Costa Rica's government and the public welcome the idea that industrial hemp can be a much-needed economic driver if legalised, but the issue of allowing marijuana for medical purposes has been a difficult one.

The last time Costa Rican lawmakers brought a cannabis legalisation measure to a vote was in 2016, but it was rejected by a coalition of conservatives and religious leaders, said Valeria Grant, a partner at the Arias law firm in the country.

The level of opposition is not the same this time, she said, although the proposal still has hurdles to overcome.

The proposal by MP Zoila Rosa Volio would legalise hemp with up to 1% THC for industrial purposes.

It would also legalise marijuana for medical use, and that is the part of the bill that is up in the air because of concerns raised by Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado Quesada.

Costa Rica's unemployment rate is 23% because of COVID-19, Volio said.

"Hemp would mean jobs, investment and exports," she said. "It's a great opportunity for the country."

Roy Thompson Chacšon, of Costa Rica political consultancy Datacheck, said the country is perfectly positioned to be a major exporter of hemp because it has trade agreements around the world, including with all of North and Central America.

Costa Rica also has an extensive agricultural history that should facilitate the transition to hemp cultivation, he said.

"Costa Rica and many Latin American countries have a great agricultural history - coffee, sugar cane, bananas - so agriculture is a normal, everyday thing for us," Thompson Chacšon said. He said the government wanted to see the industry flourish and legislation was trying to avoid any burdensome regulation.

"The idea is that hemp is something that is grown nationally to take advantage of the industrial possibilities of the plant," he said.

President Alvarado Quesada supports the hemp part of the bill, but has expressed doubts about medical cannabis and said he is not sure the government has the tools to oversee marijuana production, Thompson Chacšon said.

"Unfortunately, in Costa Rica we live in an area where drug trafficking is very real," he said, noting that drugs are also brought through Central America on their way to the US.

But Thompson Chacšon adds that Costa Rica can learn from many of the countries that have legalised cannabis when it comes to tracing and licensing products.

It remains unclear when lawmakers will debate and vote on the bill once it passes a committee. Rosa Volio said the executive controls the legislative calendar for eight months from December. She said it was too early to say whether the bill would be modified to include only hemp cultivation to make the measure more attractive to the president.

"That is something I cannot say because it will be the political will of my colleagues when the time comes," she said.

Thompson Chacšon hopes for a vote in the spring and is confident about the bill's chances. He says advocates have worked hard to educate the public that the proposal is not aimed at legalising recreational marijuana.

Grant agrees that public perception of cannabis has changed in recent years, but that hemp is viewed more positively than marijuana.

Even without a law, the country's Department of Agriculture is currently conducting a trial of hemp cultivation to see how different strains fare in the country's different climates, including the colder, higher altitude areas.

"I think the people of the country are embracing hemp, marijuana maybe not so much, but there is a positive awareness of non-psychoactive cannabis," Grant said. "That seems to me to be a cultural shift that has allowed this proposal to move forward."