Despite being the "largest producer of pressed marijuana" globally and the fourth leading cultivator of "psychoactive marijuana" after Morocco, Mexico and Afghanistan, Paraguay is known for producing the worst pot. "It's really bad," one Brazilian tells CelebStoner.
According the a 2022 PevGrow report, "It is a poor quality product and in many cases toxic because it rots during the process, or because they apply chemical products so that it does not smell. The crops are mainly concentrated in the departments of Alto Paraná, Amambay, Caaguazú, Caazapá, Canindeyú, Concepción, Itapúa, and San Pedro,"
Paraguay borders Argentina, Bolivia and Brazil. It provides Brazil with most of its marijuana. Paraguay is South America's poorest country.
On Apr. 10, InsightCrime reported: "Authorities have destroyed mammoth amounts of cannabis on the border of Paraguay and Brazil in the latest in a series of eradication operations against the seemingly limitless supply of marijuana produced in Paraguay. The raids have focused on the Eastern department of Amambay."
A press release issued by SENAD (Secretaría Nacional Antidrogas) states:
"The operational contingents carried out air and land incursions in towns such as Cadete Boquerón, Trabuco, Karapã'i, Cerro Kuatia, Colonia Piray, Colonia Estrella, Tatú and María Auxiliadora within the Department of Amambay. Under the coordination of prosecutor Celso Morales, the tactical teams deployed in the forests detected and dismantled 131 drug encampments, within which they located 82,680 kilos of ready-made marijuana and 750 kilos of herb seeds. Likewise, the interveners proceeded to eradicate 334 hectares of marijuana plantations, in the growth and harvest stage. In this sense, according to the calculations of the average yield of the plots, plus what was seized in the camps, it is estimated that approximately 1.84 million kilograms of marijuana (1,084 tons) were taken out of circulation. The main destination of these illicit cargoes is the Brazilian territory, where on average 1 kilo of the herb costs about $150. It can be affirmed then that the loss of profit generated by drug trafficking is around $162.7 million. The 'New Alliance' operations are carried out based on a cooperation agreement in force between SENAD and the Federal Police, within the framework of shared responsibility in the fight against organized crime in the region."
"It's really bad. It's pressed, rancid old schwag filled with chemicals. If they grow good flower in Paraguay I haven't seen it."
InSight Crime notes: "The rural department of Amambay has long been the country's marijuana production hub. Nearly 70% of the remote department is farmland and there is a distinct lack of state presence... Amambay’s porous borders with Brazil have made its capital city of Pedro Juan Caballero, which abuts the Brazilian town of Punta Porá, a key transit point for drugs headed to its eastern neighbor."
A friend of CelebStoner's who lives in Brazil says about the cannabis there:
"It's pressed, rancid old schwag filled with chemicals, and coming from Paraguay. The smell of it gives me nausea. I really don't know how they can smoke it. I refuse to use it. Flower is so rare and really expensive, around US$20 per gram which in Brazilian money only the filthy rich can afford. There isn't a strong homegrow scene because the legal issues and prison time make people change their minds. The people who grow it are mostly patients applying in court for the habeas corpus not to be jailed. It's a very complicated and costly process to get approved, but a possibility for patients who can't afford the imported products. If they grow good flower in Paraguay I haven't seen it."
He added: "I came across a less rancid and a little greener stuff only once. I couldn't get it twice in a row. The cops deal the better stuff, and never directly to the general user. There's always a middle man who the cops trust."
While there's plenty of coke and crack in Brazil and Paraguay, quality cannabis is another matter.
