A Mexican company has been notified it was approved for a hemp license, only the second such permit granted by the country’s health agency.
The Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks (COFEPRIS) informed Semillas Endemicas Mexicanna SA de CV last week that it had approved the license in November, El Planteo reported. It covers importing, sowing, cultivation, harvesting and processing of industrial hemp under the country’s THC limit of 1.0%. The paperwork indicates that the company plans to produce and market CBD.
According to an authorization document that is part of the licensing package, Semillas Endemicas Mexicanna must present a certificate of analysis issued by an authorized laboratory to confirm any plant material meets the THC content requirement, and imported material or products must meet separate import regulations.
Rules still missing
In granting the license, however, COFEPRIS noted Mexico still does not have specific regulations for planting industrial hemp. “The absence of regulations that impact the seed itself, within its sphere of competence, makes it impossible to evaluate the conditions that allow the planting of hemp,” according to the authorization document. Rules to guide other stages of hemp production in Mexico are also still missing.
Lawmakers have proposed but not yet created the Mexican Institute for Cannabis Control, a decentralized body under the Ministry of Health that would be responsible for issuing licenses, overseeing the country’s hemp and marijuana programs, and promoting cannabis-themed public education campaigns.
In addition to establishing licensing for all players in the industry, proposed provisions yet to be enacted would create social justice programs for small growers and communities affected by cannabis prohibition. Under one draft provision, 40% of licenses granted in the first five years would go to indigenous communities and others who have suffered under criminal drug laws.
First licensee
Xebra Mexico, a subsidiary of a Canadian cannabis company, was the first to receive a hemp license after it was successful in a lawsuit against COFEPRIS last year. The company took the health agency to the Mexican Supreme Court after it failed to receive a license it applied for in 2018. The high court ruled in favor of Xebra Mexico on the basis that prohibiting the cultivation and processing of cannabis for industrial uses violates the constitutional right of freedom to work. While COFEPRIS objected to the high court ruling because the agency does not yet have a regulatory framework in place for the entire production chain, a separate federal court later ratified the high court’s ruling and ordered COFEPRIS to issue the license to Xebra Mexico.
While that ruling led to binding caselaw that paved the way for the Semillas Endemicas Mexicanna license, COFEPRIS reiterated specific regulations for all stages of hemp processing are still not in place. A law that would establish hemp rules has been floating around in the Mexican legislature for several years after the Mexican high court nearly five years ago ordered the end of prohibition on the personal possession and cultivation of cannabis.
Cannabis agency delayed
Lawmakers have proposed but not yet created the Mexican Institute for Cannabis Control, a decentralized body under the Ministry of Health that would be responsible for issuing licenses, overseeing the country’s hemp and marijuana programs, and promoting cannabis-themed public education campaigns.
In addition to establishing licensing for all players in the industry, proposed provisions yet to be enacted would create social justice programs for small growers and communities affected by cannabis prohibition. Under one draft provision, 40% of licenses granted in the first five years would go to indigenous communities and others who have suffered under criminal drug laws.
