Costa Rica: Home Cultivation, Medical Cannabis And Legal Hemp? New Law Could Make Them Real

By Franca Quarneti via El Planteo.

In Costa Rica, legislators re-sparked the debate for the legalization of medical cannabis and hemp.

Bill No. 21.388 was approved by the Environmental Commission of the Legislative Assembly last November, but its presentation to the plenary of the Assembly was delayed.

In the initiative proposed by Congress Representative Zoila Rosa Volio, hemp is defined as cannabis with a THC content of less than 1%.

In addition, the bill distinguishes between products for therapeutic and medicinal use.

What would be the difference between the two categories? Therapeutic use does not require medical supervision, while medicinal use does.

As reported by Canna Law, the proposal does not establish any special licensing requirements for hemp cultivation, other than those required for agricultural activity in general.

For producing medicinal cannabis, growers must apply for a license with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock.

An important fact: according to the bill, cannabis patients are authorized to plant their own cannabis.

Motion to enable companies to produce cannabis in Costa Rica

The bill did not contemplate licensing to private firms, only to national farmers or cooperatives.

Legislators modified the bill through a motion that enables the production of medicinal cannabis by individuals and legal entities.

"The bill covers two areas: hemp and medicinal cannabis. For hemp, no license is needed, anyone can plant, but (given its psychotropic effects) medicinal cannabis will be licensed. The motion approved today, creates an opportunity for private companies, national and foreign, to participate in the local cannabis market", Roberto Thompson, one of the legislators who promoted the modification of the bill, La República.

A Way To Play This

A few months ago, publicly-traded cannabis company Flora Growth Corp. FLGC's Kasa Wholefoods division inked a deal with GMD Latinoamérica, a Costa Rica-based distributor, to export its primary brand Mambe to Puerto Limon in April.

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