Colombia court approves decriminalization of small amounts of drugs .

Source: Colombia Reports

Colombia court approves decriminalization of small amounts of drugs .
Friday, 29 June 2012 06:10 Victoria Rossi

Colombia's Constitutional Court has approved the government proposal to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of cocaine and marijuana for personal use, Colombia media reported Friday.

Anyone caught with less than 20 grams of marijuana or one gram of cocaine for personal use may receive physical or psychological treatment depending on their state of consumption, but may not be prosecuted or detained, the court ruled.

The carrying of small amounts of illicit drugs already became legal after the Supreme Court ruled in 2011 that strict anti-drug laws promoted by the administration of former government Alvaro Uribe were unconstitutional.

To fill the legislative void created by the court's ruling, the administration of current Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos introduced decriminilization as part of 2011's Citizen Security Law, or law 1453, which sought to address a wide variety of public safety issues ranging from child trafficking to soccer hooligan violence.

Read more: http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/24849-colombia-court-approves-decriminalization-small-amounts-of-drugs.html