by K. Richards
on November 10, 2014
The following first appeared on Cannabis Now.
Chile will join the rank of countries making shifts in cannabis reform. Reports reveal that the Latin American country has already started cultivating its first crop of cannabis plants grown from seeds that were imported from the Netherlands. The plants are being grown in the Chilean principality of Santiago and are expected to be ready for harvest in April. The plants will be used in a pilot medical marijuana program and, although the flowers won’t be available to patients, they will be used to make oil that will be provided to 200 eligible test subjects
The Daya Foundation, the group that solicited the one-year permit, will oversee the program that will allow 850 plants to be grown on a heavily-guarded 9,150 square-foot plot in La Florida. The program will be accompanied by a clinical study performed by a local university. The University of Valparaiso’s Pharmacy and Chemistry Faculty will provide technical support for the oil extraction process. For now, patients will be not legally allowed the cultivate their own cannabis.
“We’re living at a time, in Chile and the rest of the world, where it’s not reasonable to close yourself to new evidence. Marijuana can provide some dignity to those who suffer,” said La Florida district Mayor Rodolfo Carter.
This historic move makes Chile the first Latin American country to approve the cultivation of medical cannabis.