Colombian President Slams Congress for Stalling on Cannabis Legalization

Colombia is among the countries that have had the most back-and-forth on cannabis regulation—perhaps rivaled only by Mexico (and, of course, the US). Congress has already debated the issue a grand total of eight times, but has never reached a real outcome.

Last week, the First Committee of the House of Representatives approved a constitutional reform bill to allow the adult use of cannabis. But be still, oh foolish heart: this is only the first round of debate, with seven more still to go. For now, the event feels like no more than a déjà vu, met with more caution than hope.

The frustration over the lack of progress is shared not only by patients and users, but also by President Gustavo Petro himself. This Tuesday, the president once again called out Congress for its inaction on this matter.

A little context: recently, security forces seized more than eight tons of illegal cannabis in La Plata, Huila—one of the largest operations seen in recent years.

As has been proven time and time again, drug trafficking thrives not because of the plant itself, but because of prohibition itself. This has already been confirmed by countries with policies more focused on health and human rights than those that insist on punitivism. In other words, if we truly want to combat cartel violence, the most effective step is to legalize weed.

Such is the basis of Petro’s latest—though hardly new—criticism of the Colombian Congress, which he tweeted: “If Congress had legalized cannabis, we wouldn’t have a drug gang needlessly killing humble Colombians. More royalist than the king, cannabis is legal in most of the world, and the United Nations has deemed it not harmful to human health.”

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This isn’t the first time Petro has openly expressed his opinions on this matter. At the end of 2023, he declared that “removing the cannabis legalization law only increases the profits of drug trafficking and its violence.” He has also criticized US policies and has repeatedly spoken out against the nefarious War on Drugs, advocating for approaches centered on human rights rather than persecution.

Unfortunately, the president has so far failed to exert enough influence to make his arguments resonate with legislative leaders. For its part, said leadership seems determined to turn a deaf ear to the mounting evidence that legalizing weed is the most effective way to protect its population.

This article appeared first on El Planteo.

Photo by Samantha Power – USAID, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, editad on Canva

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