Medical Cannabis Is Now Available In Costa Rica
Safe access to medical cannabis has finally become a reality in Costa Rica, where suffering patients diagnosed with qualifying conditions can now make legal purchases from the nation’s pharmacies. Legal purchases will require a prescription, although local advocates are working to increase legal medical cannabis commerce options.
The push for increased safe access in Costa Rica via permitting dispensaries to operate is being opposed by leaders of the domestic pharmacy industry.
“The pharmaceutical industry insists that this regulation seeks to protect patients, ensuring that therapeutic cannabis is dispensed by specifically trained professionals and under pharmaceutical supervision.” reported The Costa Rica News.
“The possibility of sales in dispensaries should not be open. These products cannot be sold over the counter, as they pose risks such as drug interactions, adverse effects, or misuse,” stated Dr. Andrés Guzmán Tacsan, representative of the Costa Rican College of Pharmacists, according to The Costa Rica News.
Medical cannabis advocates in Costa Rica point out that not all of the nation’s pharmacies are willing to carry medical cannabis products, and that dispensaries would help ensure that there is enough availability for all qualifying patients.
They also point out that giving a virtual monopoly to pharmacies by not permitting dispensaries to operate limits Costa Rica’s emerging cannabis industry’s potential. Entrepreneurs and investors are largely locked out of Costa Rica’s industry under the current framework.
Pharmacists in Costa Rica who are advocating for medical cannabis to only be dispensed by pharmacists in pharmacies, due to previously mentioned concerns, fail to recognize that medical cannabis dispensary staffers specialize in medical cannabis and are very knowledgeable. Compare that to a pharmacist who may have little to no experience or background with medical cannabis specifically.
A potential compromise may be to require aspiring dispensary owners and staff to complete a certain type of training or certification to establish that a standard of accreditation has been met, which is what many state-level markets in the United States require. For now, qualifying patients have at least some level of safe access to their medications.