Argentina keeps hemp agency under state supervision amid unfinished licensing reforms

Argentina’s government has extended direct supervision of the country’s hemp and medical cannabis regulatory agency for another year, acknowledging that significant administrative and regulatory work remains unfinished as the country expands its commercial hemp licensing system.

President Javier Milei’s administration issued Decree 1147/2026 in early October, renewing government intervention in the Regulatory Agency for the Hemp and Medicinal Cannabis Industry (ARICCAME) and retaining Ignacio Ferrari as its administrator.

The decision, published Oct. 6, continues an arrangement established in September 2024 and extended in 2025. The new intervention can be prolonged for another year.

More work ahead

The government said ARICCAME has made progress in licensing, digitizing operations and coordinating with provincial authorities. However, “despite the progress achieved, tasks remain” involving the agency’s structure, regulatory framework, licensing procedures and supply-chain traceability, according to the decree.

The Economy Ministry will continue providing administrative and financial support until ARICCAME is fully operational.

New hemp rules

The extension comes less than three weeks after ARICCAME expanded Argentina’s hemp licensing framework to include non-psychoactive flowers and biomass under the country’s 1% THC limit.

Under that change, the agency established five-year licenses for cultivation, manufacturing, related services and foreign trade, subject to annual validation. The framework now covers hemp flowers intended for medicinal, nutritional, cosmetic, veterinary and research applications. Rules for seed, grain and fiber were already in place.

Since 2024

ARICCAME was established under Argentina’s 2022 law governing industrial hemp and medical cannabis. The Milei administration placed the agency under intervention in September 2024, appointing Ferrari to oversee its operations and regulatory development.

He remained in charge after the administration attempted to dissolve the agency in July 2025, a move subsequently rejected by Congress.

Ferrari is an ophthalmologist who also has training in medical cannabis He is the founder of Cannaradix, an organization providing guidance on cannabis-based treatments.