Costa Rica

Mon
08
Jun

Costa Rica: Cannabis is medicine, experts at first regional conference on medicinal marijuana agree

For many Costa Ricans, marijuana legalization conjures images of dreadlocked hippies lying in hammocks getting baked. This perception is precisely what CannaCosta 2015, Central America’s first annual conference about the medicinal and industrial uses of cannabis and hemp, tried to change.

With a panel of national and international doctors, scientists, businesspeople and politicians, CannaCosta, held Saturday and Sunday at the National Culture Center (CENAC) in downtown San José, may have surprised those who expected a gathering of stoners almost as much as the information delivered there by speakers and supporters of marijuana’s scientific uses.

Thu
04
Jun

Medical marijuana proposal in Costa Rica gets Health Ministry review

The Costa Rican Health Ministry outlined its expert opinion on a pending bill to legalize marijuana and hemp for medical and industrial use in Costa Rica. On Tuesday, the Health Ministry outlined how the medical marijuana bill would be implemented with some restrictions for users.

Ruling Citizen Action Party (PAC) lawmaker Marvin Atencio presented a bill in August 2014 that would legalize the growing, processing and sale of cannabis for medical and industrial use. Costa Rica would be the first country in Central America to legalize medical marijuana if lawmakers decide to pass the proposal.

Sun
31
May

Decades of drug war have brought only crisis

The new visibility of police violence toward African-Americans in the United States has stoked public debate about policing: What about body cameras? Should we reform police training? Perhaps we should go slow on all that military gear?

I find it almost impossible to sit through any of this while the underlying issue goes unaddressed: It’s the drug economy, stupid.

Thu
21
May

Medical marijuana in Costa Rica? The time has come, says La NaciĂłn

In a surprising Wednesday morning editorial, Costa Rica’s normally conservative Spanish-language daily La Nación advocates for the legalization of medical marijuana.

The editorial, titled “Cannabis as Treatment,” notes that a large number of Costa Ricans – perhaps hundreds or thousands, it claims – use marijuana to treat a  range of health issues in this Central American country of 4.8 million, and that number is growing.

La NaciĂłn writes:

Mon
18
May

Medical Marijuana Cultivation in Costa Rica

Costa Rica Health News – A man named Ernesto, suffering from brain cancer, has tried surgery and many medications, but still faces the growth of the tumor, dizziness, vomiting, and numbness in half of his body.

Medical marijuana was recommended by a friend, since nausea caused by AIDS or cancer in the US is treated with cannabis. After smoking, he woke up without nausea and was able to eat all meals that day without vomiting.

Ernesto is growing the plant in his laundry room so that he can control his own dose and avoid the uncertainties of the black market. He also gives some to a woman with Parkinson’s and it allows her to go for hours without tremors.

Wed
22
Apr

Medical Marijuana: $9 Million Potential Revenue for Costa Rica

The medical use of marijuana by the public healthcare system of Costa Rica, known as La Caja, could generate $9 million in revenue, a figure that would be equivalent to 0.2 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP). Such is a legislative proposal that was presented last year by lawmaker Marvin Atencio, who represents the ruling Citizens’ Action political party (Spanish initials: PAC).

Sun
22
Mar

Social Security System president denies Caja approved medicinal marijuana in Costa Rica

The president of Costa Rica’s Social Security System, María del Rocío Sáenz Madrigal, on Friday denied stories by several local media outlets stating that the agency’s board of directors had approved the medicinal use of cannabis.

Caja board members on Thursday were complying with a Legislative Assembly request to evaluate the drafting of a bill that would propose the regulation of growing, processing and marketing of cannabis for medicinal use, Sáenz explained.

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