In Colombia, the country symbol of drug trafficking, a law was approved for legalization and the regulation of cannabis at a national level.
What does the proposal for legalization provide?
The bill, presented by the Liberal MP Carlos Ardila, was approved with a large majority by the First Committee of the House of Representatives with 31 votes in favor and 2 against.
The proposal, in addition to regulation at national level, provides for the establishment of a tax structure for legal marijuana sales. The revenues would go to local communities to support public health, education and agricultural initiatives.
For supporters, the law would promote “a different approach from the one used so far in the fight against the harmful effects on health and society that this psychoactive substance can have, moving from a purely criminal approach to one of harm reduction and public health".
And again, “with this legislative act, strategies that benefit the countryside will be promoted and others will be implemented for fight illegal trafficking of this substance, betting on public health and social growth".
President Petro's position
Even though he recently took office, the President Gustavo Petro he strongly criticized the constant failures of war on drugs and the resulting damage to public health, calling on world leaders to radically rethink drug policies.
Although President Petro has not yet supported any of the cannabis reforms, he declared in a hearing at the United Nations that "democracy will die" if global powers do not unite to put an end to prohibition and take a different approach, with millions of lives at stake under the current regime.
Furthermore Petro recently spoke about the prospect of legalizing marijuana in Colombia as one of the means to reduce the influence of the illegal market. And he signaled that the policy change should be followed by the release of people currently in prison for cannabis.
