Costa Rica: Congress approves legalization of medical cannabis

Costa Rica's Legislative Assembly approved the legalization of cannabis for medical purposes on Tuesday, despite opposition from President Carlos Alvarado and conservative groups in the Central American country. The text of the law, proposed in 2016 then in 2019, was already against the advice of Security Minister Michael Soto.

Cannabis production and processing was approved with 58% of the 57 voting seats.

«This law is an important step because it opens up a new market that would benefit the agricultural sector, which has been affected in recent years, but it is far from being a gateway to drug use. I hope President Alvarado understands this and doesn't veto it,» said independent deputy Zoila Volio, one of the law's supporters.

The Costa Rican President's seal of approval is still awaited. If the President rejects it, he will oblige the deputies to repeat the vote to bring the law into force, but this time with the need to obtain a qualified majority.

Approval by the Legislative Assembly also includes the food and industrial uses of hemp, seen as a potential factor for economic recovery in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

«It's a late and limited measure, but it's practical and necessary to generate wealth. We've lost market share while other countries have already come a long way,» said Zoila Volio.

The production of hemp in Costa Rica will be free, but the production of cannabis for therapeutic purposes will require licenses issued by the Ministry of Health, 40% of which will have to remain in the hands of small-scale producers. People suffering from a disease will also be able to produce it for their own consumption, subject to a permit.

The deputies who proposed the bill ruled out moving towards legalizing the open consumption of cannabis, a possibility supported by 40 % of the population, according to a survey carried out in May by the University of Costa Rica. However, consumption is already widely tolerated in Costa Rica.