Colombia's New Policy on Medical Marijuana

Colombia is the world's largest producer of cocaine. The country has a long and difficult history with drugs and even to this day, drug trafficking has given rise to horrific acts of violence.

NDTV reports that Colombia has worked closely with the United States on the war on drugs. The country has deployed the military to fight drug traffickers and has shown aggressiveness in eliminating illegal drug corporations.

However, just last month, the Colombian government announced that it would fully legalize the use of medical marijuana and that it will regulate its production and distribution. This was done in a bid to ease the country's policy on drugs.

The official text of the document, which was released in various media outlets said that Colombia now legalizes "the possession and cultivation of cannabis seeds and plants."

Drug trafficking has played a part in Colombia's dark past. The country's drug trafficking problems have killed more than 220,000 people in over five decades. Notorious Colombian drug lord, Pablo Escobar, was the head of the Medellin Cartel and was known around the world as "The King of Cocaine." The Colombian drug lord's exploits earned him the reputation of being the wealthiest criminal in history. Escobar's net worth was $30 billion back in the day. Escobar was gunned down by Colombian police in 1993.

The proposal to legalize marijuana was presented to the Colombian senate by Sen. Juan Manuel Galan in November of last year. It was done in order to make Colombia take complete authority of the dark consequences of prohibiting the drug, a report with Fox News Latino said.

Marijuana is reportedly the most consumed drug in the country today. Consumption of the drug has increased to over 15.2 percent of the population over the past five years. 

It is currently legal to grow up to 20 cannabis plants in Colombia. Anyone in Colombia can grow their own cannabis plants in their own backyard. Medical marijuana is also readily accessible to the public. However, the newly implemented laws should make it easier to access these drugs.

Producers of medical marijuana are currently operating small firms by the loophole of a law that legalized the production of the plant for the use of medical purposes. However, the newly implemented law will allow cannabis producers to operate on a wider scale.

Many cannabis producers have nothing but praise for the newly implemented law as it could very well make Colombia the 'China of Cannabis,' reports NDTV.