Peru has approved a bill that will see the production and importation of medical marijuana. This is seen as the first step in legalizing medical marijuana.
International reports states that there was a raid in one of the makeshift cannabis labs run by mothers aimed at medicating their sick children was raided by police in February. This resulted to public fury and outcry over the raid which has pushed demands to make medical marijuana legal. The Congressional Committee on National Defense has approved a measure to legalize it and what remains is for the bill to be passed through the full Peruvian Congress.
The legislators are supposed to debate over the matter. However, the police raid has swayed the issue and the pressure from the public seems to move the bill on the positive. The good thing is that it is the president of this nation, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, who came up with the proposal of the legislation after learning of the trials by mothers to treat their children.
Alberto de Belaunde, who is a congressman told La Nacion (Peruvian Daily) that the legalization would be of much benefit especially to patients suffering from Cancer, Epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease and other related conditions. He further added that cannabis oil would be legalized for the various uses such as treatment of ailments. However, there have not been a formal documentation of the same to the public yet. Therefore, it is unclear whether smoking of marijuana will be allowed as well.
Seeking Hope, a Peruvian that advocates for the legalization of medical marijuana and founded by Ana Alvarez stated that the mothers of the group were very happy with the progress as it showed that their daily struggles were finally yielding. A widely publicized IPSOS poll shows that 65% of the Peruvian population support the legalization of medical marijuana. The adult-use of marijuana legalization is only supported by a mere 13%.
