:quality(85)//cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/infobae/ZIPUTQJTHQ47B6Z7HUGU2D6PZI.jpg "By \"obligation\" and threats, Cofepris authorized the production of cannabis to a Canadian company in Mexico 1")
For the first time in Mexico, a company has obtained a license to grow, process, produce and market industrial cannabis. It is Desart MXa subsidiary in the country of the company Xebra Brandsestablished in Canada.
Since December 2021, the company had already obtained the approval of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) to market products derived from this plant by means of a court decision. All that remained was the formal issuance of authorizations by the Federal Commission for Protection against Health Risks (cofepris).
It should be mentioned that, according to a statement from Xebra Brands, the agreement does not include no restrictions on the premises in Mexico where the company can cultivate cannabis, the size of the cultivation facility or the volume of processing and manufacturing operations. However, it has been established that the products manufactured and marketed must have 1% or less THCthe psychoactive substance of cannabis.
Likewise, the resolution gives freedom to the subsidiary for the import of seed and the transformation of plant material and the production of cannabidiol oil.
Jay Garnett, CEO of Xebra Brands, hailed the resolution as “the result of years of hard work” and said the company will look to leverage and “unlock the business opportunities that exist”. Additionally, he expressed his willingness to engage with potential partners through commercial companies.
However, the Cofepris denounced by an information sheet that was compelled by the Second District Court to grant said permissionsince he complied with an amparo judgment.
According to this account, the health authority charged that its decision fulfilled the Commission’s obligations as a federal agency, but that was the purpose of threats of fines and dismissals of officials.
In addition, he outsourced the legal provisions “not always aligned with the legal framework” and explained that the license granted to Xebra Brands through the subsidiary Desart MX represents a “serious health risk“, because there is a lack of data that allows us to conclude that the product is safe “for the purposes that the multinational intends to use it”.
“(Cofepris) has complied with its obligations as a public institution, by complying with legal provisions in the face of threats of fines and dismissal of civil servants, but does not have enough information to determine that this product is safe,” the Commission statement read.
Faced with this situation, the health authority, in coordination with the Ministry of the Interior (Segob), I am filing a lawsuit and further disagreement in the Third Collegiate Circuit Court seeking to rescind and invalidate the authorization granted to Canada’s company because it could mean a threat to the health of the population.
Cofepris also recalled that the regulation of products containing cannabis, as well as all derivatives of this plant, is subject to a complex process to establish a sufficiently solid regulatory framework, which determines the quality and safety standards in the supply chain. ‘supply. supply, manufacture, storage and marketing.
This work, he assured, “required the integration of various institutions that participate in the analysis and development of the various normative elements essential to the adequate regulatory approach, based on their documentary evaluation, analysis science and health surveillance”.
Finally, the Commission reiterated its commitment to the development of standards to ensure that all authorizations issued by the agency meet the quality and safety standards necessary to safeguard the health and well-being of citizens.