Not just German legislators are now deciding cannabis reform should be at the top of their political agenda for this year. In Argentina, an agreement reached between the ruling party et the opposition will put at minimum medical cannabis reform on the table.

The Chamber of Deputies has already met just once in this year. They have now decided to convene and continue to discuss cannabis reform. It will also include regulations for the establishment of a framework that allows the industrial hemp and medical marijuana industries to develop.

This development has been in the works since July last year, when it was proposed by the national governments, but then blocked by opposition because there wasn’t agreement about the details. 

This, of course, is far from an unusual situation—see the state of federal reform in the U.S. right now for exactly the same reason. 

Post-COVID Political Cannabis Football

Argentina is actually joining the U.S., Germany, and other countries in prioritizing federal cannabis legislation this year. The German media reported that the minister of health and other government officials were shifting their minds about the necessity to work on some form of recreational marijuana reform this summer.

Since 2009 when cannabis was decriminalized for private use, normalization of marijuana has been slow in Argentina. The Argentine Senate approved cannabis oil for medicinal use in 2017, just as Germany had mandated medical cannabis insurance. Home cultivation was approved in 2020.

Countries are clearly watching each other right now on progressing the entire reform issue—no matter where they are in the process of cannabis acceptance. It is clear that the global trend of proximate declarations by national legislatures appears to be an international one. It is very likely that legalization (or normalization) will also be seen in countries emerging from the pandemic. This is because political leaders need to look for development projects with credible potential to create tax revenue and jobs. 

Legalization of cannabis is an extremely popular policy. The support of the same lends credibility to a political system that is often hampered by partisan fighting in different countries. The consideration of the issue as well as passing legalization legislation gives these leaders credibility and suggests something they may actually be able achieve.

The End of Latin American Drug War

Multiple countries from Central and South America have indicated that they intend to foster the development of this sector. Between the 1970s and well into this century, South America was the most important target for the U.S. during a civil war. Although it was not labelled such as such, many people were killed.

Uruguay was indeed the first country to allow recreational reform. However, it was manipulated by the U.S. banks for many years to slow down the sector’s development.

Today, this conversation does not seem to be happening. However federal reform, of any type, and even recreational, seems to be destined for a stall in Congress.

As developments take place in the U.S.A. and Germany, Argentina seems to be positioned on this topic. It makes sense. Argentina and Brazil are both ideal markets to export a product.