Cannabis vs Biopiracy

Biopiracy designates the illegitimate and/or illegal appropriation of the biological and/or cultural heritage of under-protected communities, often indigenous peoples of small rural farmers.
In this area of international law, nature is termed "genetic resources" and the associated human knowledge, know-hows, and skills are termed "traditional knowledge."
Hemp (Cannabis L.) is deeply ingrained in traditional knowledge systems and represents genetic resources associated with the livelihoods and rights of small-scale farmers. The economic potential of Cannabis plant varieties, preserved over generations by traditional knowledge holders, is highly susceptible to biopiracy.

We seek to amplify the voices of indigenous peoples and local communities in order to rebalance bioprospecting with reciprocity, free prior informed consent, and fair access and benefit-sharing. This is in order to prevent biopiracy from taking place from now on. In parallel, a discussion needs to be engaged as to ways of remedy and reparation for populations disenfranchised from their cultural and biological heritage in the past practices.
On the topic of biopiracy, the Cannabis Embassy incorporates in its advocacy several key plant and fungi genera: Cannabis (Hemp/Riamba/Marijuana), Erythroxylum (Coca/Kuhka), and several fungi including the genus Psilocybe as well as any other living genus to which drug control has been applied, and that is at risk of biopiracy.