On September 1 and 2, the Santa Maria Luxury Collection Hotel & Golf Resort in Panama City will host LatAm Cann.BIZ, the biggest cannabis event in Latin America.
El Planteo, PR MedCann.Biz, Javier Hasse, and Canalis Capital are the event’s coordinators, and it will draw many of the most well-known entrepreneurs, investors, and industry experts to Panama. This is a major sign of positive growth and movement in Latin America’s cannabis scene and is shaping up to be a very exciting conference.
LatAm Cann.Biz
LatAm Cann.BIZ was designed as a two-day, fully bilingual, interdisciplinary conference that intends to discuss global and regional trends. It will offer up-to-date knowledge on the cannabis and hemp industries, including the legal framework that controls their production and distribution, cannabis technology, science, and best agricultural and manufacturing practices.
“We have thought of it as a space to discover interesting investment opportunities and learn how to be successful in this budding industry”, says Noemi Pérez, CEO of Green Book Academy.
A variety of stakeholders can network at the event, which will include speeches, panel discussions, talks, networking, and presentations from businesses and investors. The event will also be attended by executives from the top cannabis businesses, politicians, senior government officials, healthcare providers, and cannabis communicators.
The Industry In Latin America
While Americans tend to think of themselves as global leaders, Latin America is moving forward with full speed towards a freer, more open cannabis industry.
Colombia, for example, recently elected a new president: Gustavo Petro. In order for cannabis to become a regulated sector, Petro is urging the growth of cannabis agribusiness. In reality, the incoming president promises that the cannabis value chain will receive a “special impulse” under his administration as part of his attempts to promote development in rural Colombia.
Brazil also recently made moves towards legalization – citizens are now permitted to grow cannabis for medical uses! Although only three people have received permission, this is promising news and amazing momentum for cannabis legalization in Brazil and the rest of South America. “In our opinion, Brazil is destined to be a world power in terms of medical cannabis,” said Thiago Callado, CEO of XLRE, a subsidiary of MediPharm Labs Corp.
“HempMeds Brazil has imported more than 150 thousand prescription products to Brazil through the compassionate model since 2015, and we continue to grow at an average rate of 50% per year. Our market leadership reflects the quality of our products, customer care, and relationships with physicians,” said Matheus Patelli, CEO of HM Pharma, another MediPharm Labs Corp. subsidiary.
US-based Medical Marijuana, Inc. was also the first business to get historical import licenses for CBD products from the governments of Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, and Paraguay. Real Scientific Hemp Oil, the company’s signature product, has been successfully used in numerous clinical tests in Mexico and Brazil to determine its efficacy and safety. CBD products are even widely available at pharmacies in Brazil and have been since medical cannabis was legalized in 2015.
These US companies have huge shares of the Latin American market, and once governments like Petro’s begin to establish supportive infrastructure, local manufacturers and retailers will likely take off. This is going to create a huge economic boom for the region, and is an exciting potential!
Latin America is currently making massive strides toward decriminalization and legalization of cannabis, and the US needs to catch up. We’ve had the infrastructure to transition the market for years now and have failed to implement it. If we don’t want to lose our current share of the market to foreign nations, we need to move fast.
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