Central America: Market and legal data for the cannabis sector

16th October 2024: Panama: A bill to regulate the production, marketing and export of hemp with a maximum of 1% THC was approved in the first debate. The bill will now be discussed in a second debate in the National Assembly.
11th October 2024: Costa Rica: The government has introduced an amendment to law 10066, which regulates e-cigarettes with and without nicotine and heated tobacco. The proposed amendment includes a ban on THC in e-liquids. Other cannabinoids are not specifically mentioned, but in May 2024, the Ministry of Health said it was working on regulations to ban synthetic nicotine and cannabinoids in e-liquids. The bill will now be analysed by the National Assembly.
4th October 2024: Panama: A bill to regulate the production, marketing and export of hemp with a maximum of 1% THC was discussed in the first debate in the National Assembly. The bill was suspended due to the need for amendments and will be brought back for first debate next week.
1st October 2024: Costa Rica: The Constitutional Court ordered the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock to regulate law 10113, which governs the medicinal and industrial use of cannabis, within two months from the notification of the ruling. Despite the law being enacted in March 2022 and requiring regulations to be issued within six months, the process has faced delays due to technical issues and contradictions with Central American regulations. The court upheld an appeal criticising the two-year delay, requiring the ministries to finalise the regulations within the specified timeframe, press reports.
18th July 2024: Costa Rica: President Rodrigo Chaves told press he will not make further moves on the bill to legalise recreational cannabis and that the bill is practically archived. Speaking about the National Assembly archiving the bill, he said: “They have already issued their opinion – they filed it away – am I going to continue being a fool? They have already given their opinion before the people of Costa Rica – let them live with it.”
9th May 2024: Panama: The Ministry of Health has rejected two appeals against the decision to grant licences for the production of medical cannabis. The Evaluation Commission then ratified the selection of seven companies that will be allowed to produce cannabis for medical purposes for a period of ten years. The selected companies received the highest scores and met the established criteria. No more administrative appeals can be lodged.
2nd April 2024: Costa Rica: Government deputy Manuel Morales will ask the minister of the presidency, Natalia Díaz, to call for the discussion of the bill legalising the sale and consumption of recreational cannabis in the next extraordinary session, which will happen in May, press reports. In August 2023, the Environmental Commission voted against the bill, leaving it pending discussion in the plenary. Allegedly, the bill has now been rewritten, and includes suggestions from opposition parties.
1st February 2024: Panama: After granting seven licences for the production of medical cannabis, the Ministry of Health has suspended the granting process by accepting the appeals of three companies that did not comply with the requirements. No time limit has been set for the processing of appeals.
17th January 2024: Panama: Following the introduction of a legal framework for medical and therapeutic cannabis in 2022, the Ministry of Health has published a final report recommending the granting of seven medical cannabis production licences to companies that met the requirements and criteria set out in the law. The results will be approved and published by a Ministry of Health resolution.
5th September 2023: Costa Rica: The Ministry of Health has issued a warning against the sale and promotion of hemp flowers and other CBD products without public health registration. The authority added that individuals or companies marketing products without public health registration will be subject to administrative and criminal sanctions.
23rd August 2023: Costa Rica: A majority of deputies from the opposition National Liberation (PLN) and New Republic (PNR) parties of the Parliamentary Legislative Commission for the Environment accepted a report recommending the rejection of the government's bill to legalise recreational cannabis, press reports. The final vote is scheduled for next week.
24th July 2023: Panama: The Ministry of Health has clarified that it is currently in a selection process to grant a licence for the manufacture of medical cannabis derivatives, and therefore cannabis derivatives are not currently authorised for distribution and sale.

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