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Writer's pictureSarah Celeste

What you need to know about Marijuana in Costa Rica

Knowledge is Power. Recently, Costa Rica has been making progress in the realm of Marijuana accessibility. The future looks bright, with decriminalization and medicinal consumption rights approved as of 2022. Check out these need-to-know points as you prepare your plans for Costa Rica.

New laws open up exciting possibilities for Cannabis patients and enthusiasts.

  • The consumption of Cannabis in Costa Rica is nominally illegal; however, personal consumption does not carry any criminal penalties. The sale of marijuana, however, can be punished criminally. As of March 2022 medicinal cannabis has been approved.


  • It's illegal to sell and produce marijuana on a big scale. It's also illegal to carry marijuana of more than a small dose. That said, the law doesn’t specify how much marijuana qualifies as a 'small dose' or if it's legal to grow the plant for personal use." Many have interpreted this vagueness in the law to mean personal consumption in small dosages are legal in private areas.


  • Costa Rica President Carlos Alvarado signed the bill that legalizes marijuana for therapeutic and medicinal use on March 2. The regulation seeks to regulate and allow access and use of cannabis and its derivatives for medicinal and therapeutic use, considering the plant is part of citizens’ “fundamental right to health”. Cannabis for therapeutic use has low levels of THC, the psychoactive substance of marijuana. The government implements the law for the “benefits of patients with chronic pain” among other uses.


  • Cultivation and industrial production of hemp will also be lega but recreational use of cannabis remains prohibited.


  • Costa Rica had authorized the production, industrialization and commercialization of hemp for its industrial use and in food products.

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