Bill 26.

Summary.

The bill regulates the industrial use of hemp seeds, plants and derivatives in the Republic of Panama (República de Panamá). It covers planting, cultivation, harvesting, transformation, storage, transport, distribution, sale, export, use and possession, subject to legal THC concentration requirements. It defines hemp by a concentration no higher than one percent (1.0%) by dry weight and defines terms including propagation material, finished product, industrial purposes and authorization. Its stated purposes include cultivation, product quality, research and the participation of small producers.

It assigns responsibilities to the Ministry of Agricultural Development (Ministerio de Desarrollo Agropecuario) for agricultural authorizations; the Ministry of Health (Ministerio de Salud) for technical certificates of non-psychoactivity; the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (Ministerio de Comercio e Industria) for authorizations concerning transformation, manufacturing, sale, distribution and export; and the Ministry of Security (Ministerio de Seguridad) for oversight of unlawful use of permits. The agricultural and industrial authorities would set supervisory parameters and guidelines. Plantations would be subject to control and surveillance, a register would cover persons authorized to plant and harvest, and authorization holders would have to allow inspections without prior notice. Authorized cultivation area would be subject to quotas linked to crop purchase contracts in order to prioritize food cultivation.

The bill distinguishes cultivation, processing, and marketing and export authorizations. The Ministry of Agricultural Development would establish by regulation the requirements and fees for authorization to plant, harvest and produce hemp; the Ministry of Commerce and Industry would develop the procedure for industrial and commercial activities. Authorization holders could conduct research with support from national and international organizations. Authorized legal entities would have to meet corporate social responsibility parameters. Holders could also use and dispose of plant material under approved protocols, recycle seeds unused for planting as compost or fertilizer, and make various finished products subject to the applicable legal requirements.

To establish non-psychoactivity, an authorization holder would submit a technical certificate with information on the variety and its potential yield, and showing a Delta-9 Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) concentration no higher than one percent (1 %) by dry weight. Good Agricultural Practices certification and validated THC testing of every harvest would be required. Each authorization would identify the permitted activities. Finished products would be subject to a special control authorization for manufacture or sale and to the relevant health requirements. The Ministry of Agricultural Development would conduct assessments before and after granting authorizations and regulate the documents used to verify lawful origin and destination during transport. Domestic sales of derivatives and products for human, veterinary, medicinal or therapeutic use would comply with Ministry of Health rules.

As a transitional measure, the Ministry of Agricultural Development would design a pilot program using seeds with patented genetics and mechanisms to include initiatives by rural communities and small farmers. The program would pass practices and technologies on to those farmers, support research into the feasibility of forming a cultivation cooperative or association, and promote hemp biomass to attract domestic and foreign investment. It could begin before regulations are issued. Those regulations would set requirements and limits on authorizations and cultivable area; the Executive Branch (Órgano Ejecutivo) would issue them within 90 days after promulgation. The bill provides that the law would take effect on the day of its promulgation. Its provisions concern the public bodies named above and could be relevant to agricultural producers, processors, manufacturers, traders, exporters and investors in the hemp sector.