The United States ambassador to Colombia says his government is “happy” that the people of California voted against the legalization of marijuana in their state.
“The U.S. government opposes proposition 19, so we are very happy with the result in California,” Ambassador Michael McKinley told newspaper El Espectador in an interview published Wednesday.
However, the ambassador does not think that California’s “no” vote means a definite sinking of the legalization of marijuana.
“The debate on legalization has been going on for decades and is unlikely to be ended in one day. Important issues are being discussed. But in the meantime we must continue the very important task of fighting the mafias. This problem is not going to disappear because there is a debate. And I want to make it very clear that the fight against drug trafficking is not against farmers of marginalized communities, it’s against the mafia,” the ambassador said.
The proposed legalization of marijuana in California was strongly opposed by Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, who called for a redesign of the global war on drugs if California decided to legalize pot.