As expected, Ecuador has been the latest nation to join the unstoppable wagon of the medical cannabis industry. The Ecuadorian National Assembly endorsed legislation to approve the production, commercialization, use and consumption of cannabis for medicinal or therapeutic treatment on September 17, 2019. This makes Ecuador the fifth Latin American nation to legalize the use of medicinal cannabis.
Cannabis Market in Ecuador
The pre-existing law on cannabis in Ecuador allowed personal consumption and people to carry up to 10 grams for personal use. However, the production and sale of cannabis were illegal.
In the medicinal area, a clandestine medical cannabis industry had already been reported. A law change was first proposed to the National Assembly in 2016, but because the law was only in the early stages in Uruguay and there was little evidence of its possible uses at the time, politicians were hesitant about passing it.
Change of law
The obstruction that the Ecuadorian Parliament needed to overcome was the Organic Health Code (COS), specifically Article 340. Scientific proof was needed to overturn this precedent that cannabis had harmful effects if consumed. After debating the issue in the National Assembly in plenary session on Tuesday, 83 votes were cast in favor of the law change, 23 against and 23 abstentions.
The law now removes marijuana from the list of prohibited plantations and approves the use, production and marketing of medical cannabis. Ecuador has defined medicinal or “non-psychoactive” cannabis as the dry weight product with a tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content of less than 1%. Instead of the plant being separated under the Ecuadorian Organic Comprehensive Penal Code, it is now fully registered as a crop under the National Agrarian Authority. To administer cannabis in Ecuador, the government has asked doctors to assess the needs of the patient. Doctors have been given strict guidelines for administering it.
Cannabis in Ecuador: Successful Growing Environment
Like its regional neighbors Colombia and Peru, cannabis in Ecuador has a number of environmental advantages when it comes to agricultural activity. It is close to the equator, which gives it a minimal seasonal or temperature change. This allows for year-round cultivation and by following the 6-week cycles of a typical cannabis plant, the soil rotates around nine harvests per year. Colombia, Uruguay, and Chile have considerably higher crop yields than North America. Similarly, Ecuador is famous for its rich and fertile soil. Much of its land was formed from volcanic activity, producing wonderfully fertile prairie soils with dark surface layers, rich in organic matter.
As a percentage of GDP in Ecuador, agriculture accounts for a whopping 10%, more than any other Latin American nation. A large primary sector shows that there is a large skilled and economical agricultural workforce to undertake cannabis cultivation.
In addition to its environmental benefits, Ecuador has a strong exportability. With a well-established trade agreement with the US (the largest market for cannabis consumption), Ecuador, its great coastline and numerous ports, it is poised to be a giant exporter of cannabis.
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