Fitness insurance funded by the Colombian state now covers cannabis.
Those already operating in the country are very excited as they prepare to meet the increased demand. Clever Leaves is one of the most productive placed to take credit for this expected increase. Clever Leaves founded in 2016 through Andres Fajardo, a veteran business spouse and former director of Colombia’s drug policy. Think more about someone who ran the National Office of Drug Control Policy who reports to the executive branch, as opposed to the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
“We saw an opportunity because the law became very soon and we thought Colombia had what it took to win in the global hash market, given its cargo design and agricultural conditions,” Fajardo told L. A. Weekly from Colombia.
Fajardo and his partners were also excited to have a practical way to further influence upcoming regulations and participate in a pivotal milestone in the history of hashish in the country.
While things happen quickly, much of this history has long been tied to the epic genetics of the local breeds that arrived in the coastal region of Santa Marta, about 1000 kilometers north of the capital, Bogotá. lives up to his call because if the herds reached the other side of the Caribbean, they have become richer.
While the conversion of legislation in the late 2010s was indeed a factor, the core of the policy allowing medicinal hashish in Colombia is a 1986 law.
“The law still passed the decree and the law was not more detailed. But they surpassed some, some at the end of 2015,” Fajardo explained. The opportunity opened up, they gave us a license, but then, in 2016 and 2017, there is a replacement in the regulations. “
This replaced the respite they needed to free the building blocks of a genuine industry in Colombia. By January 2018, they had raised more capital from the United States and were in full swing. They now have up to 1. 8 million square feet of cultivation.
When they premiered the ball, they were only allowed to make excerpts. But all that has changed.
Fajardo says most of the hashish grown lately in Colombia is intended for smoking flowers. Of course, they still domesticate the fabrics for the extract, they have already been exporting it for some years. Now is the time to prepare for the next big export. flower for smoking. Everything Clever Leaves wants to export flowers has already been followed in the last two years; It plans to start exports in the first quarter of 2023.
The biggest markets from the start for Clever Leaves will be Germany and Australia.
Fajardo says many of the company’s development pains were experienced at its Portuguese factory at the time. That’s where they learned the vital classes about developing smokable flowers instead of bulk extracted biomass, not the kind of heavy terpenes filled in freezers in California.
Another thing that works in their favor is that they will be able to profitably grow many other types of hashish in their growing portfolio in hopes of having something that speaks to everyone.
“The burden of Colombian capacity that we have allows us to launch more and more varieties more fluently than in other countries,” Fajardo said. “We plan to expand our flower portfolio very particularly in 2023 and beyond. “
Fajardo says Colombia’s sunlight cycle and climate will play a role in this. The days are necessarily 12 hours of sun and darkness each, all year round, and then they just want to adapt to the drier and wetter seasons, which Colombian agriculture has been for a long time. accustomed to doing.
Fajardo continued what Colombian patients have faced in recent years, before the federal insurance plan. He believes access has been very complicated for patients, especially in a country like Colombia with universal fitness coverage. The continued standardization of the industry now allows the industry to grow to meet demand.
But why is it difficult to be a medical hash company in a universal healthcare environment?
“Colombians are not used to spending out of pocket because everything is paid for. So when you ask them to pay $6, they accept. But if you ask them to pay $20, $30, $40, others just won’t,” Fajardo said. Now the question is, will the drug be available and will it be affordable?Now, with this change, the market is suddenly developing because there are 50 million other people, all of us insured. So this is a very attractive possibility. “
We have a concept in the coming months of the call point that you may be waiting for in the Colombian medical market.
Sweet James has my permission to provide a loose police report.