivatives,” the court said in a statement.

The SSA had been instructed to update its guidelines within half a year following a June 2017 reform to legalize marijuana for medical and scientific needs .

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On Wednesday, the SSA said in a statement that it would comply with the court’s ruling and ensure patients’ access to treatment .

The regulation could allow the national elaboration of the medical substance to reduce its cost and eliminate importation fees.

The SSA and Cofepris will have to issue the regulation considering the whole production chain of cannabis , from its extraction, storage of seeds, harvest, crop, processing, transportation, commercialization, and “in general, all the activities directed to the therapeutic use, scientific research, and medical use of cannabis.”

In November, President Andres Manuel López Obrador’s government submitted a bill to create a medical marijuana industry and allow its recreational use , part of a crime-fighting plan that would legalize the drug in Mexico.

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