Urging immediate Senate action on marijuana legalization and regulatory bill, before the deadline which would force them to restart the legislative process next year.
Three of the eight debates required have been held so far. The legislation passed through the entire House of Representatives and was approved by a Senate Committee late last month. The cannabis legislation must be approved by a Senate committee before the end the year to remain alive during the two-year legislative process.
Maria Jose Pizarro is the senator who is responsible for the cannabis legislation in her chamber. She said that she wants the bill to be considered by the full Senate on Tuesday. The senator warned that if lawmakers do not act, reforms could “sink” again.
El proyecto que lideramos con @JuanKarloslos para regularizar el cannabis de uso adulto esta en riesgo de hundirse, esperamos el martes pueda desarrollarse su cuarto debate en la plenaria del Senado. #SenadoDebataCannabis #RagularCannabisYapic.twitter.com/bmlH6I1QmF
— Maria Jose Pizarro Rodriguez (@PizarroMariaJo) December 11, 2023
She said: “The project to legalize adult-use cannabis is facing a critical moment. It is at risk if it’s not scheduled for discussion in the Senate plenary prior to the legislative recess.”
El proyecto que busca regularizar el cannabis de uso adulto enfrenta un momento crucial, al estar en riesgo de hundirse si no se agenda para debate en la plenaria del Senado antes del receso legislativo. #SenadoDebataCannabis https://t.co/CwFI2sxa6O
— Maria Jose Pizarro Rodriguez (@PizarroMariaJo) December 11, 2023
The Senate has only until Saturday, December 16th to pass the bill.
The regulation of cannabis will be the first step in building a more sensible policy that puts prevention and public safety at its core and helps to dismantle social conflict caused by prohibition, according to Rep. Juan Carlos Losada who champions legalization within the Chamber of Representatives.
La regulacion del #CannabisDeUsoAdulto no destruye a las familias ni a la sociedad. Lo que si ha destruido buena parte de nuestro tejido social es la guerra fallida contra las drogas, que le lleno los bolsillos a los mafiosos y no salvo una sola vida.
La regulacion del cannabis… https://t.co/n3o3L582sV
— Juan Carlos Losada (@JuanKarloslos) December 10, 2023
“This debate requires more arguments and less prejudice,” he responded to Alvaro Uribe Velez who criticizes the current government’s drug decriminalization reform. Better information leads to better decisions. “I am ready to face the nation and debate in dignity whenever I feel like it.”
The Senate stalled the process of constitutional amendments, which takes two years.
Nestor Osuna, the Justice Minister, said at last year that Colombia was the victim of a “failed war designed 50 years ago, and due to absurd prohibitionism, has brought us blood, armed conflicts, mafias, and crime.”
The administration of President Gustavo Petro released a executive decree on Sunday that eliminated the $50 fine for small amounts of drug possession and removed the police’s ability to seize it. This builds on a decriminalization strategy enacted earlier under a Constitutional Court ruling.
Be careful and don’t be misled by false information. Petro, who spoke on Saturday, said that the only thing that the government did was to repeal the fines for personal doses. This is because the courts ruled so. “Everything else is the same.” Each municipality must establish the prohibition of consumption on public property. We also agree with the mandate of the Constitutional Court.
Ojo, no se deje enganar por los desinformadores.
Lo unico que ha hecho el gobierno es derogar la multa por porte de dosis personal porque asi lo indicaron las cortes
Todo lo demas continua igual. La prohibicion de consumo en lugares publicos lo debe establecer cada municipio…. pic.twitter.com/4KobWAZGDE
— Gustavo Petro December 10, 2020 HTML0
Pizarro Losado are the bill sponsors for the legalization of marijuana. They also commented on this drug policy reform.
Losado stated that a 2018 law that fined people for possessing certain amounts of drugs had already been deemed unconstitutional, because it “ignored the jurisprudence of the court and violated basic rights.”
Ante la desinformacion que circula por la derogacion del Decreto 1844 de 2018, el cual imponia sanciones por el porte de dosis minima de drogas, relaciono algunas aclaraciones:
Este decreto, previamente declarado inconstitucional por el Consejo de Estado, ignoraba la… https://t.co/EngDXQlQDv
— Juan Carlos Losada (@JuanKarloslos) December 10, 2023
Pizarro, on the other hand, urged people to stop spreading “misinformation” about the fine reduction, saying that court precedent had established decriminalization for possession years ago, but that the government would “continue to strike, without delay,” the drug traffickers, and mafias who control narcotics.
Se le cuestiona al pdte @petrogustavo cumplir con las ordenes de la Corte, pero no a Duque por ir en contravia de la lo que ordena el alto tribunal, sobre la dosis minima.
No olvidemos que en Colombia el porte, consumo y cultivo de hasta 20 plantas de cannabis esta reglamentado…
— Maria Jose Pizarro Rodriguez (@PizarroMariaJo) December 11, 2023
The Colombian President, after a recent trip to the U.S. recollected smelling the smell of marijuana wafting along the streets of New York City. He commented on the “enormous hysteria” of the legal cannabis sales that are now taking place in he nation that started the global drug battle many decades ago.
Petro took the lead at the Latin American Caribbean Conference on Drugs, in September. He noted that Colombia and Mexico were “the biggest victims” of the policy and compared the drug war with “genocide.”
Petro gave a speech last year at a United Nations (UN) meeting, in which he urged member nations to change fundamentally their drug policies and to abolish prohibition.
He has also spoken about prospects for legalizing marijuana in Colombia, as a way to reduce the influence of illicit markets. He also said that the new policy should be followed up by releasing those who are currently behind bars for cannabis.
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Image element provided by Bryan Pocius.
The post Colombia Removes Fines For Drug Possession While Lawmakers Push for Urgent Marijuana Legitimization Vote before End-of-Year Deadline first appeared on Marijuana Minute.
