Cannabis-Derived Products for Pets?

We have all heard about magic brownies but few might have heard about this startup’s CBD product. Pet Magic developed a nutritional supplement for animals based on CBD that claims to improve their quality of life. Veronica García, Founder of Pet Magic, worked with Mario Marczuk, an expert in the veterinary use of CBD, to develop an oil formula that claims to help dogs manage anxiety or even some medical conditions, such as arthritis. “We are the only (CBD) Mexican brand that is 100 percent focused on pets,” told García to Forbes Mexico. Pet Magic’s formula meets Mexican regulations of cannabis derived-products as it has less than 1 percent of THC.

In the last few years, the cannabis industry has been on the rise particularly in markets where medicinal, recreational and industrial uses are allowed. In Mexico, public opinion is just shifting away from a general rejection of cannabis-related products due addiction-related fears. “Misinformation has been the biggest problem [for the industry] due to people not differentiating cannabinoids from marijuana,” said Raúl Elizalde, President of HempMeds Mexico, in an interview with MBN. Companies are hard at work trying to shift this perception. Elizalde, for example, said that HempMeds was trying to change the common mentality concerning CBDs and their therapeutic properties through professionalism and information, as those products can be classified alongside any other supplement for human health.

The Mexican market offers opportunities for cannabis products. However, the biggest challenge in Mexico is regulation. “The market opportunity is huge, as are the strategic alliances that we could form with distributors, pharmacies and the clinical market,” said Andrés Galofe, Co-Founder and Vice President of Business Development at KHIRON, to MBN. The benefits of cannabis are clear for Galofe and, like Elizalde, he hopes information will help change the game for the industry. “We are talking about a medicinal product that is going to be under the legal spectrum and comply with regulatory oversight. Medicinal cannabis includes a long list of products that have worked to the benefit of patients. This is not a new science. It is proven to relieve people’s pain,” Galofe said.

Studies of the global cannabis market indicate it is expected to grow fivefold by 2023. Most studies focus on Canada’s market but project the data to markets like Germany, the US and Mexico, reports Entrepreneur. Mexican law regarding cannabis still has some holes, however.

In January 2021, the Mexican Ministry of Health published the Regulation of the General Health Law on Sanitary Control for the Production, Research and Medicinal Use of Cannabis and its Pharmacological Derivatives. This comes two months after the Senate approved the legalization of marijuana for recreational, scientific, medical and industrial use, reports Forbes Mexico. Nevertheless, regulation overlooks the production of pharmacological derivatives and medicines.