Pubdate: Thu, 10 Sep 2009
Source: Latin American Herald-Tribune (Venezuela)
Copyright: 2009 Latin American Herald-Tribune
Contact: http://www.laht.com/Contacts.asp
Website: http://www.laht.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5047

COLOMBIA'S HIGH COURT SAYS DRUG CONSUMPTION NOT A CRIME

BOGOTA - Colombia's Supreme Court ruled that possession of illegal 
drugs for personal use is not a criminal offense, citing a 1994 
decision by the country's Constitutional Court, Caracol Radio said Wednesday.

Drug consumption "generates in a person problems of addiction and 
slavery that turn one into a sick, compulsive individual deserving of 
therapeutic medical treatment instead of a punishment," the judges said.

Their ruling came in a case involving a man prosecuted for possession 
of 1.3 grams (.04 ounces) of cocaine. The court overturned his 
conviction and ordered him immediately released.

"In the exercise of his personal and private rights, the accused did 
not harm others," so his conduct "cannot be the object of any 
punishment," the Supreme Court found.

Colombia's Constitutional Court said in 1994 that possession of 
illegal drugs within fixed limits was not subject to prosecution, but 
the hard-line government of President Alvaro Uribe is currently 
trying to undue that decision with a constitutional amendment.

The administration's proposal was approved in June by the lower house 
of Congress and is now under review by a Senate committee.

Bogota receives around $500 million a year in mainly military aid 
from the United States as part of Plan Colombia, an initiative 
targeting the drug trade and armed irregulars.

The Argentine Supreme Court moved toward decriminalizing drug 
possession in a ruling last month that was hailed by President 
Cristina Fernandez's government, which says the battle against the 
illegal drug trade should focus on high-level traffickers, not users.

In the Argentine case, the judges quashed a conviction for marijuana 
possession, though they did not proclaim the legalization of pot or 
any other drug. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake