Costa Rica: Market and legal data analysis of the cannabis sector

2nd April 2024: Costa Rica: Government deputy Manuel Morales will ask the minister of the presidency, Natalia Díaz, to call for the discussion of the bill legalising the sale and consumption of recreational cannabis in the next extraordinary session, which will happen in May, press reports. In August 2023, the Environmental Commission voted against the bill, leaving it pending discussion in the plenary. Allegedly, the bill has now been rewritten, and includes suggestions from opposition parties.
5th September 2023: Costa Rica: The Ministry of Health has issued a warning against the sale and promotion of hemp flowers and other CBD products without public health registration. The authority added that individuals or companies marketing products without public health registration will be subject to administrative and criminal sanctions.
23rd August 2023: Costa Rica: A majority of deputies from the opposition National Liberation (PLN) and New Republic (PNR) parties of the Parliamentary Legislative Commission for the Environment accepted a report recommending the rejection of the government's bill to legalise recreational cannabis, press reports. The final vote is scheduled for next week.
7th July 2023: Costa Rica: The Ministry of Health has issued the first authorisation for the manufacture of hemp-derived products, which include food and cosmetics. The authorisation is valid for a period of six years. The law on hemp for food and industrial use entered into force in March 2022.
4th May 2023: Costa Rica: President Rodrigo Chaves has chosen the bill to legalise sale and consumption of recreational cannabis to be heard in extraordinary sessions of the Legislative Assembly. The bill is one of 48 to be debated by the legislature in the next three months.
7th February 2023: Costa Rica: Following the Executive Branch’s controversial decision to present a bill to legalise the sale of recreational cannabis, the Ministry of Health has proposed that it should be sold in grocery stores and supermarkets, to combat the illegal market, press reports. The bill’s original text proposed sales only in cafes, clubs and dispensaries.
26th January 2023: Costa Rica: After being rejected by several sectors of society, the Executive Branch has decided to present a new bill to legalise the sale and consumption of recreational cannabis, press reports. The minister of the Presidency, Natalia Díaz Quintana, said that the government is analysing the criticisms of the current recreational cannabis bill in order to develop a new proposal. No date for the introduction of the new bill has been disclosed.
19th January 2023: Costa Rica: The National Assembly has published a technical report about the recreational cannabis legalisation bill. The report warns that the bill may be unconstitutional as it is contrary to international treaties. “If Costa Rica intends to open up the use of cannabis for adults, it must follow the respective international procedures,” the report says.
16th January 2023: Costa Rica: During a meeting organised by the Legislative Assembly Environment Committee on the recreational cannabis legalisation bill, the vice-minister of health Alexei Carrillo showed his support for legalisation, but acknowledged that the ministry lacks the resources for the controls established in the bill, press reports.
7th December 2022: Costa Rica: The Ministry of Health has published guidelines on the procedure for requesting the authorisation necessary to manufacture, store, transport, use, distribute and sell hemp derivatives. The application forms and relevant documents are provided on the ministry website.
30th November 2022: Costa Rica: The Legislative Assembly Environment Committee has unanimously agreed to ask the Episcopal Conference and the Evangelical Alliance for an opinion on the recreational cannabis legalisation bill, press reports.

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