Costa Rica enters from this month of March in the set of countries that have already legalized the production, industrialization and commercialization of medicinal cannabis. President Carlos Alvarado has signed the “Law on cannabis for medicinal and therapeutic use and on hemp for food and industrial use” which was ratified by Congress in the second and final vote after a long process to move it forward. With this law it is expected to favor thousands of patients while competing in a market of billions of dollars.
The approved law will allow the Costa Rican authorities to grant licenses for the production and industrialization of cannabis for medical or therapeutic purposes. This law highlights two fundamental benefits such as relieving pain and giving treatment to people who need it, expanding the therapeutic possibilities available and allowing the industrialization of hemp, which will mean an activation of the country’s agronomic industry with special emphasis on areas rural.
This law additionally declares the free cultivation, production, industrialization and commercialization of hemp (non-psychoactive) and its products or by-products, for industrial and food purposes, such as the manufacture of textiles, food, seeds, biofuels, etc., without being A special prior authorization from the authorities is required.
What does this new law bring?
This text had already been approved previously, but, however, it was partially vetoed by President Alvarado with special emphasis on three articles that allowed self-consumption and self-cultivation, which opened the door to an illicit use of the product, in which the authorities would not have control capacity. Congress picked up the presidential veto and eliminated the three articles of the text for a new vote that culminated in the president’s signature.
From now on, the objective that Costa Rica has set itself is to establish a series of regulations that guarantee compliance with international standards that are up to the standards of large markets and producers such as Canada, Israel or the United States, among them. Topics such as security, seed imports, transportation, handling of discarded product, exports and product traceability will be taken into account.
Your travel companion in medical cannabis
As you can see in our news, every day there are more countries that start the path for the regulation of the development of medical cannabis production. From Devecan we offer turnkey projects. In addition, we have the best specialists in the sector to make your project a success.
Discover everything about the use of medicinal cannabis and the evolution of the market. don’t miss either the latest news about how the medical cannabis legalization process is developing in the world.
Author:
Laura Taibo
GMP Consultant