Tag: costa rica

Medical Cannabis Is Now Available In Costa Rica

Written by Johnny Green on June 24, 2025. Posted in Business.

Safe access to medical cannabis has finally become a reality in Costa Rica, where suffering patients diagnosed with qualifying conditions can now make legal purchases from the nation’s pharmacies. Legal purchases will require a prescription, although local advocates are working to increase legal medical cannabis commerce options.

The push for increased safe access in Costa Rica via permitting dispensaries to operate is being opposed by leaders of the domestic pharmacy industry.

“The pharmaceutical industry insists that this regulation seeks to protect patients, ensuring that therapeutic cannabis is dispensed by specifically trained professionals and under pharmaceutical supervision.” reported The Costa Rica News.

“The possibility of sales in dispensaries should not be open. These products cannot be sold over the counter, as they pose risks such as drug interactions, adverse effects, or misuse,” stated Dr. Andrés Guzmán Tacsan, representative of the Costa Rican College of Pharmacists, according to The Costa Rica News.

Medical cannabis advocates in Costa Rica point out that not all of the nation’s pharmacies are willing to carry medical cannabis products, and that dispensaries would help ensure that there is enough availability for all qualifying patients.

They also point out that giving a virtual monopoly to pharmacies by not permitting dispensaries to operate limits Costa Rica’s emerging cannabis industry’s potential. Entrepreneurs and investors are largely locked out of Costa Rica’s industry under the current framework.

Pharmacists in Costa Rica who are advocating for medical cannabis to only be dispensed by pharmacists in pharmacies, due to previously mentioned concerns, fail to recognize that medical cannabis dispensary staffers specialize in medical cannabis and are very knowledgeable. Compare that to a pharmacist who may have little to no experience or background with medical cannabis specifically.

A potential compromise may be to require aspiring dispensary owners and staff to complete a certain type of training or certification to establish that a standard of accreditation has been met, which is what many state-level markets in the United States require. For now, qualifying patients have at least some level of safe access to their medications.

Push For Legalization Continues In Costa Rica

Written by Hazel Norman on December 18, 2023. Posted in Policy.

Multiple countries on different continents are making meaningful pushes to modernize their cannabis policies in ways that would permit adults to cultivate, consume, and/or sell cannabis for recreational purposes.

One of those countries is Costa Rica, where lawmakers are divided over a recent effort to pass an adult-use cannabis legalization measure. This month the nation’s president once again called for adult-use cannabis legalization, and the call was received with mixed reactions. Per excerpts from Tico Times:

Several deputies across parties echoed Chaves’ perspective. Manuel Morales, President of the Environment Commission that oversees the stalled legalization bill, agrees the goal is regulating existing demand rather than promoting more usage.

However, some legislators remain fiercely opposed, especially from the opposition National Liberation Party (PLN). Deputy Dinorah Barquero alleged the bill lacks sufficient study of potential public health impacts from increased cannabis use. Meanwhile, fellow PLN member Gilbert Jiménez labeled Chaves’ legalization push as “inopportune” given the scale of Costa Rica’s security challenges with homicides and criminal groups.

Costa Rica’s Executive Branch previously introduced a cannabis legalization measure that would be later voted down by the nation’s Permanent Special Environment Commission in a 5-3 vote back in August. A major focus of the measure was to boost the nation’s tourism industry and to make Costa Rica a top global cannabis tourism destination.

In President Chaves’ recent call to renew the push to legalize cannabis for adult use in his country, he placed a heavy emphasis on modernizing the nation’s policies to help combat drug cartels and organized crime.

Costa Rica is reportedly experiencing an interesting phenomenon, with cannabis allegedly being smuggled into the country at an increasing rate. If so, Costa Rica would be wise to follow in Canada’s footsteps. Canada legalized cannabis in 2018 and consumers have largely transitioned their purchases to the regulated industry instead of buying from unregulated sources.

Will Costa Rica Become A Top Cannabis Tourism Destination?

Written by Hazel Norman on January 9, 2023. Posted in Business, Entertainment, Policy.

Cannabis tourism is not a new thing, however, the size of that particular sector of the emerging international cannabis industry has historically been limited. Obviously, that is due in large part to prohibition laws around the globe.

For many years Amsterdam was the undeniable leader when it came to international cannabis tourism, with a handful of other notable cities such as Barcelona and Vancouver (Canada) also serving as top destinations for cannabis enthusiasts.

As cannabis reform continues to spread across the globe, and with it, the legal cannabis industry, lawmakers in some countries are seeming to envision their regions also serving as top international cannabis tourism destinations, with the latest example of that being in Costa Rica. Per The Q Media (translated to English):

The bill to legalize the use of recreational marijuana in Costa Rica authorizes the Instituto Costarricense de Turismo (ICT) – Costa Rican Tourism Board – to promote the country as a destination for responsible consumption.

This is established in article 52 of initiative 23,383 that is being analyzed by the legislative commission on the environment (Comisión de Ambiente del Congreso).

Specifically, it indicates:

“The Instituto Costarricense de Turismo should establish information campaigns at the international level to promote Costa Rica as a tourist destination for the responsible consumption of cannabis for recreational use.”

The bill itself is far from guaranteed to pass, so the language pertaining to boosting cannabis tourism needs to be taken with a grain of salt. Cannabis advocates inside and outside of Costa Rica are clearly rooting for legalization to be adopted in Costa Rica, however, as with all things political, no one should count any eggs before they hatch.

According to World Data, “Costa Rica recorded a total of one million tourists in 2020, ranking 90th in the world in absolute terms.” With that in mind, any and all additional tourism that cannabis legalization can generate for Costa Rica will surely be appreciated.

Costa Rica Authorizes First Hemp Project

Written by Hazel Norman on November 14, 2022. Posted in Business, Policy.

Cannabis reform may be spreading across the globe at an ever-increasing pace, and with it, the emerging international cannabis industry, however, the process has moved slower in some countries compared to others, with Costa Rica being a great example of that.

In the Western Hemisphere, cannabis reform has spread faster than its Eastern Hemisphere counterpart. After all, Uruguay was the first nation to legalize cannabis for adult-use, followed by Canada becoming the first G-7 nation to do so. Significant cannabis reform can be found elsewhere in the hemisphere as well.

Yet, cannabis policy reform and standing up a regulated industry has proceeded at a slower rate in Costa Rica. As we previously reported, lawmakers in Costa Rica passed a cannabis reform measure in 2021 and sent it to the President for sign off. That sign off never occurred, and instead, Costa Rica’s president issued a veto and sent the measure back to lawmakers instructing them to make the measure more strict.

Eventually things moved along a bit, and finally, after a lot of political wrangling and foot dragging, Costa Rica has issued its first hemp project license. Per The Tico Times:

The Minister of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG), Víctor Julio Carvajal Porras, signed the resolution authorizing the first project for the use of hemp this Friday.

Ingenio Taboga S.A. made the request. It is located in Bebedero de Cañas, Guanacaste, developing a hemp cultivation and processing project in a 150-hectare area.

According to the reporting by The Tico Times, there are eight more industry applications being considered – seven for hemp-related projects, and one for medical cannabis. It’s unclear if/when any of those additional projects will gain approval.

According to Statista, Costa Rica’s gross domestic product (GDP) ranked 11th in 2021 out of countries located in the Latin America and Caribbean regions. Any jobs and economic boost that the cannabis industry can provide Costa Rica is surely welcomed.

Is Costa Rica On Track For Recreational Cannabis Reform?

Written by Marguerite Arnold on August 29, 2022. Posted in Policy.

The newly elected president Rodrigo Chaves, has laid out a plan for full legalization within his first 100 days in office that he says should be presented to Congress by November

Costa Rica is now on a fast track to full cannabis reform. The country’s president, Rodrigo Chaves, who took office this April, has just announced exciting plans for the full and final legalization of cannabis.

Chaves said his administration is now preparing regulations for the implementation of medical cannabis and hemp cultivation (which became law before he took office). Beyond this, he is also on track to legalize recreational use, an issue which he discussed during his campaign in the run-up to the election.

A bill is now being prepared by his office for full legalization, which will be presented to the country’s congress by November 1 (at the latest).

On Track with Germany?

While it is not directly connected, it is clear that the German plan to move ahead with recreational cannabis reform is influencing the global discussion. While no definitive plans have been revealed yet, it is widely expected that the draft German legalization legislation will be presented to the Bundestag on about the same schedule as Costa Rica.

If that is the case, the discussion about how to implement recreational reform while still honouring the majority of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs will be undoubtedly broadened. Right now, this is the largest single roadblock to proceeding with adult use, according to the conventional wisdom coming out of Berlin this summer since the June hearings.

If Costa Rica becomes the first country in Central America to fully legalize cannabis, it will also almost certainly do three things. The first is that it will certainly galvanize the discussion in other neighbouring countries (starting with Mexico). The second is that this reform will undoubtedly attract even more American tourists if not expats frustrated with the slow pace of federal reform in the continental US. The third likely impact is that the country could stand poised to become a major exporter for recreational cannabis markets elsewhere. That starts with not only Germany, but other countries in Europe (like Luxembourg) now on the cusp of recreational change and where there is unlikely to be enough recreational cannabis grown domestically (at least at first).

In fact, international regulations for the export of recreational cannabis could be one of the first discussions of a growing club of nations who are now seriously contemplating such reform.

In the meantime, Costa Rica has indicated that it is certainly joining the club.

Costa Rican Lawmakers Approve Another Medical Cannabis Bill

Written by Johnny Green on March 2, 2022. Posted in Politics.

Last year lawmakers in Costa Rica passed a medical cannabis bill and sent it to the Costa Rican President for his signature. Rather than sign the measure into law, Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado Quesada sat on the bill for a long time.

For months Quesada aired grievances about the measure, indicating that it wasn’t strict enough. All the while he would sprinkle in statements that he knows people that benefit from medical cannabis and isn’t against medical cannabis in general.

Ultimately, Quesada would go on to veto the medical cannabis measure earlier this year. According to The Tico Times, at the time Quesada wanted parts of the bill modified, specifically the wording around self-consumption and self-cultivation.

Why The Veto?

President Quesada indicated that he felt the previously identified areas undermined “legitimate” objectives of the bill and ‘could pose a public safety risk.’

“I want to say categorically that I support medical cannabis,” Quesada said to The Tico Times after the veto decision was rendered.

“This is to alleviate people with various diseases and I even have close and very dear people who need it. And I also support industrial hemp, because it will help agricultural production and economic revival. Let’s make this very clear: I agree with all these objectives and I want to be able to sign this law,” he said.

The move by Costa Rica’s president was described at the time as being a partial veto, however, the ultimate end result was that nothing got passed and it yielded the same effect as a full veto.

A Revised Measure

It did not take long for lawmakers in Costa Rica to revise the medical cannabis measure in a way that addressed President Quesada’s expressed concerns. Lawmakers passed the revised measure this week and sent it back to Quesada’s desk. Per El Mundo (translated by Google):

This Tuesday the deputies approved project 21,388, Law of cannabis for medicinal and therapeutic use and of hemp for food and industrial use.

The initiative that had the vote in favor of 35 deputies and only 4 against; was presented by Deputy Zoila Volio.

Costa Rica’s President previously indicated that he will sign the new measure, which did not include provisions for home cultivation. Only time will tell if President Quesada will make good on his promise.