Ganjapreneur has received a tip that the President of Panama, Juan Carlos Varela, signed a law on May 19 that could legalize and regulate medical marijuana throughout the country.
We are still working on a complete translation of the document, but the law (written in Spanish) regulates “the activities and use of controlled substances for medical and/or scientific purposes.” Such substances must be prescribed by medical professionals and dispensed by pharmacists with the appropriate authorization.
The national change will apply universally throughout Panama and all of its territories, even extending to airlines, shipping lines and boats flying the Panamanian flag.
Under the new law, the Department of Pharmacies and Drugs will be in charge of implementing the changes, which will include establishing licenses and permits for the importation, exportation and distribution of the controlled substances.
In the past, Panama officials have been loudly outspoken against the relaxation of drug laws — recent international trends, however, demonstrate that global enthusiasm for continued drug prohibition appears to be dwindling. At the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Drugs this year in New York, Canada, Mexico and Germany all announced major reforms to their marijuana laws.
We will release more information as it becomes available, but we are excited to see another domino fall in the international fight against marijuana prohibition.