California, US-headquartered Medical Marijuana told us the decision, which will direct Mexico’s ministry of health to implement policies to regulate the use, importation and production of medicinal marijuana, will allow the firm to distribute products in Mexico containing low levels of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) – the psychoactive compound in cannabis.
“Our company will now be able to provide our full product line to Mexico markets - when previously we were only allowed to provide RSHO-X, a fully THC-free product,” CEP Titus told us.
“Our full HempMeds product line, natural botanical hemp-based CBD [cannabidiol] products will contain trace THC - well below the 0.3% limit being set by our US Federal Government / other world standards. Thus we will have more products to potentially meet a variety of needs by patients,” he said.
California, US-based Cure Pharmaceutical, which develops drug delivery technologies for markets including the pharmaceutical cannabis sector, does not currently work with any company in Mexico, but is open to discussions with firms in light of the new regulations.
“It appears that the landscape and barrier to entry in Mexico has just shifted to allow for federally approved clinicals in Mexico,” said Davidson.
“It may allow us to align with additional resources in Mexico for early stage clinical trials of a multitude of cannabinoid molecules and their potential benefit against some debilitating indications,” he added.
Medical marijuana & cannabinoids: room for both?
The increasing legality of marijuana across the US and worldwide could be perceived as a threat to cannabinoid-focused pharmaceutical firms, however Davidson told us he believes there is room for both in the health sector.
“With the legalisation of cannabis having reached critical mass, there is most likely no way it will be stopped. Overall Cure thinks that there is plenty of room for both the pharmaceutical market and the legal medical cannabis market to co-exist,” he said.
Titus also expects the medical cannabis industry to grow.
“With medical cannabis fully legal in Canada and now in Mexico, we wonder how long it will be before the United States joins the rest of North America in reforming laws at the national/federal level. With 30 US states approving medical cannabis and 17 others with CBD-only laws, we feel the real crime in this matter is the lack of progressive leadership shown by our own federal government,” he said.
“We believe this decision will further the dialogue regarding cannabinoid therapeutics - both on the botanical as well as the pharmaceutical side,” said Titus.