QCOSTARICA — The Constitutional Court – commonly known as Sala IV, ruled on Wednesday that the bill seeking possible legalization of marijuana in Costa Rica conflicts with international treaties that the country has signed.
This was stated by the Constitutional Court after reviewing the request for legalization by way of a referendum.
According to the judges, it would be in violation of Article 7 of the Political Constitution, which establishes that international treaties are above the law.
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“Bill No. 23,383, called ‘Law on the control and regulation of cannabis for recreational use’ and, in substance, declares that the bill is unconstitutional for contravening the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 – approved by Law No. 4544, of March 18, 1970 -, the Vienna Convention on Psychotropic Substances – approved by Law No. 4990, of June 10, 1972 -, and the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances – approved by Law No. 7198, of September 25, 1990,” the Court resolved.
In recent years, Costa Rica has passed legislation to recognize the medical use of cannabis and the industrial process of hemp. The additional debate, however, had to do with the recreational use of marijuana.
In his speech for the Hundred Days of Government (in 2022), President Rodrigo Chaves announced his support for the legalization of marijuana.
Among the arguments in favor, Chaves defended the cannabis regulation both for criminality issues and as an option for fresh income for the State through taxes.
On October 5 of that year, the initiative was presented to the legislative branch and its discussion began in the Environment Commission.
There, the majority of those who were called to a hearing had opinions against it, but the votes in favor remained. When it reached the level of a ruling, however, the panorama changed and there was no further progress.
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After the initiative fell through, the Executive Branch had not launched any more similar plans, until a citizen sought to take it to a popular consultation, a referendum.
The Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones (TSE) – Supreme Electoral Tribunal, submitted the constitutional consult after receiving a request from Erick González Camacho to begin collecting the signatures necessary to call a referendum on the initiative.
In compliance with the Law on Regulation of the Referendum, the TSE previously sent the initiative to the Technical Services Department of the Legislative Assembly for analysis.
In its report, issued in September 2024, the Department warned that the bill presented potential constitutional issues as it did not comply with the aforementioned international treaties. It also noted that allowing recreational use of cannabis would directly conflict with provisions prohibiting the production, marketing and consumption of this substance for purposes other than medical or scientific purposes.
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The Attorney General’s Office had also issued a similar opinion in the report PGR-OJ-026-2023, indicating that the proposed regulations could face legal problems due to their incompatibility with the international commitments assumed by Costa Rica.
This decision blocks any progress of the bill through the referendum mechanism, including within the Legislative Assembly itself.
According to the provisions of the Constitutional Court’s ruling 2020-13316, no bill submitted to popular consultation can contradict higher-ranking provisions in the legal system, including international treaties.
For this initiative to move forward, the government of Rodrigo Chaves would have to make the decision to denounce (disassociate Costa Rica) from the international conventions that conflict with this proposed law.
Bill 23,383 sought to regulate the consumption of recreational cannabis for adults in Costa Rica. Among its objectives was to establish controls on the production, marketing and responsible consumption of the substance, in addition to disassociating its trade from drug trafficking.
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