On August 26, the House of Representatives approved the Bill “THAT MODIFIES ARTICLES 30 AND 22 OF Law 1340/1988” (the “Bill”), which was sent to the Executive Branch for promulgation.
The Bill’s purpose is to decriminalize the use and possession of cannabis, provided that the following conditions are met:
- The use must be exclusively for medicinal purposes; and
- Hold a medical certificate validated by the Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare (“MSPyBS” for its acronym in Spanish), certifying that the disease is treatable with medicinal cannabis.
Also, the Bill establishes that both the sick person as well as its legal representative may sow, harvest and process cannabis plants. In this case, in addition to having the medical certificate validated by the MSPyBS and that it is for medicinal purposes only, the property where the cannabis will be sowed, harvested and processed must be authorized by the National Anti-Drug Secretariat (“SENAD” for its acronym in Spanish).
However, it is important noting that there were no modifications to the rule that establishes that, if the amount of cannabis for medicinal use in possession of the sick person is greater than that prescribed or necessary for treatment, the person is exposed to an imprisonment sentence of two to four years, plus the confiscation of the product.
According to its explanatory memorandum, the Bill seeks to legitimize the self-cultivation of cannabis with medicinal purposes, benefiting mainly people of limited resources, considering that, at the moment, only imported cannabis oils are available.
If signed into law, the Bill will become part of a legal framework favorable to the different uses of the cannabis plant that it’s being developed in Paraguay in the last few years, which includes Law 6007/2017, that creates the national program for the medical and scientific study and research of the medicinal use of the cannabis plant, and Decree 2725/2019, which lays the general conditions for the production of industrial hemp.