Panama: Market and legal data analysis of the cannabis sector

21st October 2024: Panama: The minister of health, Fernando Boyd Galindo, has said that the implementation of the legal framework for medical cannabis could take place in the coming weeks. He added that all the necessary conditions are being put in place so that the process can be carried out without setbacks, press reports. Medical cannabis was legalised in 2021, but the government has not yet issued licences for its production.
16th October 2024: Panama: A bill to regulate the production, marketing and export of hemp with a maximum of 1% THC was approved in the first debate. The bill will now be discussed in a second debate in the National Assembly.
4th October 2024: Panama: A bill to regulate the production, marketing and export of hemp with a maximum of 1% THC was discussed in the first debate in the National Assembly. The bill was suspended due to the need for amendments and will be brought back for first debate next week.
9th May 2024: Panama: The Ministry of Health has rejected two appeals against the decision to grant licences for the production of medical cannabis. The Evaluation Commission then ratified the selection of seven companies that will be allowed to produce cannabis for medical purposes for a period of ten years. The selected companies received the highest scores and met the established criteria. No more administrative appeals can be lodged.
1st February 2024: Panama: After granting seven licences for the production of medical cannabis, the Ministry of Health has suspended the granting process by accepting the appeals of three companies that did not comply with the requirements. No time limit has been set for the processing of appeals.
17th January 2024: Panama: Following the introduction of a legal framework for medical and therapeutic cannabis in 2022, the Ministry of Health has published a final report recommending the granting of seven medical cannabis production licences to companies that met the requirements and criteria set out in the law. The results will be approved and published by a Ministry of Health resolution.
24th July 2023: Panama: The Ministry of Health has clarified that it is currently in a selection process to grant a licence for the manufacture of medical cannabis derivatives, and therefore cannabis derivatives are not currently authorised for distribution and sale.
6th June 2023: Panama: The country has this week called for expressions of interest from companies wishing to obtain a licence to manufacture medicinal cannabis derivatives,the Ministry of Health’s national director for pharmacy and drugs, Elvia Lau, told the press.
29th September 2022: Panama: The National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC) has published the results of a survey conducted in over 16,000 homes, which found only 7% approved of the recreational use of cannabis, with 88% opposed. Cannabis is currently allowed in Panama for medical purposes only.
2nd September 2022: Panama: The two Executive Decrees that further regulate cannabis for medical and therapeutic use – which were announced yesterday by the president – were published today in the Gazette. Executive Decree 121/22 sets, among other things, definitions, types of authorised products, patient registration rules, and licence and cultivation requirements. Executive Decree 85/22 creates the National Directorate for the Monitoring of Activities Related to Medical Cannabis.
1st September 2022: Panama: President Laurentino Cortizo Cohen has signed two executive decrees related to Law 242 of 2021, which introduced a legal framework for medicinal and therapeutic use of cannabis. Press reports that the decrees, which have not yet been published, will apply to legal entities that import, export, cultivate and market medicinal cannabis.

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