Panama Has Great Opportunities in the Medical Cannabis Industry
With this industry there will be new jobs such as cannabis growers, extractors and specialists in curing the plant, other professionals will be needed. The necessary steps must be taken so that those who have licenses can export the product.
Panama has great opportunities if it implements the use of medicinal cannabis as soon as possible, said attorney Goodwin Aldarondo, CEO of PRLM Educational , an organization that provides training in legal aspects, consulting and compliance services for the medicinal cannabis industry ; during the first seminar “All about medicinal cannabis.” The intention of the seminar was to educate Panamanians about the legal, scientific, historical and medical issues of the plant. “We also want to warn Panamanians about the challenges that the industry poses due to the fact that it is such a controversial plant,” added Aldarondo. He also stressed that it is very important for society to be clear about how powerful and serious the medical cannabis industry is so that the most appropriate measures can be taken in the various sectors.
It is necessary to know how the cannabis industries have developed and evolved in other jurisdictions. Eight years ago, Puerto Rico entered this industry. It was thought that with Puerto Rico’s experience, it could help the Panamanian authorities implement laws. October 2021 in Panama the use of medicinal cannabis was legalized, and thus the setbacks and errors that had occurred in Puerto Rico, could be avoided. During the seminar, it was revealed that, despite the fact that there are about seven cannabis licenses in Panama; its sale has not been able to begin due to the delay in the implementation of Law 242 of October 13, 2021, which legalized the use of medicinal cannabis and regulated its use through Decree 121 of September 1, 2022.
“The necessary steps must be taken so that those who have licenses can export the product,” the lawyer added. It should also be noted that in the process doctors must be certified to be able to give prescriptions. Aldarondo stressed that even if health authorities say that the medical cannabis industry will start “tomorrow,” it would take months due to all the steps that have to be taken for everything to work properly. The seminar recalled that Panama has great potential in terms of health, since its regulations are broad enough to help patients with 24 conditions, including multiple sclerosis, cancer, HIV, muscle spasm pain, depression, insomnia, anxiety, among other ailments. In addition, this industry will create new jobs such as cannabis growers, extractors and plant cure specialists; other professionals such as accountants, engineers, lawyers, plumbers, among others, will also be needed.
