Puerto Rican senator proposes legislation to remove marijuana possession charges

A senator in Puerto Rico has introduced a bill that would remove charges of minor possession of marijuana. The decision was influenced by President Biden’s marijuana pardon, which was enacted last week, and prompted other governors and lawmakers to adopt that mindset when dealing with their residents.

The bill was proposed by Senator Jose Vargas Vidot, an independent, who praised Biden’s pardon and stated that these types of marijuana offenses no longer made sense.

Photo by Jeff W via Unsplash

Although the law has not yet been released, a summary of the new proposals has been posted on the government’s website, including the marijuana law. It explains the bill in Spanish and claims the amendment would allow personal possession of the drug and remove all penalties associated with personal use of the drug.

Telemundo Puerto Rico reported some of Vidot’s statements.

“President Biden had the courage that many here didn’t have. Verbalizing that it makes no sense that there are legal ramifications for simply possessing cannabis. In Puerto Rico we took the step to introduce medicinal cannabis but lacked the courage to decriminalize it. If we say cannabis has medicinal benefits, then there is no point in criminalizing the person consuming it. It’s time to change that,” he said.

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Senator Vidot explained that the new law would allow people to carry up to 5 grams of marijuana. That number would help lawmakers distinguish between personal use and distribution, which would continue to be penalized.

He also spoke about access to drugs in prisons, a problem that plagues their facilities and causes prisoners to develop drug problems. “People who report that they were not drug users prior to their conviction begin this process of use and addiction during their incarceration,” said Vidot, who was the first Puerto Rican senator to bring the idea of ​​decriminalizing marijuana to the table.

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Despite Biden’s marijuana apology and encouragement for governors to comply, senators and lawmakers are likely to base their decisions on their political leanings, especially now that we’re weeks away from the election.