A total of 80 farmers from the region met at the UTP to sell and exchange their agricultural products.
The First Committee of the Senate approved this week the initiative that intends to sell cannabis for recreational use to adults, there is only one last debate in the Senate Plenary for this controversial project to become a reality for Colombians.
The proposal of representative Carlos Losada, of the Liberal Party, has been approved in 7 of 8 debates.
According to Losada “we have two weeks left to achieve it and we are going to do everything possible to get this approved.” Fabián Díaz, professor of the Master’s Degree in Health Business Administration at the EAN University, explains what the economic dimension would be and the main challenges that our country would face in the event of obtaining the green light in the last remaining debate.
OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT
The initiative proposes to make a change in article 49 of the Political Constitution, through a legislative act. In the words of Juan Carlos Losada, “What is going to change is that it will be possible to sell marijuana legally. Today it is legal to smoke it, consume it, have it, grow up to 20 plants, and yet consumers have to join illegal networks of jíbaros and drug traffickers to obtain a substance that is legal, putting their lives at risk, putting their rights at stake. risk and that doesn’t make any sense.”
For her part, Senator María José Pizarro stressed that “Once approved, a law must be processed to regulate the protection of children, the prevention of consumption and the collection of taxes for drug consumption prevention programs.”
ECONOMIC SCOPE
According to Fabián Díaz, the regulation of cannabis opens a “a new line in the country’s economy, since it implies a new channel of production, distribution, sale and commercialization”.
If the initiative is well used, Colombia would have the possibility of competing in the world marijuana market with countries like Canada.
However, he warns that, when it comes to exploiting it, regulation must go beyond cultivation and consumption, and that is that for the expert, cannabis is a plant that has a large number of uses, ranging from cosmetic to garment making. Colombia must focus on the transformation of the product, so that it can compete in different spheres; This implies creating incentives for production and clearly defining what can be done and under what circumstances.