Robert Celt
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Colombia has become the latest Latin American country to legalize medical marijuana, President Juan Manuel Santos announced Tuesday.
The document - signed by the president and the minister of health -- regulates the possession of seeds and plants, as well as their production, distribution, marketing and export for "strictly medical and scientific purposes". "President Santos's decree on medical marijuana is a demonstration that he is committed to ensuring that reform takes place within his own country, not just internationally".
"The manufacture, export, sale, and medical and scientific use of this and other substances have been permitted for several decades in Colombia". Growing, selling and distributing the drug for recreational use are still illegal practices and are therefore, punishable by law.
However, the congress and the executive branch have been hesitant to provide support to such ideas because it might portray the country's officials as weak, ABC News added. Californians voted to legalize medical cannabis use in 1996, clashing with federal drug laws.
Colombia's government has always been a close ally of the United States in fighting global drug trafficking, using its military and billions of dollars in USA funding to try to shed its title as the world's largest cocaine producer.
Santos said the new regulatory framework was long overdue given that Colombians had been consuming marijuana and marijuana-based products in a legal void for years.
Last year, Mr Santos, who has admitted smoking cannabis while a student in Kansas in the 1970s, said legalisation would take drug production out of the hands of drug traffickers.
The country remains the biggest cocaine supplier to the US.
The rise of the drug cartels sparked decades of violence in Colombia, with drug money fueling the war with the leftist militants that has killed over 220,000 people.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Colombia To Regulate Manufacture And Sale Of Medical Marijuana
Author: Staff
Contact: South Texas News
Photo Credit: Associated Free Press
Website: South Texas News
The document - signed by the president and the minister of health -- regulates the possession of seeds and plants, as well as their production, distribution, marketing and export for "strictly medical and scientific purposes". "President Santos's decree on medical marijuana is a demonstration that he is committed to ensuring that reform takes place within his own country, not just internationally".
"The manufacture, export, sale, and medical and scientific use of this and other substances have been permitted for several decades in Colombia". Growing, selling and distributing the drug for recreational use are still illegal practices and are therefore, punishable by law.
However, the congress and the executive branch have been hesitant to provide support to such ideas because it might portray the country's officials as weak, ABC News added. Californians voted to legalize medical cannabis use in 1996, clashing with federal drug laws.
Colombia's government has always been a close ally of the United States in fighting global drug trafficking, using its military and billions of dollars in USA funding to try to shed its title as the world's largest cocaine producer.
Santos said the new regulatory framework was long overdue given that Colombians had been consuming marijuana and marijuana-based products in a legal void for years.
Last year, Mr Santos, who has admitted smoking cannabis while a student in Kansas in the 1970s, said legalisation would take drug production out of the hands of drug traffickers.
The country remains the biggest cocaine supplier to the US.
The rise of the drug cartels sparked decades of violence in Colombia, with drug money fueling the war with the leftist militants that has killed over 220,000 people.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Colombia To Regulate Manufacture And Sale Of Medical Marijuana
Author: Staff
Contact: South Texas News
Photo Credit: Associated Free Press
Website: South Texas News
