Matt Maurer was quoted by MG Magazine

Rodrigo Chaves, the recently elected President of Costa Rica, marked his first 100 days in office this week by announcing an initiative to legalize recreational cannabis.

Matt Maurer was interviewed by MG Magazine about what federal legalization of cannabis means for Costa Rica and the future for legalization in other countries. 

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“I think that every time a new country legalizes cannabis for medical or recreational use it helps other countries who have yet to legalize cannabis move forward on their own legalization path,”

“Each new country to legalize helps to reduce stigma that may be held in other non-legalized countries and provides those other countries with a new set of rules and experiences which they can observe and use to develop their own regime in the future.”

“I think Costa Rica is best served by focusing on its domestic needs first. The international industry is still a tricky space given many countries’ reluctance to allow international imports for a variety of reasons,”  

“Focusing on domestic needs at the outset not only allows Costa Rica to properly supply its own population first — which is the primary reason for legalization in the first instance — and allows the country to find out where its strengths and weaknesses lie and to become, as a country, a stronger producer or manufacturer as the case may be.”

“The climate of Costa Rica and the cost of domestic labor ought to result in high-quality flower being produced at extremely competitive costs,” he said. “Its location in Central America makes it ideally suited to ultimately export to North America, South America, Europe, and Asia all quite easily.”

Read the full article here.