Following a serious public outcry in Peru, the South American country just announced that it is drafting legislation to set up a wide-reaching medical cannabis program.
The Congressional Committee on National Defence in Peru has agreed to the new bill, which will include a framework for medical cannabis. While officials there are not interested in legalizing dried flower cannabis, they are looking to cannabis oil extracts, which could be used to treat patients with cancer, epilepsy and Parkinson’s.
Peruvians grew frustrated after cops there raided a makeshift cannabis laboratory in Lima, the capital city. This lab was being used by mothers who were extracting cannabis to treat their babies with. A poll which followed that raid found that 65 percent of Peruvians believe cannabis should be legalized for medical use.
The new bill would also provide for the production, importation, and distribution of medical cannabis for approved patients, while domestic cannabis grown in Peru would also be licensed and controlled by government authorities.
Ana Alvarez, the founder of Searching For Hope, an NGO campaigning for medical cannabis in Peru told reporters, “It is about improving our children’s quality of life. We thank the authorities who have taken a step toward this.”
Soon after the bill is approved, it will be forwarded to the Health Commission in Peru’s Parliament for debate and vote. Congressman Alberto de Belaunde, a proponent of the new bill also spoke to press, “The Commission on Defense has unanimously decided to propose the law that decriminalizes the medicinal use of cannabis,” he said.
It still remains to be seen what the final product of these events in Peru will look like, but there’s no doubt that the people there just moved one step closer to medical cannabis legalization in their country.
[Image credit- Pixabay]
