The new president of Costa Rica Rodrigo Chaves Robles said he will be presenting a bill to regulate the use of recreational cannabis.
Last week, during the commemoration of his first 100 days as president, he mentioned the cannabis regulation to be sent to Congress for discussion and he will work on the medical cannabis regulations that have already been passed by congress during the last legislature.
Chaves Robles entered the presidency this April substituting Carlos Alvarado Quesada.
“We have already prepared the regulation of industrial hemp for medicinal use, and we will continue to push the bill for the legalization of marijuana for recreational use,” said Chaves during the discussion.
Previous attempts to legalize adult-use cannabis surged in 2021 when former congressman Enrique Sanchez presented a bill to decriminalize recreational use but did not move forward. President Chaves did not specify if his bill will follow Sanchez’s bill or if it will be a new one.
Some party members such as Fabricio Alvarado from Nueva Republica expressed concerns about the bill while other members from Liberacion Nacional will define their posture towards the bill within the next days.
Read more: Medical cannabis bill ‘very close’ to becoming law, says Costa Rica’s president
Read more: Costa Rica’s president partially vetoes medical cannabis bill
Last February, ex-president Alvarado Quesada partially vetoed an otherwise approved medical cannabis and hemp bill and pushed it to the final stages.
The medical bill aims to give an economic boost to small producers, who are meant to receive 40 per cent of the licences that will be issued by the Ministry of Livestock and Agriculture. The legislation was originally proposed in 2019 by lawmaker Zoila Rosa Volio Pacheco.
