The times of worldwide prohibition of marijuana have long passed. There is a new force of change upon us. It seems each week there is a new country looking to review their marijuana laws. The last decade especially has seen a lot openness about weed. Many countries are passing bills to legalize medical marijuana. Some are even going full legalization and decriminalizing adult use. Its about time!!
Colombia is also included in the list. The South American country has recently passed a bill legalizing marijuana. The Republic of Colombia will soon become the 4th South American country to legalize weed for adult use. A few month ago, news of Colombian senators approving the legalization bill became the town talk.
History of Weed Legalization in Colombia
The Colombian weed industry has seen many ups and down in history. It is said that America’s primary source of illegal drugs was the Republic of Colombia, long before the introduction of cocaine culture by Pablo Escobar. Therefore, we can say that Pablo was not a pioneer and lone ranger in drug trafficking.
However, at that time, weed was illegal in the country itself. The boom in marijuana cultivation started in the 1970s when some farmers began cultivating weed instead of coffee, cotton, and bananas. Due to the criminalization of cannabis, the country became a paradise for drug traffickers. A massive amount of cannabis was smuggled in the disguise of banana containers.
However, the government changed its behavior in 1994 when weed possession for personal got legalized. In 2012, the limit on the amount of marijuana that could purchased became 20 grams. After that, the Supreme Court allowed gardening up to 20 marijuana plants in 2015. This way, the country’s journey towards adult-use cannabis started taking pace.
Bill in the Chamber of Representatives
Rep. Juan Carlos Losada introduced legalisation to decriminalize cannabis for people aged 18 or above. The bill passed immediately after the second debate when it gained 115 votes in favor and only 33 against.
Bill in the Senate
Shortly after being passed by the Chamber of Representatives, the bill came to the senate for further process. Lawmakers debated the bill several times because of the final voting. There were 11 votes in favor of the bill compared with four against it. Yet, the finalization of the law will still take some time as the bill has to go through a plenary session.
Credit especially goes to President Gustavo Petro who is a progressive politician. He is an advocate for the international drug decriminalization. According to reports, he also talks about marijuana exportation to other countries:
“What happens if cannabis is legalized in Colombia without licenses? Like sowing corn, like sowing potatoes.”
The president tweeted a few months ago.
