Source: The Santiago Times

8 August 2012

Written by David Pedigo

Bill would permit cultivation of marijuana for personal consumption

Liberal senators Ricardo Lagos Weber and Fulvio Rossi officially proposed a piece of legislation to Chile’s National Congress on Wednesday that would decriminalize the cultivation of marijuana for personal and therapeutic use. The bill comes in the middle of a renewed debate in Chile over the legality of marijuana and two weeks after Rossi publicly stated that he personally consumed marijuana.

“It is important to understand that when you permit personal cultivation you are attacking illegal purchase and narcotrafficking,” Rossi said.

“Some have said that to approve a bill like this will make narcotraffickers very happy, and I tell them the opposite: ‘We are reducing their revenue,’” he added. “Specialists in these issues have said that the only way to hit organized crime and narcoterrorism where it hurts is from an economic standpoint.”

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