Page 5 - DESPA 13 NOV 2015
P. 5
WORLD NEWS A11
Friday 13 November 2015
Colombia to legalize commercial sale of medical marijuana
JOSHUA GOODMAN Justice Minister Yesid Reyes Sen. Juan Manuel Galan, A youth smokes marijuana using a papaya in Medellin, Colom-
Associated Press said. With the new policy, who last year introduced bia. Justice Minister Yesid Reyes announced during an interview
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) Colombia joins countries legislation that tracks with with Caracol Radio, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2015, that Colombia is
— Colombia’s government from Mexico to Chile that the government’s de- preparing to legalize the cultivation and sale of marijuana for
plans to legalize the culti- have experimented with cree, said that as many as medicinal purposes.
vation and sale of marijua- legalization or decriminal- 400,000 Colombians suffer-
na for medicinal and scien- ization as part of a wave ing from epilepsy and oth- (AP Photo/Luis Benavides)
tific purposes, officials said of changing attitudes to- er ailments could benefit
Thursday in a surprise shift ward drug use and poli- from the clearer regulatory
by the longtime U.S. ally in cies to combat it in Latin framework to be provided
the war on drugs. America. But unlike many by the decree.
The change is coming in of its neighbors, Colombia Colombians for two de-
an executive decree that has long been identified cades have been allowed
President Juan Manuel with U.S.-backed policies to possess small quantities
Santos will soon sign into to eradicate drug produc- of any narcotic for person-
law. It will regulate regu- tion and a sharp decline al use thanks to a series of
lating everything from li- in levels of violence over Constitutional Court rulings
censing for growers to the the past 15 years is largely guaranteeing the “free
eventual export of prod- attributed to the no-toler- development of one’s
ucts made from marijuana, ance policing. personality.”q
