Colombia: President Wants Cannabis Reform
Colombia's President Gustavo Petro has been actively supporting the idea of ​​legalising recreational cannabis. He has called on the parliament to take steps towards legalizing it.
Gustavo Petro has been Colombia's president since 2022, having won 50.4% of the vote in the elections. He is the country's first leftist leader. As a 17-year-old, he secretly got involved in the M19 guerrilla movement.
For years, Petro has been advocating for a change in the approach to drug policy. Since taking office, legalisation has been debated three times. Currently, Colombia allows the use of marijuana for medical purposes, but the president wants to extend this regulation to recreational marijuana.
"I ask the Colombian parliament to legalise cannabis and protect this community from violence. Prohibiting cannabis in Colombia only brings violence", Petro said on the X platform (formerly Twitter).
Cocaine Problems and Petro's Politics
Colombia continues to grapple with the problem of cocaine trafficking. President Petro proposes expanding the legal use of coca leaves:
"I appeal to the governments of the world to end the ban on the use of coca leaves for purposes other than cocaine at the UN. If coca leaves are used in fertilizers, food and other applications, this improves the policy of substituting illegal products", Petro said.
In 2024, 861.7 tons of cocaine were seized in Colombia, an increase of 115 tons compared to 2023. In the same post, the president expressed satisfaction with the arrest of Moroccan drug trafficker Namoussir Mounir, who was a go-between for Colombian and Mexican cartels and criminal organizations in the Balkans.
Criticism of prohibition
The Colombian president points out that mafia organizations have gained more power than in the times of Pablo Escobar.
"Today, the cartels are much more powerful than in the times of Pablo Escobar. The growth of the power of mafia organisations shows the failure of prohibition and the lack of alternatives to ordinary prohibition" - he emphasized on X.
Although Petro supports the legalisation of cannabis, he does not intend to give up the fight against drug trafficking, especially cocaine.
"My government will continue to fully cooperate with all governments in the seizure of cocaine. It has focused and will continue to focus on large shipments and high-ranking leaders of the cocaine trade and money laundering around the world" - assured the President of Colombia.
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Liz Filmer
