The same day, she mentioned that the tobacco and alcohol industries are more harmfulSharing that cannabis is more common than smoking, 1 out 20 deaths can be attributed to alcohol.

Rodríguez worked with Chamber Rep. Juan Carlos Losada, the sponsor of the bill, to push reform. “Today is a HISTORIC day. Under the direction of @PizarroMariaJoYou can also find out more about a @SenadoGovCoMore progressive and more liberal, we received approval during the fourth debate of the regulatory project #CannabisDeUsoAdulto. A huge step to advance a new drug policy,” Losada wrote.

If passed, the bill would amend Article 49 and offer “the right of the free development of the personality, allowing citizens to decide on the consumption of cannabis in a regulated legal framework.” In legalizing cannabis the amendment would also establish regulations and taxes for legal cannabis sales, and organize how to divide revenue between local cities, as well as health, education, and agriculture departments. The bill also proposes a ban on cannabis use in public schools. It would also establish a campaign for public education.

After the First Commission of the House of Representatives approved it Oct. 11, with a vote of 105 to 33, the bill was sent on to the Senate.

Constitutional amendments in Colombia must be considered during eight meetings over the span of two years. This was the fourth meeting. After all the discussion is over, the bill can be sent to President Gustavo Petro of Colombia for his review. If it is signed into law, it will give the state legislatures six months to create adult-use regulations.

Although Petro hasn’t confirmed that he would sign such an amendment, he has continually supported ending criminalization of drugs since he was inaugurated in August 2022. 

Petro will be open for business in September spoke to the United NationsLearn more about the failures of the War on Drugs. “I propose to you as President of one of the most beautiful countries on Earth, and one of the most bloodstained and violent, to end the War on Drugs, and thus allow our people to live in peace,” Petro said in his inauguration speech. “The War on Drugs has lasted 40 years. If this trend continues for another 40 years, then the United States is likely to see an additional 2.8million deaths from overdoses. It’s not happening in Latin America. Millions of African Americans will be held in private prisons. The prisoner will become a business of prison companies.”

On Nov. 25, Petro met with the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador. “If I had to summarize the relationship between our peoples and the government of Colombian President Gustavo Petro in one word, I would say: brotherhood,” Obrador said in a Twitter statement.

Obrador together with Petro have announced that they will work in a collaborative effort to organize an international conference on how to rethink the drug policy. “Recognizing the failure of the fight against drugs and the vulnerability of our peoples in the face of this problem, Mexico and Colombia will convene an International Conference of Latin American leaders with the objective of redesigning and rethinking drug policy,” both countries said in a joint statement.