Committee in Colombia approved legalization proposal for adult use

A lawmaker in Colombia, Liberal Rep. Carlos Ardila, proposed a cannabis law that passed on October 4 in the House’s First Commission on the first debate, our bill to regulate cannabis and ensure local, county and departmental tax revenues . #OpportunityForTheRegions #RegulateNow,” Ardila wrote on Twitter.

“The bill would set regulations and taxes for legal cannabis sales and establish a revenue support system to be shared between local cities, as well as healthcare, education and agriculture. If it had come into force, it would change Article 49 of the Constitution, which is necessary in relation to cannabis, almost the first step that needs to be taken because the political ban is laid down there,” Liberal MP Juan Carlos Losada told RCN radio.

Article 49 gives all citizens the right to health care, which the government is responsible for arranging. “Public health and environmental protection are public tasks for which the state is responsible. All people are guaranteed access to services to promote, protect and restore health,” the constitution states. However, it also adds that “the possession and use of narcotics and psychoactive drugs is prohibited except on the basis of a doctor’s prescription”.

According to Ardila, cannabis taxes for adult use have constitutional protections and “should be assigned solely to municipalities, districts and departments.”

In terms of the three pillars of support, health, education and agriculture, Ardila would see cannabis tax funds supporting the people of the country. “Here we are proposing that it is the Treasury Department or the government that collects these resources and then shares or transfers them to municipalities to deal with the negative effects of cannabis,” Ardila said.

Now that the proposal has been approved by the First Commission of the House of Representatives, it will next go to the Plenary Session of the House of Representatives.

Rep. Losada also proposed a cannabis law in July that would amend Article 49 of Colombia’s constitution, along with Articles 287 and 317, to allow for the legalization of adult-use cannabis.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro, the country’s first left-wing president, took office in August. In his inaugural speech, he criticized the failure of the War on Drugs and called for a new strategy to combat illegal drug trafficking. In September he called on Latin America to end the conflict. “I propose to you, as President of one of the most beautiful countries on earth and one of the most bloodstained and violent, to end the war on drugs and thus allow our people to live in peace,” Petro said in his speech.

“The war on drugs has lasted 40 years. If we don’t correct course and this continues for another 40 years, 2.8 million people will die in the United States from overdoses that are not manufactured in our Latin America,” Petro said. “You will see millions of African Americans locked up in their private prisons. The prisoner becomes a business of prison corporations.”

In July 2021, former President Ivan Duque signed legislation legalizing medicinal cannabis for export in Colombia. “Colombia is starting to play big and with this decree we are putting ourselves at the forefront in terms of regulatory competitiveness, at least in Latin America and the Caribbean,” Duque said. “We’re opening up the space to do a lot more in cosmetics… food and drink and even textiles.” Colombia first passed legislation regulating cannabis products in 2016, but it still banned the export of dried flowers.

Meanwhile, the hemp industry continues to thrive. Former NBA Detroit Pistons athlete Isiah Thomas owns a hemp company called One World Products (based in Las Vegas, Nevada but with offices in Colombia), where it recently received $10 million in funding. “We are pleased that our newest institutional investor clearly appreciates the vision and tremendous growth potential we see for OWP,” said Thomas. “Your second equity investment provides additional capital that will be used to further scale our operations in Colombia, improve industrial sales of hemp products to customers, and expand our carbon credit program.”

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