Former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe defends his drug policies and attacks President Juan Manuel Santos’ plan to legalize “personal quantities,” on his Twitter account Tuesday.
Uribe’s 13 point Twitter post came in response to Santos’ Tuesday announcement that he will start the process of legalizing the possession of up to five grams of marijuana and one gram of substances such as cocaine and crack.
Uribe said, “Legalization of personal quantities increases consumption, addiction, killings, and gives distributors impunity.”
The former president defended his administration’s drug policies, defending them as “treatment for addicts, preventative policies, and jail for distributors.”
Uribe went on to cite an unnamed 2009 study that found Colombia’s 1994 decriminalization of drugs had resulted in 350 thousand addicts and 1.6 million social consumers. Citing another unnamed source, Uribe said 100% of arrested hit-men were found to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
The ex-leader said, “How can [the government] pretend to combat drug traffic when authorities are also promoting legalization!” He concluded by saying, “Drugs alienate people; they lose their freedom and that is what distinguishes us in nature.”
Colomia decriminalized possession of small quantities of drug in 1994, but while in office Uribe re-instituted drug prohibition. Colombia’s Supreme Court reversed Uribe’s policies last year. The new Santos legislation seeks to reaffirm the court’s ruling.
In 2004, during Uribe’s presidential term, the U.S.National Security Archive (NSA) published a declassified 1991 intelligence report from the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) that listed Uribe on a list of prominent Colombians involved in the drug trade.