Mexico speeds up cannabis legalization, patients are expected to have access to medical cannabis products in the first quarter of 2018

Last Week Mexico announced that it will legalize marijuana-based medicines, foods, drinks, cosmetics and other products in 2018. The government is now acting at a brisk pace to complete the legalization process early next year to import medical cannabis for Mexican patients.

Mexico’s commissioner of the Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risk (COFEPRIS), Julio Sánchez has confirmed that patients in the nation are expected to have access to medical cannabis products in the first quarter of 2018.

He said the government will complete the approval process in few weeks and 30 days of the new law being registered in the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF), medical companies can begin importing cannabis-based products such as beverages, cosmetics, and food supplements, to be used in Mexican patients.

Sánchez Tepoz also said 294 individual permits have been authorized for the importation of drugs with cannabidiol, 80 percent of which are for pediatric patients with epilepsy, cancer or dermatological diseases.

The new rule will legalize the medical and scientific use of cannabis, including production and distribution. However, Mexicans won’t be allowed to cultivate marijuana for personal use.

Dr. Stuart Titus CEO of Medical Marijuana, Inc appreciated Mexican Law Makers effort to legalize Cannabis.

“We applaud Mexico lawmakers for taking this significant step to reform cannabis laws to benefit their citizens,” — he said.

“We are extremely proud to have been the first company to provide Mexico citizens with legal access to a medical product based on cannabis (THC-free hemp CBD)” — he said.

“We believe the successful implementation of our product within Mexico, plus the overwhelming success of our clinical studies, have helped to change the dialogue within the country regarding the safety and therapeutic potential of all forms of cannabis.”– he added.