On June 20, the Colombia Senate voted against cannabis legalization for recreational use. The bill, which needed 54 votes to pass, failed with a count of 43 to 47 in its eighth and final debate.
Sen. Juan Carlos Losada remarked that the progress made with the bill does not mark the end of discussions about adult-use legalization. “I don’t see this as a defeat; we have made significant strides over four years, bringing this controversial issue to the forefront of public debate,” Losada stated. “Leaving a legal substance in the hands of drug traffickers and dealers harms Colombia’s children and its democracy.”
A report from La Prensa Latina detailed that the eighth debate started on June 15 but was postponed by Senate President Alexander Lopez after a “verbal confrontation” between Sen. Inti Asprilla, a supporter, and Sen. Jota Pe Hernandez, an opponent. The debates resumed on June 19, but the vote was delayed due to a lack of senators present, finally taking place on June 20, just before the legislative session ended.
Former President Álvaro Uribe’s Legislative Act (no. 2) of 2009 modified Article 49 of the constitution under “Drugs, alcohol, and illegal substances,” stating that “The possession and the consumption of narcotic and psychoactive drugs is prohibited, except for medical prescription.”
Since that constitutional amendment, there have been multiple efforts to expand cannabis access and pass legalization. Modifying the Colombian constitution requires a bill to pass four debates in the Senate and four in the House of Representatives before it can be presented to the president.
Because the cannabis legalization bill did not pass this debate, legislators must start anew in the next attempt. This was the first time a cannabis legalization initiative reached the eighth session of debate.
Legalization supporters were hopeful as the prospect of legalization advanced. In May, the Chamber of Representatives approved the bill in its sixth debate. Rep. Losada tweeted, “#HISTORIC Approved with 98 votes our project of #CannabisDeUsoAdulto in the 6th debate. Today @CamaraColombia shows that we are a country that wants to shift from a failed prohibitionist drug policy to one based on prevention and public health.”
Following the bill’s rejection in the eighth debate, Losada tweeted that the effort is far from over. “We are sad but convinced that we gave it our all to the end. We never thought we would get this far,” he said. “Today we have majorities, missing only 7 votes. We have been in this fight for 4 years and will not give up on writing a new history in the fight against drugs. Thank you!”
Other proponents, such as Sen. María José Pizarro, remain hopeful. “We will continue to defend the regulation of #CannabisDeUsoAdulto out of conviction; because communities in our country need an alternative to violence and a path to legality. So that children and youth are not at the mercy of mafias and dealers. Colombia, we will lead the way #ItIsTimeToRegulate. @JuanKarloslos thank you!” Pizzaro wrote on Twitter.
