COSTA RICA: POTENTIAL REFORM TO THE LAW ON CANNABIS FOR MEDICINAL AND THERAPEUTIC USE AND HEMP FOR FOOD AND INDUSTRIAL USE. Nº10.113

 

Bill No. 22,964 is pending in congress to amend the recently approved law on cannabis for medicinal and therapeutic use and hemp for food and industrial use. The reform is motivated by the partial veto of the executive power that modified article 5 of bill No. 21,388.

Article 5, which was initially approved, interpreted hemp cultivation as comparable to other traditional crops, considering that it lacks psychoactive effects such as those of cannabis. Therefore, Bill No. 21,388 did not require special licenses for the cultivation of hemp, remaining subject to the licenses and permits required for any productive agricultural or agro-industrial activity.

In exercising the veto, the executive power raised health and safety concerns regarding the free cultivation of hemp. Therefore, said article was modified to include the requirement of licenses for the cultivation, production, and commercialization of the hemp plant. The proposed reform seeks to modify article 5 again to eliminate the requirement of licenses for this type of cultivation. The rationale for the proposed reform is that the modification caused by the veto created inconsistencies in the law and a regulatory vacuum. In this regard, the law requires licenses, but does not regulate them in any way, unlike the licenses for medicinal and therapeutic cannabis, which are included in the law.

"Progresa en América Latina la Regulación del uso industrial de Cáñamo (Cannabis) en alimentos y suplementos"

 

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Introducción

Luego de 60 años de rechazo, de tres años de revisión científica de la OMS y de dos años de discusiones diplomáticas, el 2 de diciembre 2020, la ONU reconoció las propiedades terapéuticas de la flor de cannabis. Por decisión del organismo multilateral, el cannabis para uso medicinal fue retirado de la lista IV de la Convención sobre drogas de 1961.

Este avance ha permitido su despenalización para su uso terapéutico en varios países de Latinoamérica y, paralelamente, se ha identificado la extraordinaria versatilidad industrial del cáñamo no psicoactivo que consiste en aceites, resinas, tinturas, extractos crudos u otras innovaciones producto del desarrollo tecnológico, obtenidas del cannabis no psicoactivo o cáñamo, con un contenido de THC inferior al 1%, incluyendo, cannabinoides, isómeros, ácidos, terpenos, sales y sales de isómeros, obtenido del material vegetal como tallos, semillas, cáscaras de semillas, material leñoso, u otro material foliar como biomasa.

En la actualidad de es de gran interés el uso de los derivados  como materia prima en la industria alimentaria (ver Figura 1), una vez que se ha comprobado que las semillas de cáñamo y sus derivados (como el aceite, y la harina) presentan un contenido en: Ácidos grasos poliinsaturados (PUFAs) con bajas concentraciones de ácidos grasos saturados; Proteínas con un contenido excepcional de aminoácidos que contienen azufre, es decir, metionina, cisteína y arginina, además de su contenido de vitaminas y minerales, lo que le confiere un gran valor nutricional utilidad en la industria de alimentos. 

El reconocimiento de sus potencialidades para su uso en alimentos y suplementos es un tema que está actualmente en discusión, considerando que al ser productos destinados al consumo humano son de interés sanitario para las autoridades sanitarias nacionales y debe ser regulado. En este sentido, Latinoamérica presenta avances importantes en esta materia, países como Colombia, Ecuador, Uruguay, Chile o Paraguay han desarrollado con diferentes grados progresos o están desarrollando como Argentina, normativas que autorizan el uso industrial de cáñamo en alimentos, bebidas y suplementos alimenticios.

Ver artículo íntegro en:

https://www.academia.edu/50970297/Progresa_en_Am%C3%A9rica_Latina_la_Regulaci%C3%B3n_del_uso_industrial_de_C%C3%A1%C3%B1amo_Cannabis_en_alimentos_y_suplementos

Artículo seleccionado por:

Asociación Iberoamericana para el Derecho Alimentario

Canada: Social Media and Marketing in B.C’s Liquor Industry

In February, 2015 Alcohol & Advocacy summarized the rules and restrictions then in place for advertising and marketing by bars, restaurants and liquor agents.

In December, 2019 the Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch published a useful refresher on these principles, with references to law and regulation as well as licensee terms and conditions. Usefully, the six page publication also contains plenty of examples of what is unacceptable (apparently taken from “common non-compliant social media messaging”). The document can be read in full here.

The take away is straight forward: when a liquor licensee, or someone representing a liquor licensee, uses an online platform to promote liquor products they must follow the same rules that apply to traditional forms of advertisement like magazines and radio ads. The ubiquitous and casual nature of social media leads some licensees to believe that “anything goes” on their Facebook or Instagram pages. This is not true. The Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch can investigate a licensee’s online presence as a component of a routine compliance check.

Advertisers of alcoholic beverages in BC must do so in accordance with the CRTC’s Code for Broadcast Advertising of Alcoholic Beverages. The Code is designed to ensure that alcoholic beverage advertising does not contribute to the negative health and societal effects related to excessive or inappropriate consumption. The Code can be read in full here, but can also be thought of in terms of five themes, described by the LCRB as follows:

1. Advertising must not encourage the over-consumption of alcohol;
2. Advertising must not promote the irresponsible or illegal use of alcohol;
3. Advertising must not associate alcohol with social or personal achievement;
4. Advertising must not be directed to persons under the legal drinking age; and
5. Advertising must not associate alcohol with the use of motor vehicles or with activates requiring a significant degree of skill or care

Examples or what not to do

• Use an image of a patron handing an open beer to another patron with a caption stating “strangers can become new friends with a beer”

• Use an image of a group of young people all holding beer bottles, enjoying themselves, with a caption stating “Frosh Week!”

• Use of an image of Santa Clause (or similar character, real or fictional, considered to be a role model for underage persons) drinking alcohol

•  Images or content that suggests alcohol is a good way to “get over” a break up or other disappointment in life

• Sharing social media images of individuals drinking alcohol irresponsibly (e.g. boating without life jackets)

• Images of individuals drinking alcohol in a public place (e.g. at a beach or in a park)

Many licensees in British Columbia outsource their social media content, or leave it to management to look after from the side of their desk. This lack of diligence can result in unwanted attention by provincial liquor inspectors, and potentially the issuance of a contravention notice. Alcohol & Advocacy recommends that licensees pay the same degree of due care and attention to the content of their online presence as they would with any other advertising initiative: be careful what you say, and be careful what you share.

If your establishment is facing enforcement action by the Liquor & Cannabis Regulation Branch, or you have questions or concerns about advertising and provincial liquor laws, contact Dan Coles at Owen Bird.

*Alcohol & Advocacy publishes articles for information purposes only. They are not a substitute for legal advice, and persons requiring such advice should consult legal counsel.

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