Colombia: Senate rejects legalization of adult cannabis use

In the last of eight debates in different chambers, the Colombian Senate rejected the amendment of the constitution with a view to legalizing cannabis for adult use. The project, supported by the national government and the President of Colombia, failed to achieve the 54-vote majority required for approval.

The constitutional reform that intended to regulate the trade of cannabis for recreational purposes in Colombia was rejected in its last debate in the Senate. The project, which received 43 votes against and 47 in favor, was not approved, despite the majority having expressed its favour. This is because 54 votes were needed for the diploma to be approved in the eighth and final debate, which took place just one hour before the end of the current legislative session, which ended last Tuesday.

The Congress started the week with an agitated and controversial debate, when discussing the regulation of cannabis for adult use in the country. The debate ended up being postponed until Tuesday, after the session was suspended by the president of the Senate, Alexander López, on the grounds that?there was no quorum for voting. The suspension came after Senators from the Historic Pact were absent from the plenary to break up the quorum, an action characterized as 'cheating' by the opposition.

The unusual situation arose because the project – which is supported by the national government – would not have enough votes for approval. Despite the opposition wanting to put the diploma to a vote, the project proponents sought to gain time to change the course of the vote. Indeed, during the verification of the quorum to assess whether there were conditions for voting, the senators of the Historic Pact were absent with the intention of postponing the vote on the project from Monday to Tuesday.

Juan Carlos Losada, Liberal Party senator who presented the bill, does not consider the outcome “a defeat” maintaining that a “gigantic step” was taken, by placing “such a controversial subject at the top of the public agenda, of public debate, for four years”. The senator added that the issue will again be the subject of debate in the next legislative session. “Continuing to leave a substance that is legal in the hands of drug traffickers is harmful to Colombia's children and harmful to the country's democracy,” Losada maintained.