Argentina is taking a leap on legal hemp

After introducing a bill aimed toward opening up the market, Argentina could hold an industrial hemp law and received strong support from lawmakers.

Diego Bertone— one of Argentina’s leading cannabis activists, said that it is a dream that Argentinian have had for an extended time. Also, It will allow Argentina to be a serious player in Latin America and other international markets. Bertone is one of the authors who draft measures with the government’s Agriculture Commission.

On the other hand, another member of Argentina’s National Congress (lower house) — Mara Brawer, introduced a measure that the initiative comes after.

  • hemp enthusiasts
  • entrepreneurs
  • industrialists

Her office repeatedly approached these measures advocating for a law that might open up a hemp marketplace for the South American nation of nearly 45 million consumers.

THC Level To Be Set At Fixed Level

The draft bill advocates whole-plant usage while aiming to take advantage of industrial hemp for its health and environmental benefits and economic development potential. Importantly, Bertone successfully got a clause inserted into the measure that might set the utmost 1.0 percent level of THC for Argentinian hemp. It is going beyond the widely accepted global benchmark of 0.3% maximum THC—following in the footsteps of leading hemp nations worldwide.

Other Latin American countries, including Uruguay, Ecuador, Colombia, and Mexico, have opted for the 1.0% THC standard, like several Asian countries.

“We want to authorize the cultivation (of hemp) within the framework of the Ministry of Agriculture,” Brawer, a member of the Frente de Todos party, told the media after presenting the bill. “We want to define industrial hemp through an easy program that gets it out of the drug discussion.” Bertone also said he hopes the ultimate bill will avoid the involvement of narcotics and police agencies.

Argentina already features a medical marijuana law in situ which includes the cultivation of high thc cannabis seeds at home for medical purposes. Brawer said that during deliberations that measure, enacted in 2017, discussions about industrial hemp got started.

The Legislative Process Is Moving Forward

Diego Bertone, the owner of agricultural consultancy Hemptech, worked on Argentina’s draft hemp bill. While the proposed law is at the start stages of Argentina’s legislative process – it is now being debated in various congressional commissions – legislators are keen to fast-track the bill, which might be voted on as soon because the end of November, consistent with Bertone, who is additionally the founding father of Hemptech, an agricultural consultancy that was one among the country’s first hemp companies to be formed within the modern hemp era.

Support is robust among Argentina’s lawmakers and includes two vital congressional coalitions, Juntos por el Cambio and Consenso Federal. The president of the government’s Agriculture Commission is additionally a signatory.

In a village during which all political forces agree on diversifying production and promoting entrepreneurship and innovation, hemp can open up multiple possibilities and do jobs.

Post-Edit Exploitation On Hemp

Proponents envision exploiting the hemp plant for its full range of possibilities to supply, such as:

  • Cannabis seeds
  • Infused food & drinks
  • Topicals cosmetics
  • Fabric, textiles and paper
  • Animal feeds and supplements
  • Construction materials
  • Bioplastics
  • Bio-fuels

By recommending the cannabis industry, it can boost the fortunes of the agricultural sector. The measure pays particular attention to Argentina’s small farmers.

According to the draft bill, hemp’s development is a superb productive alternative to diversify and energize the agricultural sector from large companies and small producers and cooperatives of family, peasant, and indigenous agriculture.

Those backing the hemp initiative in Argentina have underscored that a national hemp industry can also support its association. Moreover, with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals because of the Escazú Agreement, an environmental human rights treaty of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Advantages On Latin American Industrial Hemp Association

In an interview, LAIHA President Lorenzo Rolim Da Silva said that the Latin American Industrial Hemp Association (LAIHA) also cheered Argentina’s developments. Furthermore, they are delighted to ascertain Argentina is moving forward with this project. It presents the most crucial opportunity for hemp production thus far in Latin America, considering that the country has most of its agricultural land at latitudes where hemp varieties most ordinarily planted in North America and Europe can readily adapt while remaining compliant on THC levels.

Rolim Da Silva states that like all countries within the region, Argentina is suffering deeply with an economic recession and currency devaluation so that hemp can come because of the bearer of excellent news for the agricultural and industrial sectors.

Organic Hectares For Hemp Farming

Seventy-five percent of Argentina’s farms are family farms, accounting for 18% of the country’s total 40 million hectares (98 million acres) of arable land and 27% of total agricultural production. Argentina may be a significant soybean producer, with other agricultural output in wheat, maize, dairy products, edible seed, sugar cane, grapes, pears, and apples. Nearly 3 million hectares (7.4 million acres) are farmed organically for sugar cane, fruits, vegetables, and beans.

Hemp features a long history in Argentina, which produced the crop for quite a century before the worldwide war on drugs interrupted the industry within the 1970s. Very similar to within the US, the government urged farmers to plant hemp in the 1930s within the national interest.