Latin America has the potential to be one of the largest medical marijuana markets in the world.

In addition to foreign investments, new legislation, and special cultivation licenses, here are some stories you might have missed about cannabis in Latin America this week.

Argentinian engineers develop cannabis extractor

In February, the Faculty of Design and Urbanism at the University of Buenos Aires unveiled a prototype design of a medicinal cannabis oil extractor called Nectar.

Aphria Inc. (TSX: APH and US OTC: APHQF) today announced that it has completed its first shipment of cannabis oil to its Argentina-based subsidiary ABP, S.A., a pharmaceutical import and distribution company.

Who thought it would be a good idea to bring anything weapon-shaped to the airport?

An Argentine airport was evacuated Tuesday after a suspected explosive device was discovered at the facility. But when the bomb squad arrived to investigate the object, they determined that it was actually a cannabis grinder designed to resemble a hand grenade. The incident occurred at the Astor Piazzolla airport in Mar del Plata, a seaside city about 250 miles southeast of the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires. Alehandro Itzcovich, the chief of national airport security in Argentina, told local media that he believed that the pot grinder had been left at the airport by a departing passenger.

2017 will go down on history as one of the most progressive years for the global cannabis community. While there is still a long way to go, the legalisation wave, particularly in the medical field, has reached a large number of parliaments around the world.

And of course this also applies to South America, where many countries have pushed the legalisation debate onto their parliaments’ agenda, with Argentina, Chile, Puerto Rico, Colombia and Mexico having decriminalised the use of medical cannabis and Uruguay emerging as the only country to have legalised both medical and recreational uses.

Placentia Bay Holdings Inc has just purchased the old US Navy mess hall in Argentina to pursue opportunities in the medical marijuana production industry.

The old AMA building was built in 1956, and Port of Argentina Board Chair Vivian Smith says they’re pleased the building has been sold.

Placentia Bay Holdings’ next steps are to apply for the various government permits and approvals needed to proceed.

Company representative Ed Maher says he plans to remediate and refurbish the building for use as a modern hydroponics operation.

Argentina's Senate voted unanimously to legalize medical marijuana, joining the lower house and setting the country on course to become the latest to relax its laws on pot.

President Mauricio Macri is all but certain to sign the bill, which garnered an unusual level of cross-party support and was applauded by patients and their families.

A group of mothers with sick children burst into tearful applause in the Senate as lawmakers voted 58-0 to pass the bill.

"This is a dream fulfilled, an immense happiness because it will bring solace to patients," said Maria Laura Alasi, whose four-year-old daughter Josefina suffers from West syndrome, a form of epilepsy that causes her to have dozens of seizures a day.