Colombia’s Senate Sinks The Proposal To Legalize Cannabis Once Again
A general view shows the Colombian Senate during the debate on the recreational use of marijuana for … [+]
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The Colombian Senate has, once again, rejected the proposed legislation aimed to legalize adult-use cannabis in the country.
The proposed legislation faced a setback in the Senate on December 12 during the plenary session in its attempt to regulate the adult use and commercialization of cannabis. During the plenary session, a proposal to archive the bill submitted by Senator Karina Espinosa from the Liberal Party right before the formal debate began received 45 positive votes.
Following the vote, Senator María José Pizarro, who spearheaded the project, spoke before the plenary session. She vehemently criticized the senators who supported archiving the project, attributing blame to the Senate for enabling organized groups to profit and condemning youth and consumers to the influence of illicit traders and drug traffickers.
“The real people responsible for handing over youth to violent mafias are those who voted to file the project to regulate the commercialization of ADULT USE cannabis WITHOUT A SINGLE ARGUMENT. Shame,” she wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Juan Carlos Losada, a representative for Bogotá from the Liberal Party and a sponsor of the proposal, expressed disappointment with the plenary session’s decision. He pointed out that the lack of clarity stemming from the misinformation about the repeal of Decree 1844 of 2018 and the actions of “certain congressmen” contributed to the outcome. Additionally, he raised questions about whether the proposal to archive the bill originated from within his own party.
In fact, in the days leading up to the vote, the administration of President Gustavo Petro took action by issuing an executive decree. This decree eliminated the $50 fine associated with the possession of small quantities of drugs and prohibited the police from confiscating them. This move was built upon a more extensive decriminalization policy established earlier through a Constitutional Court ruling.
Among those who reacted favorably to the rejection of the proposed cannabis legalization was former president Álvaro Uribe, who has consistently opposed any efforts to legalize cannabis in the country and, since December 9, has been actively expressing his stance on social networks.
“Congratulations to the 45 senators who, with their vote, prevented the legalization of recreational marijuana consumption,” he said on X.
In contrast to Uribe, the new Colombian President, Petro, appears to be more favorable towards cannabis legalization. This is evident from his suggestion in September to forge an alliance among Latin American nations, presenting a united front to address drug trafficking. During the Latin American and Caribbean Conference on Drugs, he proposed acknowledging drug consumption as a public health issue instead of relying on what he criticized as an ineffective militarized approach in front of representatives from other countries in the region.
This isn’t the first time the Senate shot down attempts to legalize cannabis in Colombia. In June, they voted against a move to make recreational cannabis legal and end Colombia’s prohibition policy on the substance.
As of today, only medical cannabis and industrial hemp are legal in Colombia, which were legalized respectively in 2016 and 2021. Previously, laws from the 1980s and 1990s allowed the possession and use of up to 20 grams of cannabis, along with the cultivation of up to 20 plants.
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