Colombian President Discusses Freeing Cannabis Prisoners and Legally Exporting the Drug

Gustavo Petro, the newly elected president of Colombia, talks about the possible legalization of cannabis in his first weeks in office.

At a summit with the country’s mayors last week, Petro spoke about the benefits of legalizing cannabis and the possible release of those jailed in connection with the drug.

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@petrogustavo said about legalizing cannabis in 🇨🇴:

Make it legal, “like planting corn, like planting potatoes”
Let it be exported and “we earn something from it 💵”, because “it’s legal for half of humanity”
That criminalized farmers are released for this

What do you think?pic.twitter.com/ZECxE4j5oL

— Angel González (@angelgonzalezvn) August 11, 2022

“Let’s see if we can make a few bucks by exporting cannabis because the drug is legal in parts of the world,” Petro said in a translation, per Noticias RCN. “Why can’t Cauca farmers grow cannabis?” he said, referring to a region in Colombia where agriculture is a big part of the business.

Petro compared Colombia’s potential cannabis market to Canada’s. He also cited the United States as an example, where cannabis is legal in almost half the country.

Referring to those who have been jailed for cannabis-related offences, Petro said, “If we legalize cannabis, are we going to allow all these people who have been jailed to stay in jail? Or is it time to release these people?”

This is one of the first instances of Petro calling cannabis by its name and sharing some of the benefits and implications of the drug’s legalization. In July, the Colombian Senate introduced a legalization bill that included a plan to legalize adult use of the plant, which could also bring some income to the country.

In Petro’s inaugural speech, he called for the reversal of drug policies that have long wreaked havoc on the country, causing deaths and exacerbating the drug problem across Latin America. “In order for peace to be possible in Colombia, we need dialogue and understanding to look for common paths and bring about change,” he said. “Peace is possible if, for example, you change the policy against drugs.”

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“It’s time for a new international convention that accepts that the war on drugs has failed,” he said. “Of course peace is possible. But it depends on replacing current drug policies with strong policies that discourage use in developed societies.”

Petro was elected President last June 19th. He is Colombia’s first leftist president and is a polarizing figure as he was part of M-19, a Colombian guerrilla group.