President’s son proposes legalizing cannabis in Nicaragua

If this were the 1980s, an attack and subsequent defensive response between two countries in Central America – specifically Nicaragua and Honduras – would be nothing special. The aforementioned plus neighbor El Salvador was then the scene of a bloody battle known as Iran Contra.

The “elevator” for those who missed it was that, at least from a North American perspective, it was sort of Vietnam, the 80’s version, with a few hemispheric twists. Plenty of action movies have also sprung up, set just south of the Mexican border, featuring actors appearing in such immortal titles, half-dressed, with torn bodies of all genders, endless ammunition, and plenty of violence in and too much delicate and difficult-to-replace vegetation. Not to mention human lives.

As with most skirmishes of this kind, and also with cold wars that get hot, it was bloody and there were problems on all sides, although human rights-type “atrocities” happened less in Nicaragua. Internationally, the conflict showed which political side you were on. The contras were supported, also illegally and covertly, under the Reagan administration, in part through highly “creative” and illegal drug deals. Daniel Ortega, Nicaragua’s current President, led the resistance in his country and survived to have grown children and lead the country by winning a democratic election.

Here is the modern update. Now, in this unique and unprecedented piece of cannabis legalization history, one of Ortega’s sons has announced that cannabis normalization should be “discussed” at the federal level.

There is much irony in this story beyond the father-son theme. Both warring factions in El Salvador and Nicaragua have been accused of illegal drug smuggling to raise money to finance a regional civil war. The Russians may not have funded Ortega so covertly, but no one at the Soviet political level has been summoned to a congressional carpet for corrupt and criminal behavior involving drugs or swapping drugs for guns. On the “other” side, see Oliver North. Case closed.

That legalization of cannabis is now erupting not only in Honduras, as it did this week, but also in Nicaragua speaks volumes about where the international direction of the old drug war, if not the new, is headed.

race down

As has been widely predicted since Uruguay’s move to recovery nine years ago, it was only a matter of time before cannabis reform would drastically transform the economy (for better or for worse). While yes, the climate in this region of the world is “perfect” for cannabis, it’s equally, if not more, important for rapidly disappearing, highly biodiverse places called rainforests.

Outdoor cultivation, as discussed as an option in Honduras, would in all likelihood lead to a new wave of deforestation.

The same is true of Nicaragua – although there is a stark contrast to what is happening across the border in the other “left-leaning” government now in power in Honduras. Here, the country’s first female president, surnamed Castro, is currently hearing conflicting advice on the subject from her husband (also a former president) and her vice president, a former CEO of Honduras Pepsi who is also endearingly well known (or not). as El Señor de la Television, aka the more traditional media version of Elon Musk, at least in his immediate, localized geography.

In Nicaragua, Juan Carlos Ortega Murillo and Vice President Rosario Murillo’s son have publicly claimed that their version of legalization should include provisions for the benefit of the citizens. That would mean that the government believes a fully regulated industry is even possible.

Agricultural self-sufficiency

The other interesting point raised was whether cannabis production would overtake more important crops — namely, self-sufficient food farming — in the interest of the country’s security. Food sovereignty is a key government mantra here — as it may become elsewhere as the war in Ukraine drives up global prices for grain and certain types of cooking oil.

These are extremely difficult questions in a part of the world where such deep-seated economic problems cannot be answered lightly. And while the discussion has taken other forms in North America, it’s not entirely absent in the US or Canada either. That starts with the amount of energy required to keep indoor pot farms running, as well as water in certain states, starting with California.

Of course, there’s almost no way anyone could fully control a smallholder growing a microgarden of cannabis for personal family use (anywhere). Medical (or recreational) cannabis use should not be banned from the poor, as is currently the case in many western economies.

However, this is a slightly different discussion. Large-scale illegal cultivation in the rainforests is causing more damage, both in the short and long term, than almost anywhere else in the world. There are rapidly shrinking areas of rainforest on earth and cannabis, for all its amazing properties, shouldn’t be responsible for wiping out biodiversity. Even by itself.

That such questions should be raised in the midst of a global mega-crisis, and by nations in this part of the world with a hitherto tragic track record, is remarkable – and quite historically fitting.

Perhaps both countries have ruderalis species that could discourage disenfranchised and criminals from using pristine lands and other valuable resources to support either a legitimate or illegal trade. Unfortunately, this argument has been lost more than once.

On the way to a global, ecologically sustainable footprint?

Unlike anywhere else in the world today, the struggle for reform in Central and Latin America has now begun to give a stronger and more central spotlight to difficult issues that global industry has largely avoided.

Cannabis legalization is, of course, an overdue global emergency. But urgent as it is, it’s critical right now that entire countries don’t ruin their environments or economies to produce a crop that is fast becoming a commodity around the world.

A lot of trade and much hotter wars (anyone Ukraine?) were waged for equally valuable resources. Cannabis, regardless of its other healing properties, shouldn’t be one of them.