Colombia Senate Approves Bill to Legalize Medical Cannabis
Colombia’s flag.
Just a month after Colombia President Juan Manuel Santos announced that he would soon sign an executive decree to legalize the possession and cultivation of medical cannabis, the nation’s Senate has beat him to the punch, voting 46 to 6 to pass legislation that would legalize medical cannabis, including establishing a system of licensed cultivation centers and dispensaries.
“Cannabis inhibits nausea, helps recovering appetite and quality of life; it relieves from pain,” Senator Juan Manuel Galan, the bill’s primary sponsor, said after the vote. “Today, the patients won.”
The measure will now go before the Chamber of Representatives. According to Galan, he expects the Chamber to vote on the measure in early January.
In August, Colombia’s Supreme Court ruled that the personal cultivation of up to 20 cannabis plants is not a crime.
– TheJointBlog