When Law 1787/2016 was enacted, producers, international investors and small farmers alike were anxious to grab a piece of the juicy and promising international opportunity. By then, Colombia became the second South American country to fully legalize medical cannabis production and commercialization.

We quickly realized, once the infamous Decree 613/2018 was issued, that the medical cannabis market came stuffed with stringent restrictions that would make everyone’s eyebrows rise in disbelief. The confusion surrounding THC quotas, unclear requirements to work alongside rural farmers and, most importantly, the mandate to never sell dry THC flower became concerning for international investors.

Today, almost ten years later, entrepreneurs have navigated all possible challenges from understanding how to renovate licenses to facing bankruptcy in different jurisdictions. The news that the sale of medical cannabis flowers is now legalized, pending further regulation, comes as a breath of fresh air, but is it too late for the once-blooming and hopeful industry in Colombia to change our history with controlled substances?

At CLE, we’re no strangers to medical cannabis – both our founders have advised several medical cannabis clients ever since legalization took place, and Juliana even faced the challenges of being the first dry flower exporter to the United States from Medellín. Today, we look back and reflect on the real consequences this regulatory change has for both patients and international investors (and we gloat a bit too, remembering when Juliana was quoted by CNN)

The Good: Patient Access as an Entirely New Market

The best part of seeing dry flower being legalized is it reminds us why we chose to work in this sector: to help patients and ourselves. Who can forget the legendary story of Charlotte’s Web and how an entire industry realized this magical plant could not only bring us, stressed and busy adults, relief, but it could cure children suffering countless daily seizures.

Even if its few patients who can access cannabis treatments, and even if few doctors are willing to prescribe it, improving healthcare access in a country with a robust healthcare system is a win in itself. Remember: doctors, entrepreneurs and even attorneys supporting cannabis legalization have been around for nearly a decade now – our voices are bound to be heard at some point.

Now, we would never forget about local producers, the real heroes behind the scenes. Exporting a controlled substance and complying with expensive and complex requirements such as the feared EU-GMP made many of our hearts ache with the pain of leaving a dream behind. The possibility of selling high-quality flowers in Colombian pharmacies may not yield billions of dollars as we originally expected, but it does open the door for local producers to compete in the local market, and being cash-flow-positive is now closer than ever.

The Bad: Is it a Little too Late?

In 2018, medical cannabis companies entering the Colombian space used to throw lavish parties in Cartagena, taking full advantage of their seemingly unlimited marketing budgets. A few years later, however, we all saw the downfall of major players victims of their own accelerated growth and the broken promises of being able to achieve European medical-grade flowers for next to nothing.

Years later, after paying for cultivation, fabrication and even seed production licenses, local producers are exhausted. Raising capital for years has taken a toll on everyone: from small entrepreneurs who requested access to government loans, to public companies whose stock is worth less than pennies in the Toronto Ventures Stock Exchange. Additionally, Decree 1138/2025 allows for “express licenses”, a disposition LPs have taken as a personal attack after all their past efforts.

Our sincere hope is for this decree to bring more interest into Colombia, and some of our partners have confirmed this is the case, but we still wonder if there is still hope for medical cannabis companies who have bet everything on this single plant.

The Ugly: Walking on Thin Ice

The beauty of medical cannabis regulations is to read between the lines. Take the United States, for example: an open interpretation of 2018 Farm Bill allowed for several states to commercialize cannabis products with less than 0.3% delta 9-THC which taught everyone a valuable lesson: keep strains with low THC in stock, that might be the key to reach the world’s largest consumer market.

We still, however, have no clue how Colombian authorities are planning to regulate the sale of medical dry flowers in local pharmacies. Up until now, we have three clues:

1. ICA, the Colombian Agriculture Institute, will be in charge of issuing sale permits: we anticipate a strong focus on phytosanitary commercialization requirements considering the entity’s nature
2. The Ministries of Health, Justice and Agriculture have five months to issue a specific regulation: we expect a structured, layered regulation that should fit current license structures like a glove
3. Some pharmacies will be allowed to sell medical cannabis flower, others won’t, but there is no certainty regarding requirements or additional costs.

We chose to attempt to read the future, but the truth is we are still lacking key elements from Decree 1138/2025 before we can make sure we’re not walking on thin ice. On another hand, uncertainty can make for profitable investments and lifelong lessons, so maybe ugliness beats certainty and its right on time to invest in the Colombian cannabis space.

So, ultimately, what does the new Decree 1138/2025 really mean?

As your trusted attorneys, it means we are happy to guide your local investment from A to Z. As entrepreneurs, buckle up: this might be the first step towards the dream of total legalization.

We’d be happy to hear your thoughts, debate and discuss, or just catch up!