This past Thursday, January 13th, Tico deputies approved in second debate file 21,388, Law Of Cannabis For Medicinal And Therapeutic Use And Hemp For Food And Industrial Use In Costa Rica. This was approved with approved with 29 votes in favor and 10 votes against.
What does it consist of?
This initiative allows 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.
Economic reactivation
With this, the production and commercialization of hemp for industrial and food use is authorized, promoting economic and social development in rural areas of the country, generating employment and development.
A tax of 1 percent will be established at the rate on profits, it was achieved after the approval of a motion to reduce it and it is sought to have resources to provide support to new producers.
The project establishes that it will be the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock that will define, based on technical criteria, the regions of the country suitable for the cultivation of cannabis for medical and therapeutic use and will promote an equitable distribution of licenses for cultivation in the national territory, prioritizing the districts with the lowest rates of social development, the MSMEs, organizations of agricultural producers, constituted as cantonal agricultural centers, associations of small and medium producers, agricultural or self-management cooperatives or indigenous development associations.
On the other hand, it is provided that all medicines produced must comply with current legal and regulatory requirements for registration and marketing, in order to guarantee the protection of people’s lives and health.
The Ministry of Health will determine the permitted ranges of CBD and THC that the products may contain, the verification of which will be carried out through technical studies.
