Prohibition Partners: Where is the cannabis business going in Latin America? | ECONOMY

The consulting company Prohibition Partners recently published its report The Global Cannabis Report, where it analyzes the development of the cannabis derivatives industry in the world and includes a section related to the Latin American region.

“Latin America and the Caribbean are going through a broad process of legalizing the medicinal and adult use of cannabis. The region has taken a unique path, with some states such as Colombia and Mexico that first authorized prescriptions with a low concentration of THC (the psychotropic component of the plant) before allowing products with a higher THC content ”, indicates the document.

“In Latin America, Peru and Panama opened access to the possibility of medicating derivatives with high concentrations of THC”, Prohibition Partners highlights on the local case in recent years.

The decriminalization of adult cannabis use has also expanded in Latin America, albeit slowly. Prohibition Partners highlights the case of Uruguay, where cannabis has been sold for these purposes since 2017, and Mexico, whose full legalization is still pending.

The region is also becoming more relevant in the supply chain. “The balance in the production of cannabis is moving away from traditional places like Canada and the Netherlands, to now have exports from regions with warmer climates, cheaper land and labor, such as Latin America, the Mediterranean and Africa”.

The report also details a reconfiguration in the markets of interest to some of the largest cannabis companies.

“By 2021, Canadian cannabis companies such as Aurora or Canopy Growth are in a realignment process and are moving from aggressive expansion to more conservative strategies”, indicates.

This has led to the withdrawal of Canadian companies from the Latin American region. One case is Canopy Growth in Peru.

Adult use

Although in the case of Peru this possibility is still remote, the Prohibition Partners document highlights that the Latin American and Caribbean region has the oldest market for cannabis for adult use in the world: Uruguay.

“The legalization of cannabis for adult use seems inevitable for most of North America, Europe and Latin America, but the effect on the medicinal market has not been discussed. The legalization of adult cannabis use should be expected to have a significant effect on medical cannabis sales as they share a large intersection of patients and consumers, ”the report suggests.

– .