The New York-headquartered Merida Capital Holdings LLC announced that it will build medical cannabis cultivation, manufacturing, and finished goods production facility in Guanacaste.

The company is a private equity and venture capital firm that invests in companies within the cannabis industry,

The firm has entered into an agreement with Costa Rican sugar company El Viejo to develop the cannabis farm at the sugar company lands located in Carrillo Canton.

"El Viejo's presence as a well-respected and established operator in both the agricultural and finished goods industries is a perfect complement to Merida's medical cannabis focus," said Mitch Baruchowitz, Managing Partner of Merida Capital Holdings.

According to Merida, with the passage of Expediente No 21.388, Costa Rica has legalized the use of cannabis for medical and therapeutic purposes and is in the process of creating regulations around medical cannabis as well as hemp as a food additive

That law "is designed specifically to offer Costa Rica's population an alternative to traditional pharmaceuticals by allowing patients access to medical cannabis as a treatment for a variety of ailments and conditions, as well as therapeutic use for those suffering from chronic conditions," Capital Holdings said in its statement.

The company expects that by partnering with El Viejo company, it will bolster its leadership position in the agricultural production industry by adding medical cannabis to its diverse portfolio that includes both sugar and other finished goods. 

"We are thrilled to partner with Merida and to bring premier industry knowledge and experience to our production in Costa Rica," Alfonso Gomez, Vice President of Azucarera El Viejo said.

El Viejo and Merida intend to create a sustainable cultivation and production campus that aims to help smaller operators bring products to Costa Rican patients. 

The project is expected to begin in 2023 and seeks to eventually include manufacturing facilities to assist smaller growers, as well as an innovation lab testing facility. They expect to employ up to 200 people in its first phase, growing to more than 500 employees by the end of its third year.

Earlier this month, lawmakers issued Law No.10113 entitled "Cannabis Law for Medicinal and Therapeutic Use and Hemp for Food and Industrial Use." The regulation is intended to monitor the production of industrial hemp in Costa Rica.

However, the government still needs to issue the respective regulations or guidelines to allow the production of medical cannabis in the country. 

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