Legislation that would make legal marijuana a constitutional right in Colombia has been passed by the nation’s Chamber of Representatives.
The Chamber voted 98 to 57 to pass the measure to the Senate. The Senate voted in December 56 to 3 to legalize marijuana, but the proposed law received amendments since then and thus the Senate will need to vote on the measure again before it can be sent to Governor Gustavo Petro for consideration.
“This is the constitutional reform that seeks to authorize the creation of a legal cannabis market for adult use in Colombia”, Representative Juan Carlos Losada said in a translated op-ed. “The regulation of cannabis for adult use in Colombia is the gateway for a new drug policy that abandons the failed paradigm of prohibition and opens the field to a policy guided by public health guidelines, the prevention of consumption and the guarantee of attention of consumer users.”
Losada continues: “The abandonment of prohibitionism also leads, inevitably, to the theft of illegal income that has been the gasoline that has allowed the perpetuation of war and violence in the country. This project is a step towards ‘total peace’.”
Specifically the proposed law would amend Article 49 of the country’s constitution to offer “the right of the free development of the personality, allowing citizens to decide on the consumption of cannabis in a regulated legal framework.” The amendment would also establish regulations and taxes for legal cannabis sales, and organize how to divide revenue between local cities, as well as health, education, and agriculture departments.
The measure would take effect 12 months after passage.
