5 Minutes With: Cannabis Mexico Summit Director Aldo Ricardo Rodríguez Cortés

Medical Marijuana 411 is proud to be a part of the 2021 Cannabis Mexico Summit to be held virtually on March 25th-28th. Ahead of the event, we spoke to the Director of the Summit and Lawgic CEO and Co-Founder, Aldo Ricardo Rodríguez Cortés for our “5 Minutes With:” segment highlighting unique individuals in the rapidly expanding legal cannabis industry. Our talk with him discusses Mexico’s recent legalization vote, cannabis industry trends, and what to expect at the 2021 Cannabis Mexico Summit. Enjoy!

The Cannabis Mexico Summit is the most important digital event of 2021 of this industry in Mexico. Bringing together the most influential professional, business, scientific and technological profiles that are creating this industry, and what will allow each participant to find perspectives for the immediate future.

Learn through this Summit the ins and outs that this industry has to take solid steps, carry out the networking you require, clarify your ideas and find new opportunities.

For more information about the upcoming Cannabis Mexico Summit and how to register for the event, visit: https://en.cannabismexicosummit.com/ for English and https://www.cannabismexicosummit.com/ for Spanish.

Hi Ricardo, very nice to virtually speak with you! To begin, would you tell our readers about yourself and why you first got involved in the cannabis industry?

I am a mix between a lawyer and an entrepreneur – always looking for opportunities. I became focused on this industry while on a trip to Canada, where a great friend asked me to follow Mexican policy regarding cannabis closely for him. This gave me the opportunity to study Mexican involvement in this industry. It led to my friend and colleague asking me to join the board of advisors of the Canadian company, Cascadia Group, where I further built my industry acumen and knowledge base. Additionally, through my online education project, Lawgic, I was able to share with my students my new knowledge and understanding of trade realities gleaned from the emerging cannabis industry in Mexico. 

Mexico’s Chamber of Deputies just voted to legalize recreational marijuana. The Senate is expected to pass the bill and President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is likely to sign it into law. What do you believe the impact of this landmark legislation will be on Mexico and its neighboring countries including the U.S.?

The wait has been very long for Mexico and it makes us very happy to know that it has come to a happy ending.

There are at least 3 elements that make Mexico privileged in the cannabis world.

A. Its privileged climatic conditions (lots of sun, lots of water, and fertile soil).

B. The economic advantages regarding the cost of labor and how this will make a difference in the final cost of the product.

C. The arrival of a tremendous amount of capital is expected to influx the market, thereby, accelerating the commoditization of cannabis in the coming years. This means that the medium-term strategy is to ensure good margins on the primary product.

The Cannabis Mexico Summit looks to be an incredible event. The fact that it is happening within weeks of Mexico’s landmark legalization bill is a fun coincidence. What do you expect to be the most important topics of conversation at this year’s summit?

Definitely not a coincidence! We realized that most of the people around us had more questions than answers. 

We felt a responsibility to make the right information available to those who could build new projects. We believe this newly annual Summit is the best way to establish the industry. Through events like these, we will help those who intend to start new business ventures to avoid costly failures.

The 2021 Cannabis Mexico Summit will be held virtually on March 25th-28th. How can our readers follow this historic event?

We divided the summit into 4 days.

Each one for the relevant areas, as we understand them:

3/25- Doctors, veterinarians and research,
3/26- Pharmaceutical Industry,
3/27- Agribusiness,
3/28- Commercial, business and VC

We hope that everyone will tune in on the days that they feel are most applicable to them. Every day there is content in English and Spanish, specifically related to the industry and Mexico’s relationship to it. 

We are very proud of the involvement of New Frontier Data, who brings with them very specific, privileged, and unmissable data regarding the industry in Mexico. Furthermore, we are also delighted that Leafly, an industry giant, who specializes in purveying cannabis industry knowledge with a mission to empower cannabis businesses, has also joined the Summit. 

What is the impact/importance of cannabis education for the medical community. What are some of the hurdles/issues that the medical community faces with legalization?

In my opinion, there are too many myths about cannabis, which only education can help to resolve.

Many doctors are afraid to prescribe, as they are still not clear whether it is legal or not.

A very strong outreach effort will be needed to raise the interest that will open doctors to the possibility of prescribing it to their patients.

Thank you so much for your time, is there anything else coming up that you would like our readers to know about?

The event is made in short and accessible time slots. We know that it is a lot of content. The format will be agile and digestible.

We are very grateful for the trust placed in us by the participants of this event and are thrilled at the prospect of leading the conversation in this industry. 

We know how important every participants’ time is we take our job of delivering this information very seriously. 

Thanks again to Lawgic CEO  Aldo Ricardo Rodríguez Cortés for joining us. Be sure to register for the exciting Cannabis Mexico Summit beginning March 25th, 2021.

Interested in learning more about Medical Marijuana 411’s upcoming course offerings in Spanish or tailored for the Mexican cannabis market?  Click Here to register for email updates.

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