Colombian President, Alvaro Uribe, has introduced an amendment that aims to make drug possession illegal in Colombia. The Colombian congress already began discussing the illegality of drugs in Colombia earlier last week.

As it stands currently, Colombia citizens (of legal adult age 18+) are permitted to legally possess 20 grams of marijuana, 1 gram of cocaine and or 2 grams of synthetic drugs, ecstasy. Drugs current status was the result of a 1994 Constitutional court ruling.

In a recent speech, President Uribe stated that there was a contradiction in the fact that Colombia claims to be waging war on drugs (using billions of US dollars), while allowing domestic possession of drugs. During his 6 years of presidency, Uribe, has put forth various efforts to evoke this reform. However, he has always faced resistance from congress members, who believe the illegalization of drugs in Colombia would be a violation of Colombian’s freedoms.

The new amendment is less punitive than the ones previously introduced. However, if passed, drug possession would be considered a misdemeanor, not a felony, and would result in the intervention of a “therapeutic court”, involving judges, doctors, and psychologists.