[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]It has been over 6 months since HempMeds® Mexico was created as our local branch to distribute our cannabidiol to patients in Mexico. In that time, HempMeds® Mexico has worked to educate patients, doctors, and health officials in Mexico on the benefits of CBD, expanding access to CBD for patients in the process.
Looking forward, HempMeds® Mexico continues to create the initiatives and form the partnerships that will allow them to bring CBD to even more patients in Mexico.
Community Outreach
Since cannabidiol is such a new treatment option for patients in Mexico, there has been a great deal of misinformation and confusion surrounding the topic. HempMeds® Mexico takes the necessary steps to reach out to doctors and patients in the country to give them the information needed to decide whether cannabidiol is right for them.
Part of this comes on an individual basis, meeting with patients and doctors one on one to answer questions they have about prescribing, importing, and using CBD oil.
HempMeds® Mexico also hosts events like October’s First National Symposium on the benefits of CBD titled Cannabidiol, Medical and Therapeutic Uses. These events give HempMeds® Mexico the chance to reach out to a large number of doctors or patients at once, sparking a national conversation around the use of cannabidiol.
“One of our objectives [for this event] is to share with health professionals the results of international clinical studies that focus on the neuroprotective properties of cannabinoids, as well as several clinical applications,” said Dion Markgraaff, President of HempMeds® Mexico.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”17951,17952,17953,17954,17955,17957″ size=”200×200″ column=”ig_col_6″][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Looking forward, HempMeds® Mexico has several other opportunities planned this fall and winter to raise awareness for CBD as an option for patients among the medical community.
Next, HempMeds will be supporting an educational display in the Mexican Senate on October 24th, helping to educate the nation’s lawmakers in the effects and benefits of CBD for patients in Mexico. This will be followed closely by a patient organized and focused event in Guadalajara on November 2nd, allowing current CBD patients and their families in Mexico to share their experiences with the public.
These upcoming events, directed at lawmakers, patients, and doctors, respectively, and aimed at dispelling the myths surrounding cannabis and CBD, are effective ways to bring an understanding of cannabidiol to the general public in Mexico.
Leadership
HempMeds® Mexico has also invested in the leadership necessary to bring the company to the forefront of the CBD market it helped create. With the recent addition of key members to the leadership team, HempMeds® Mexico is well positioned to continue its mission of expanding access to cannabidiol in Mexico.
An important acquisition for the HempMeds® Mexico team was the appointment of Dion Markgraaff as president of company. Markgraaff is a longtime cannabis industry veteran with over 25 years of experience.
“I plan to assist Mexico through the current cannabis revolution that is happening there right now,” said Markgraaff, regarding his new role with HempMeds® Mexico. “This plant is going to go back to its primary position in society of being revered and worshipped, from it’s current status of being feared and fueling war.”
As president of HempMeds® Mexico, Dion Markgraaff will be responsible for heading the company’s push to reach out to Mexico’s health officials, lawmakers, doctors, and patients. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”17958,17965,17966,17967″ size=”300×200″ column=”ig_col_4″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Recognizing Markgraaff’s potential, the CEO of Medical Marijuana, Inc. Dr. Stuart Titus responded, ”We are thrilled that Dion Markgraaff will be heading up our HempMeds® Mexico subsidiary. Mr. Markgraaff’s extensive experience in working to revitalize the cannabis industry will be a tremendous asset as we continue working directly with the Mexican government to safely and legally provide access to CBD hemp oil products to the people of Mexico. In addition, Mr. Markgraaff will help us pursue our work to open up even greater access to our CBD-based products throughout the country, including developing additional ways to educate patients and health professionals on the plethora of medical marijuana’s benefits.”
Before being named President of HempMeds® Mexico, Markgraaff served as a business development consultant for General Hemp™ LLC, a private equity company founded to support growth in the industrial hemp industry. During this time, Markgraaff was instrumental in opening Mexico’s cannabis market and introducing CBD into the country. He also helped HempMeds® Mexico solidify a partnership with Mexico’s champion for cannabis reform, Raul Elizalde, and his Por Grace Foundation, the leading association fighting to ensure families receive the right to health care and medical access to CBD hemp oil in Mexico.
HempMeds® Mexico has also hired Carlos Gonzalez to join their team as Head of Operations. Gonzalez is an experienced lawyer and customs law expert in Mexico, giving him a unique knowledge of the administrative hurdles the company and its customers will need to navigate. Gonzalez will be responsible for overall daily operations for HempMeds® Mexico and managing the company’s local Monterrey office.
Patient Advocacy
HempMeds® works closely with patients and their families in Mexico, helping them secure access to cannabidiol. Teaming with these families allows HempMeds® Mexico to further the grassroots movement bringing CBD to patients in the country.
One such family is that of Emili Zoe, who was diagnosed with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome at a young age, hindering her development. When she was approved by Cofepris, the health authority in Mexico, Emili Zoe became one of the first patients in Mexico authorized to import and use CBD.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”16587,16586,16585,16584,16583,16582″ size=”200×200″ column=”ig_col_6″][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Recently, HempMeds® partnered with her family to sponsor a birthday party and fundraiser in Emili Zoe’s honor, where a short documentary produced by CMW Media projected for the crowd to view detailing the family’s struggle and discovery of CBD and Emili Zoe’s progress.
Another family close to HempMeds® Mexico is that of Grace of the Por Grace Foundation. Grace was the first patient in Mexico to legally use CBD oil, unknowingly kickstarting the movement for CBD in Mexico.
Grace’s father, Raul Elizalde, started the Por Grace Foundation to further access to CBD for Grace and others like his daughter. The premier cannabidiol advocacy group in Mexico, the Por Grace Foundation works closely with HempMeds® Mexico to help interested patients navigate the process to access CBD.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”17969,6798,6795,6786,7023,7025″ size=”200×200″ column=”ig_col_6″][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]In discussing the Por Grace Foundation, Markgraaff said, “We are going to continue our successful support of this foundation because the group has proven incredibly effective in educating the Mexican people about the power of cannabis and, in particular, CBD hemp oil. Raul and the Por Grace Foundation are at the tip of the cannabis movement in Mexico, piercing at people’s previously misguided prejudices about the plant.”
Research
Renowned Mexican physician Dr. Carlos G. Aguirre Velazquez recently announced the results of a new survey conducted on children with refractory epilepsy. Participation in the study was voluntary, and study criteria required a diagnosis of refractory epilepsy such as Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome, Dravet, Doose or other causes, and the current use of medicinal cannabis (usually a pure CBD extract).
The survey, submitted to parents of the Por Grace Foundation Facebook Group, found that out of 53 cases of children who were treated with cannabidiol (CBD) hemp oil, 60 percent showed a reduction in seizures.
The study, conducted by Dr. Velazquez, Professor of Pediatric Neurology at the Monterrey Institute of Techhas’ School of Medicine, also reported that in seizure crises treated with CBD hemp oil, 16 percent were completely controlled and 51 percent improved in either a “moderately to an important way”.
Results from the study were presented to other doctors across Mexico as part of an ongoing effort inside the country to inform health professionals on the therapeutic uses of cannabis.
Dr. Velazquez’s study helps to confirm the hard work the HempMeds® Mexico team has put in since the beginning of the year. Working tirelessly with patient advocates in the country, HempMeds® Mexico continues to progress towards a more compassionate approach to CBD access in Mexico.
For more information about HempMeds® Mexico or to begin the steps necessary to import CBD into the country, visit the HempMeds® Mexico website, call 1-866-786-2440 or 001-883-786-2440, or email the HempMeds® Mexico team at [email protected].[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
