Author: Tim Morales
Costa Rica’s Medical Cannabis Bill Update October 1st, 2016
In August 2014,Senator, Dr. Marvin Atencio D, introduced the Medical Cannabis bill 19256 in Costa Rica. This bill seeks to provide a legal and regulatory framework to develop medical cannabis and industrial hemp industries in Costa Rica.
Passage of the bill would create an institute that will monitor, audit and develop these new sectors linked to Medical Cannabis and Hemp. This institute will be called the Institute for Research, Regulation and Control of Cannabis and Hemp or IIRCCA.
Some the many functions of this institute are controlling the production, distribution and sale of cannabis-based products; controlling prices for buying and selling; defining administration and issuance of licenses and concessions for the sector; facilitating clinical-scientific research; setting penalties for violators of this law; providing for related audit procedures for production and distribution and coordinating and monitoring both public.
Passage of this Medical Cannabis legislation would provide for three sizes of Grow Licenses: 8 large, 13 medium and 21 small.
There would be 52 Dispensary licenses and 170 Industrial Hemp licenses.
This could provide for many jobs and business opportunities plus badly needed tax income to Costa Rica. Done correctly, this program could pay for itself.
Senator Abelino Esquivel has been opposing this bill and has been filing motions to tie up a vote. We are not here to give an opinion on how this works, but needless to say, so far he has blocked the vote. In September he, along with two other Senators, visited Denver, Colorado to see the medical cannabis industry first- hand. We did not expect an immediate reversal but we hope for some movement on this issue.
Latin America has been moving in the medical cannabis direction and Costa Rica cannot afford to miss the medical and economic benefits of the worldwide growth of the medical cannabis industry. Done correctly this new agency could be set up without any government assistance.
The Cannabis Industry Association Costa Rica invites you to review the CR bill 19256 and provides copies in English and Spanish on their website.
http://www.ciacr.com/cr_mmj_bill_text
