Colombian President Pushes for Cannabis Reform
Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro has expressed an unambiguous support for cannabis and its recreational use. In an appeal to the parliament, he has called for action on legalizing it. President Petro believes that progressive drug laws could help reduce violence and bring more peace on the streets of his country.
It won’t be the first time for Colombian President Petro to actively support cannabis legalization. Now he has called on his country’s lawmakers to take concrete steps and make it happen.
“I ask the Colombian parliament to legalize cannabis and protect this community from violence. Prohibiting cannabis in Colombia only brings violence,” Petro recently wrote on the X platform.
The South American country does have regulation on legal medicinal cannabis, but the president - being fully aware of the negative consequences of prohibition - wants to take things a step further and permit adult-use of marijuana.
Criminals Flourish with Prohibition, Says Colombian President
In his recent social media comments, President Petro highlighted the failures of prohibition, saying that today’s cartels “are much more powerful than in the times of Pablo Escobar.” Criminals are profiting from the trade of illicit substances and the absence of regulation, he said.
The president’s arguments align with wider discussions on drug policy reforms. That legalization could scale down illegal activities and actually contribute to public safety is an argument shared by many experts already. It has been de facto proven in countries such as Portugal, where illicit trade thrived in the 1990s and then subdued after taking a softer approach on criminalization.
Petro has been a vocal proponent of more liberal drug laws for much of his political career. He is Colombia’s first leftist leader, having won 50.4% of the vote in the 2022 elections. He was still a teenager when he secretly joined the M19 guerrilla movement, active in Colombia during the 1970s and 1980s before becoming a political party.
Colombia Continues to Struggle with Cocaine Problems
Cocaine smuggling and production remains one of the biggest issues in Colombia to date. In another recent comment, President Petro has implied 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.
Last year, almost 900 tons of cocaine were seized by Colombian authorities. Entire territories in the southwest of the country are controlled by drug lords who openly encourage cocaine production and control who can or cannot enter the area. Petro launched an operation last October to take back control of those territories and capture the criminals, but his attempts have for now failed.
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Stephen Andrews
