Costa Rica - Legalization of Therapeutic Cannabis

The discussion of the draft law that would allow the legalization of the cultivation of Hemp and the production of Cannabis sativa for medicinal purposes will take place this year. The bill 21.388, the law on the production of Cannabis and Hemp for medicinal purposes, was judged positively on November 11 by the Environment Commission of the Legislative Assembly, with seven votes in favor and two against.
The aim of the project is to "Regulate and allow the access and use of Cannabis and its derivatives exclusively for medicinal and therapeutic use, in order to guarantee the fundamental right to health of the entire Costa Rican population". Furthermore, "Authorizes the production and marketing of hemp for industrial and food use", according to the wording of the proposal.

The Executive Power did not convene this project in the legislative plenary, however in November last year the deputies Roberto Thompson and Paola Valladares, the deputy Paola Vega of the Citizen Action Party (PAC), the independent deputy Zoila Volio and the Social Christian María Inés Solís asked the government to summon him.

In addition, Ana Lucía Delgado showed her support for the project by congratulating her colleague Volio and saying that "this project will bring new job opportunities and economic development".

This bill was proposed by the independent deputy Zoila Rosa Volio and according to the Promoter del Comercio Exterior de Costa Rica (Procomer), "there are relatively more favorable indicators for the marketing of products with CBD application in goods such as supplements. , topical solutions, food and drink ".

Furthermore, Procomer pointed out that," although cultivation associated with CBD extraction requires a higher initial investment, other indicators favor it, such as greater labor intensity and better profitability, as long as yields per hectare are achieved, "they said.

Sources: thecostaricanews