Medical Marijuana Presents Big Opportunity for Peruvian Economy

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Since the Peruvian Congress legalized medical marijuana in late 2017, there is a big opportunity presenting itself to the Peruvian economy.

Manuel Patiño wrote in Gestión of Lima that despite the Peruvian Congress legalizing medical marijuana in late 2017, the substance is still expensive because of its overall legal status. The substance has been shown to help treatment of conditions like epilepsy and cancer, but Peru does not have its own means of producing medical marijuana, at least not legally. So any patients prescribed medical marijuana will need to have it imported, which makes it more expensive.

Antonio Salas is a manager of Investment Promotion at ACM Peru (Agribusiness Consulting & Management). He says Peru should consider producing its own medical marijuana. If Peru is always importing marijuana, and by extension “paying for the production…and industrialization of another country,” then it will be difficult to make prices competitive before the business of medical marijuana production becomes universal. Peru would have to have its own supply to export “so that there is a flow of investments.” According to Salas, medical marijuana is a $20 trillion global market that in the span of a decade could easily reach $150 trillion. The portion that would reach Peru is “not negligible.”