Drug Control Police officers destroyed more than 183,000 marijuana plants in a 10-day anti-drug operation, said the Ministry of Security.

 

According to the police report, officers from the Fuerza Publica, the Border Police and the Air Surveillance Service also participated in the operation.

 

The 22 different marijuana farms were spread out among the mountain region of the Cabecar indigenous communities of the Talamanca Mountain Range, such as Alto Bley, Bajo Bley, Alta Mira, Grano de Oro and Minas.

 

In 2021, police detected and destroyed 814,902 marijuana plants, the ministry added.

In Costa Rica, the individual cultivation of marijuana is illegal, according to Law No.8204, which regulates the prevention, supply, prescription, administration, manipulation, use, possession, trafficking and commercialization of illegal drugs.   The complete law can be found only in Spanish on the Institute on Drugs site.

However, in March, Law No.10113 entitled "Cannabis Law for Medicinal and Therapeutic Use and Hemp for Food and Industrial Use,"  legalized medical cannabis in Costa Rica. But, this new law does not allow self-cultivation and self-consumption of the cannabis plant for medicinal uses.

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