The Colombian justice minister’s announcement on Tuesday that the government intends to decriminalize small amounts of methamphetamines and ecstasy, caused objections from members of Colombia’s congress, local media reported on Wednesday.
“Putting ecstasy and methamphetamines in the same bag as marijuana does not make the legalization of synthetic drugs viable,” said doctor and senate president for the party of the U, Roy Barreras.
“Colombia’s problem is in relation to soft drugs, to marijuana and cocaine – the drug trafficking curse fundamentally depends on these two drugs and world decriminalization will end that business. But mixing decriminalization with these synthetic drugs makes the debate a much more difficult one,” continued Barreras.
The chairman for the Conservative party likewise criticised the move to include decriminalization in the drug statute, now in a drafting phase, that is expected to be presented to congress by the Santos government in March.
“We will not accompany a statute if it is intended to pave the way for decriminalization,” said the party chairman, Efrain Cepeda.
The comments follow the announcement by Justice Minister Ruth Stella Correa that the government is seriously considering the inclusion of decriminalization of possession of small amounts of ecstasy and methamphetamines in a coming drug statute.
BACKGROUND: Colombia govt. to propose decriminalization of methamphetamines, ecstasy
Should the proposal pass, it would bring the laws governing methamphetamines and ecstasy into line with those already governing cocaine and marijuana. The possession of small amounts of those two substances was decriminalized by congress in mid-2012.
BACKGROUND: Personal drug use decriminalized in Colombia