The Associate Press reported, Costa Rica’s President Carlos Alvarado signed off on legislation on Wednesday Congress to legalize medical cannabis and industrial hemp.

According to related Press, congress approved Law 21.388 on Tuesday with 29 votes in favor and 10 against.

Even cultivation and industrial production of hemp have been legalized, recreational marijuana use continues to be prohibited.

Costa Rica has ambiguously-worded regulation when it comes to the personal possession of cannabis for recreational purposes, however, carrying below 8 grams of cannabis flower is generally regarded as decriminalized.

“A grand accomplishment of this law is that it allows the industrialization of hemp, an activity that could activate agriculture, above all in rural zones, with cultivation and a new industry that can be developed,” said a statement that accompanied news of the president and health minister signing the proposal into law.

The law is similar in allowing medicinal use to laws passed in other countries in the region, including: Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay. Uruguay also legalized recreational use.