Costa Rica’s president followed through with a promise he made in August to bring recreational cannabis legislation to the Central American country’s Legislative Assembly.
President Rodrigo Chaves unveiled a draft law Wednesday that, if enacted, would lay the legal foundation for production and sale of adult-use cannabis, the Associated Press reported.
Chaves said that consequences of marijuana prohibition is that “criminal groups, gangs, and drug traffickers” make money at the expense of the integrity of consumers.
So far, only Uruguay and Canada have recreational cannabis laws and regulations on the books, facilitating adult-use marijuana industries.
A number of other countries are in the process of legalizing marijuana, including Mexico and Germany.
Earlier this year, Costa Rica approved a law to allow medical marijuana sale and cultivation.
Chaves previously said his administration was preparing the regulations for medical marijuana and the cultivation of hemp for industrial purposes.
It’s still unknown whether those regulations will foster a thriving local industry.
