Taking advantage of the regulation of the consumption and cultivation of cannabis for medicinal patients, the Canadian giant, Canopy Growth, puts its eye on the Andean country.
It is not necessary to be a prophet or a seasoned economic analyst to reach the conclusion that loosening the leash to marijuana in a country attracts investments. And with them, the whole series of associated advantages: job creation, boost of the economy, reduction of criminality, improvement of public health … This is something that is beginning to happen in Chile. Although in the South American country cannabis is still illegal, for some months now, medicinal consumers benefit from Law 20,000. It allows them to grow cannabis as long as they have a medical prescription.
Only this small but very important advance has achieved that the largest cannabis company in the world, the Canadian Canopy Growth. Put its eyes on Chile to turn it into a Latin American headquarters of its multinational project. This was expressed by the medical director of Canopy Growth, Mark Ware: “Canopy wants to enter Latin America and chose Chile as its R & D center, to develop products that we hope will be sold throughout the region.”
The recent association of beverage giant Constellation Brands with Canopy Growth, has allowed the Canadian company to position itself ahead of its competitors, with a large capital inflow to start its operations in Chile. After doing so in Brazil (through Entourage Phytolab SA) and in Colombia (through Spectrum Cannabis Colombia).
Spectrum Cannabis Chile is the name of the Canopy subsidiary in the Andean country. On its website we read: “The Chilean market, like many others around the world, is emerging in response to the needs of patients. Spectrum Chile has partnered with a local support network for non-profit patients so that Chileans have access to cannabis for medical purposes. ”
From Nekwo we can not stop putting the accent on the crucial claim that Canopy exposes: to meet the needs of patients. Of course there is always going to be someone behind a need to do a business, but here everyone benefits. This is the minimum claim that all cannabis advocates raise to avoid the grotesque situations we are experiencing even in the first world, where thousands of patients are forced to resort to crime to access their medicine.
Medicines “made in Chile” to treat chronic pain
With an initial investment of 10 million dollars, Canopy Growth seeks to position in the Chilean market, through Spectrum Cannabis Chile, various medicinal products.
According to Felipe Varas, director of Spectrum and commercial engineer of the Catholic University, “we thought of three types of soft capsules that Canopy is investigating and that differ from each other by the concentrations of THC and CBD (components of cannabis) that each has . The one we are investigating in Chile is balanced between both compounds and could be used to treat chronic pain. ”
With different combinations in the concentration of both cannabinoids, Spectrum will offer products that can be treated from anxiety to sleep problems.
For the time being, the company is preparing to present the product it intends to develop in Chile before the Scientific Ethics Committee of the Metropolitan Health Service. If the committee gives its approval, it must pass the approval of the Public Health Institute before it can be launched on the market for sale.
