Colombian Senate Shelves Marijuana Legalization Bill In Another Major Setback For Advocates

Colombia’s Senate has shelved a bill to legalize marijuana, meaning lawmakers will need to restart the two-year legislative process over again next year if they hope to enact the reform.

With 45 votes, the Senate opted to delay consideration of the proposal on Tuesday during its fourth of eight required debates to adopt the constitutional amendment.

Lawmakers who support legalization pushed for urgent Senate consideration of the bill in recent days, with the sponsor warning about the consequences of inaction before the 2023 session ends later this week. But while they secured the debate, the vote didn’t go as planned.

Rep. Juan Carlos Losada, who is championing legalization in the Chamber of Representatives, blamed the defeat on “misinformation” from opponents, including members of his own party, that concerned a separate administrative decree to fully legalize simple drug possession.

He said that opponents misleadingly leveraged President Gustavo Petro’s recent executive decree that eliminates the $50 fine for possessing small amounts of drugs and removes the ability of police to seize them. That built on a broader decriminalization policy enacted under an earlier Constitutional Court ruling.

It was unrelated to the marijuana legalization effort, but opponents used to to raise questions about the necessity of moving ahead with the cannabis-focused reform.

“The project that sought to regulate cannabis for adult use has just collapsed in the Senate plenary session,” he said in a social media post on Tuesday, according to a translation. “The misinformation generated by the repeal of Decree 1844 of 2018 a few days before this debate and the maneuvers orchestrated by certain congressmen, unfortunately among them some from my own party, led to the initiative being shelved.”

Se acaba de hundir el proyecto que pretendía regular el cannabis de uso adulto en la plenaria del Senado. La desinformación generada por la derogatoria del Decreto 1844 de 2018 a pocos días de este debate y las maniobras orquestadas por ciertos congresistas, entre ellos… pic.twitter.com/5VyXyGSGHT

— Juan Carlos Losada (@JuanKarloslos) December 12, 2023

“We will continue fighting for a change in drug policy, convinced that it is the only way to end the war and to truly prevent problematic consumption and the impact on the most vulnerable populations,” he said. “We will insist until misinformation and maneuvers are no longer the protagonists of this debate.”

La política prohibicionista contra las drogas ha sumido a Colombia en una guerra sin sentido.

No regular #LaMarihuanaEs continuar en el status quo que seguirá dejando el negocio en manos de los jíbaros y los narcotraficantes y que en nada protege a los niños, niñas y… pic.twitter.com/c5AeiFNlce

— Juan Carlos Losada (@JuanKarloslos) December 13, 2023

“The prohibitionist policy against drugs has plunged Colombia into a senseless war,” Losada added.

Sen. María José Pizarro, who is carrying the cannabis bill in her chamber, wrote in an op-ed published by El Tiempo on Monday that prohibition is an “erroneous approach that has meant the waste of public resources, higher prices, criminalization of the weakest links, overcrowding, and that has prevented the crises caused by other substances from being truly addressed.”

¿Por qué regularizar el #CannabisDeUsoAdulto? Vamos a arrebatarle el negocio a los narcos que se han potenciado y lucrado a falta del control estatal y a proteger nuestra niñez y juventud que es víctima de la ilegalidad

Mi columna de opinión a propósito del debate que daremos… pic.twitter.com/wA4dNGkk0c

— María José Pizarro Rodríguez (@PizarroMariaJo) December 12, 2023

“Maintaining the prohibition of trade is exposing people who consume to mafias and to side effects from consuming poor quality products, among others,” she said. “At the same time, it encourages the spread of illegal actors and prevents the possibility of collecting taxes from a profitable business whose projections show that it will become even more so in the future.”

The senator accused opponents who orchestrated the cannabis bill’s defeat on Tuesday of “pure cynicism” in a social media post.

“They say they defend the family, youth and children, but they prefer to leave the business to the…drug traffickers who have control of the parks, the territories and the state, even against the Constitution,” she said. “The real people responsible for handing over youth to violent mafias are those who voted to shelve the project to regulate the commercialization of ADULT USE cannabis WITHOUT A SINGLE ARGUMENT.”

Cinismo puro! Dicen defender la familia, las juventudes y la niñez, pero prefirieren dejarle el negocio a los jíbaros y narcotraficantes que tienen el control de los parques, los territorios y Estado, en contra, incluso de la Constitución.

Los verdaderos responsables de entregar… pic.twitter.com/6h1X5TMju4

— María José Pizarro Rodríguez (@PizarroMariaJo) December 12, 2023

The Chamber of Representatives had already approved the bill earlier this year before it was sent over to the Senate. Even if it cleared the Senate on Tuesday, the legislation would have needed to pass through both chambers again next year in order to be sent to the president’s desk for final approval.

Lawmakers nearly enacted an earlier version of the legalization measure earlier this year, but it also stalled out in the final stage in the Senate last session—making it so supporters had to restart the lengthy legislative process.

At a public hearing in the Senate panel last year, Justice Minister Néstor Osuna said that Colombia has been the victim of “a failed war that was designed 50 years ago and, due to absurd prohibitionism, has brought us a lot of blood, armed conflict, mafias and crime.”

After a recent visit to the U.S., the Colombian president recalled smelling the odor of marijuana wafting through the streets of New York City, remarking on the “enormous hypocrisy” of legal cannabis sales now taking place in the nation that launched the global drug war decades ago.

Petro also took a lead role at the Latin American and Caribbean Conference on Drugs in September, noting Colombia and Mexico “are the biggest victims of this policy,” likening the drug war to “a genocide.”

Last year, Petro delivered a speech at a meeting of the United Nations (UN), urging member nations to fundamentally change their approaches to drug policy and disband with prohibition.

He’s also talked about the prospects of legalizing marijuana in Colombia as one means of reducing the influence of the illicit market. And he signaled that the policy change should be followed by releasing people who are currently in prison over cannabis.

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Colombia Eliminates Fine For Drug Possession As Lawmakers Push For Urgent Marijuana Legalization Vote Before End-Of-Year Deadline

As Colombia’s government moves to fully legalize drug possession by removing an existing fine and the ability for police to seize substances, lawmakers are urging immediate Senate action on a marijuana legalization and regulation bill before a deadline that would require them to start the legislative process over again next year.

The cannabis legislation has received three of eight required debates so far—moving through the full Chamber of Representatives before being approved by a Senate committee late last month. It needs to advance on the Senate floor before the end of the year in order to stay alive for the two-year process.

Sen. María José Pizarro, who is carrying the cannabis bill in her chamber, said she’s pushing for plenary consideration of the legislation on Tuesday. If lawmakers fail to act, the reform is at risk of “sinking” again, the senator said, according to a translation.

El proyecto que lideramos con @JuanKarloslos para regularizar el cannabis de uso adulto está en riesgo de hundirse, esperamos el martes pueda desarrollarse su cuarto debate en la plenaria del Senado. #SenadoDebataCannabis#RagularCannabisYapic.twitter.com/bmlH6I1QmF

— María José Pizarro Rodríguez (@PizarroMariaJo) December 11, 2023

“The project that seeks to regularize cannabis for adult use faces a crucial moment, as it is at risk of sinking if it is not scheduled for debate in the Senate plenary before the legislative recess,” she said.

El proyecto que busca regularizar el cannabis de uso adulto enfrenta un momento crucial, al estar en riesgo de hundirse si no se agenda para debate en la plenaria del Senado antes del receso legislativo. #SenadoDebataCannabishttps://t.co/CwFI2sxa6O

— María José Pizarro Rodríguez (@PizarroMariaJo) December 11, 2023

The last day of this year’s session is December 16, meaning the Senate only has until Saturday to approve the bill.

“The regulation of cannabis is the first step to building a much more reasonable policy, one that has prevention and public health at the center and that helps dismantle the enormous social conflict that the prohibition generated,” Rep. Juan Carlos Losada, who is championing legalization in the Chamber of Representatives, said.

La regulación del #CannabisDeUsoAdulto no destruye a las familias ni a la sociedad. Lo que sí ha destruido buena parte de nuestro tejido social es la guerra fallida contra las drogas, que le llenó los bolsillos a los mafiosos y no salvó una sola vida.

La regulación del cannabis… https://t.co/n3o3L582sV

— Juan Carlos Losada (@JuanKarloslos) December 10, 2023

“This debate needs more arguments and much less prejudice,” he said, responding to former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe Velez, who is criticizing the current government’s broader drug decriminalization reform. “With better information, better decisions are made. I am open to whenever I want to give the debate with dignity and face the country.”

Lawmakers nearly enacted a version of the legalization measure into law earlier this year, but it stalled out in the final stage in the Senate last session, meaning the two-year legislative process for constitutional amendments needed to start over again.

At a public hearing in the Senate panel last year, Justice Minister Néstor Osuna said that Colombia has been the victim of “a failed war that was designed 50 years ago and, due to absurd prohibitionism, has brought us a lot of blood, armed conflict, mafias and crime.”

Meanwhile, the administration of President Gustavo Petro issued an executive decree on Saturday that eliminates the $50 fine for possessing small amounts of drugs and removes the ability of police to seize them, building on a broader decriminalization policy enacted under an earlier Constitutional Court ruling.

“Be careful, do not be fooled by misinformers. The only thing the government has done is repeal the fine for carrying personal doses because the courts indicated so,” Petro said on Saturday. “Everything else remains the same. The prohibition of consumption in public places must be established by each municipality. This is also a mandate from the constitutional court that we abide by and with which we agree.”

Ojo, no se deje engañar por los desinformadores.

Lo único que ha hecho el gobierno es derogar la multa por porte de dosis personal porque así lo indicaron las cortes

Todo lo demás continua igual. La prohibición de consumo en lugares públicos lo debe establecer cada municipio.… pic.twitter.com/4KobWAZGDE

— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) December 10, 2023

Pizarro and Losado, the sponsors of the marijuana legalization bill, also weighed in on that drug policy reform development

Losado said that a 2018 decree that imposed fines for possession of certain amounts of drugs was already deemed unconstitutional because it “ignored jurisprudence and violated fundamental rights.”

Ante la desinformación que circula por la derogación del Decreto 1844 de 2018, el cual imponía sanciones por el porte de dosis mínima de drogas, relaciono algunas aclaraciones:

Este decreto, previamente declarado inconstitucional por el Consejo de Estado, ignoraba la… https://t.co/EngDXQlQDv

— Juan Carlos Losada (@JuanKarloslos) December 10, 2023

Pizarro, meanwhile, called on people to stop spreading “misinformation” about the fine elimination, stating that court precedent has established the decriminalization of possession for years, but the government “will continue to hit, without delay, the drug traffickers and mafias that have control of narcotics.”

Se le cuestiona al pdte @petrogustavo cumplir con las órdenes de la Corte, pero no a Duque por ir en contravía de la lo que ordena el alto tribunal, sobre la dosis mínima.

No olvidemos que en Colombia el porte, consumo y cultivo de hasta 20 plantas de cannabis está reglamentado…

— María José Pizarro Rodríguez (@PizarroMariaJo) December 11, 2023

After a recent visit to the U.S., the Colombian president recalled smelling the odor of marijuana wafting through the streets of New York City, remarking on the “enormous hypocrisy” of legal cannabis sales now taking place in the nation that launched the global drug war decades ago.

Petro also took a lead role at the Latin American and Caribbean Conference on Drugs in September, noting Colombia and Mexico “are the biggest victims of this policy,” likening the drug war to “a genocide.”

Last year, Petro delivered a speech at a meeting of the United Nations (UN), urging member nations to fundamentally change their approaches to drug policy and disband with prohibition.

He’s also talked about the prospects of legalizing marijuana in Colombia as one means of reducing the influence of the illicit market. And he signaled that the policy change should be followed by releasing people who are currently in prison over cannabis.

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Colombia Senate Committee Approves Marijuana Legalization Bill, Sending It To A Floor Vote Next

A Colombian Senate committee has approved a bill to legalize marijuana, sending it the full chamber for consideration.

The legislation—which has already moved through committee and on the floor in the Chamber of Representatives in recent months—cleared the First Committee of the Senate on Wednesday. This marks the third of eight planned debates before the measure is potentially sent to the president next year.

Lawmakers nearly enacted a version of the reform into law earlier this year, but it stalled out in the final stage in the Senate last session, meaning the two-year legislative process needed to start over again. Rep. Juan Carlos Losada and Sen. María José Pizarro reintroduced the legislation in July.

Aprobado con 15 votos en 3er debate nuestro proyecto de #CannabisDeUsoAdulto.

Seguimos avanzando en una regulación que le quite el negocio a las mafias, con enfoque en prevención, salud pública, protección a la niñez y oportunidades económicas para las regiones.… pic.twitter.com/dGvZXvsbXa

— Juan Carlos Losada (@JuanKarloslos) November 22, 2023

“The war strategy on drugs has failed,” Pizarro said during Wednesday’s debate, according to a translation. “It has not been effective and consumption has not decreased.”

Losada said ahead of the vote on Wednesday that lawmakers are pursuing “regulation with a public health focus that protects minors and provides economic opportunities.”

Regulating marijuana “is the first step to move forward in changing the failed drug prohibition policy,” he said.

The legislation was previously approved in both chambers last year as part of the two-year process that constitutional amendments must undergo. It then passed the Chamber of Deputies again in May and advanced through a Senate committee in July. But while it received a majority of the votes on the Senate floor, it fell short of the 54-vote threshold it needed for passage.

At a public hearing in the Senate panel last year, Justice Minister Néstor Osuna said that Colombia has been the victim of “a failed war that was designed 50 years ago and, due to absurd prohibitionism, has brought us a lot of blood, armed conflict, mafias and crime.”

The Chamber of Representatives gave initial approval to the legalization bill last year, and the head of the Interior Ministry similarly spoke in favor of the reform proposal at the time.

President Gustavo Petro—a progressive who recently unveiled a new national drug policy focused on loosening criminal penalties and instead working to transition Colombians to legal sectors of the economy—has strongly advocated for an international end to drug criminalization since being inaugurated last year.

Aprobado en 3er debate nuestro proyecto que busca regularizar el #CannabisDeUsoAdulto.

Nos propusimos con @JuanKarloslos no bajar los brazos y volver a dar el debate en el Congreso y nos emociona que avance. Restan cinco debates, sigue la discusión en plenaria de Senado pic.twitter.com/Xjq8faqEIi

— María José Pizarro Rodríguez (@PizarroMariaJo) November 22, 2023

After a recent visit to the U.S., the president recalled smelling the odor of marijuana wafting through the streets of New York City, remarking on the “enormous hypocrisy” of legal cannabis sales now taking place in the nation that launched the global drug war decades ago.

Petro also took a lead role at the Latin American and Caribbean Conference on Drugs in September, noting Colombia and Mexico “are the biggest victims of this policy,” likening the drug war to “a genocide.”

At that event, 19 countries jointly issued a statement asserting that “the expected results have not been obtained when combating the world drug problem, leaving in many cases the underlying problems to be solved and exploiting and exacerbating vulnerabilities of our territories and societies.”

Petro said at the closing of that conference that “what I propose is to have a different and unified voice that defends our society, our future and our history and stops repeating a failed discourse.” He argued that it was wrong to look at drug control “as a military problem and not as a health problem in society.”

In a separate speech, Petro acknowledged that by criminalizing cannabis and other drugs, Colombia and the international community have victimized peasant families as well as Indigenous and Black communities.

“Drug trafficking was not born in Colombian blood. They built it for us,” he said, noting that the low cost of producing drugs makes Colombia an appealing area to grow illicit crops like marijuana and coca, which are processed and then smuggled to sell at higher prices in wealthier countries.

Those countries “never wanted to develop a policy of prevention or regulation or mitigation of harm among consumers,” Petro said, instead preferring to blame poorer, less white countries like Colombia. “That’s an easy policy,” he added, accusing the U.S. and other developed nations of “xenophobic and racist complexes.”

Last year, Petro delivered a speech at a meeting of the United Nations (UN), urging member nations to fundamentally change their approaches to drug policy and disband with prohibition.

He’s also talked about the prospects of legalizing marijuana in Colombia as one means of reducing the influence of the illicit market. And he signaled that the policy change should be followed by releasing people who are currently in prison over cannabis.

Former Colombia President Juan Manuel Santos has also been critical of the drug war and embraced reform. In an op-ed published before he left office, he criticized the UN and U.S. President Richard Nixon for their role in setting a drug war standard that has proven ineffective at best and counterproductive at worst.

“It is time we talk about responsible government regulation, look for ways to cut off the drug mafias’ air supply, and tackle the problems of drug use with greater resources for prevention, care and harm reduction with regard to public health and the social fabric,” he said.

“This reflection must be global in scope in order to be effective,” Santos, who is a member of the pro-reform Global Commission on Drug Policy, said. “It must also be broad, including participation not only of governments but also of academia and civil society. It must reach beyond law enforcement and judicial authorities and involve experts in public health, economists and educators, among other disciplines.”

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