As part of his annual report, President Carlos Alvarado presented the measures with which he hopes to rebuild the economy after the COVID 19 Pandemic, which includes promoting Hemp planting.
“We will promote the cultivation of Hemp to reactivate the productive sector, with all the guarantees and security necessary,” said the President to the deputies yesterday.
The production of the plant allows the extraction of fibers with uses ranging from the food sector to construction. In addition to marijuana, you can extract oils, proteins, ecological fuels, insulating materials and textiles for automobiles. As such, the Cannabis variety from which Hemp is extracted has no psychoactive effects.
Since the beginning of the year, the agricultural sector has indicated that the guarantee for Hemp production would allow crop diversification and job creation. But the producers denounced complications to obtain the seeds.
The president of the Chamber of Agriculture and Agro-industry, Juan Rafael Lizano, said in February that they have been trying to bring seedlings of this species to the country for more than five years, for later use in the production of articles related to textiles.
“Being a plant of the same genus as Marijuana, there has been trouble importing the seed. There are people here who have more than five years of trying to introduce Hemp to the country and who have had to process things such as certifications from the Institute on Drugs,” said Lizano.
In addition, the independent Deputy Zoila Rosa Volio, presented a bill to legalize Cannabis for medicinal use. The initiative does not seek to allow the consumption of Marijuana in the country, or any other drug. Her plan is for Costa Rica to have a legal framework for the planting, cultivation, production, export and consumption of Cannabis Sativa L plants and their varieties. Just after President Alvarado’s announcement, Deputy Volio thanked what she considers to be support for her bill.
BD