Mexico grants second hemp license, but law establishing regulations still not in place

Hemp Today

A Mexican company has been notified it was approved for a hemp license, only the second such permit granted by the country’s health agency.

The Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks (COFEPRIS) informed Semillas Endemicas Mexicanna SA de CV last week that it had approved the license in November, El Planteo reported. It covers importing, sowing, cultivation, harvesting and processing of industrial hemp under the country’s THC limit of 1.0%. The paperwork indicates that the company plans to produce and market CBD.

According to an authorization document that is part of the licensing package, Semillas Endemicas Mexicanna must present a certificate of analysis issued by an authorized laboratory to confirm any plant material meets the THC content requirement, and imported material or products must meet separate import regulations.

Rules still missing

In granting the license, however, COFEPRIS noted Mexico still does not have specific regulations for planting industrial hemp. “The absence of regulations that impact the seed itself, within its sphere of competence, makes it impossible to evaluate the conditions that allow the planting of hemp,” according to the authorization document. Rules to guide other stages of hemp production in Mexico are also still missing.

Lawmakers have proposed but not yet created the Mexican Institute for Cannabis Control, a decentralized body under the Ministry of Health that would be responsible for issuing licenses, overseeing the country’s hemp and marijuana programs, and promoting cannabis-themed public education campaigns.