Controversial Swiss Beer
Ordered Off the Market
The Ministerio de Salud
(Health Ministry)
yesterday ordered the
Nikimar company,
importer of the
Hanfblute beer in Costa
Rica, to remove all its
products from commercial
establishments, feeling
that the bottle's label
contains a subliminal
message.
The bottle of beer sells
for ˘1.105 and though
the Swiss brewery makes
it clear that it does
not contain cannabis
(marijuana), Salud
officials feel that
labelling suggests
otherwise and can incite
the consumption of the
illegal drug in the
country.
The decision came
abruptly after it was
published yesterday in
the local print media,
the Diario Extra, that
the beer being sold had
an aroma of cannabis.
Earlier, Salud officials
had said that the
product had all the
required permits of
importation and sale in
the country and Nikimar
confirmed that the beer
had been available in
Costa Rica for years.
However, Salud officials
decided that the product
infringes the "Ley de
Psicotrópicos", as it
induces the consumer to
use marijuana, an
illegal drug in Costa
Rica, and cannot be
promoted in the public
media.
The importer has between
5 and 10 days to collect
all the product sold,
failing which
authorities said they
would proceed with
confiscation.
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