Unanimous support from deputies to legislate marijuana use and self-cultivation in Chile

Every deputy in the Health Committee of Congress in Chile agreed to move forward in the discussion for allowing cannabis use and self-cultivation. The initiative comes from the legislature, according to the urgent need to avoid criminalising people who require cannabis or its derivates for treatment of diseases that cause pain and reduce trafficking in more deprived areas, since the government still does not respond to these situations.

All political sectors are open to allowing the medical use of cannabis, although differences persist on the recreational use of the plant - this will be further discussed in Congress.

Currently the law 20.000, which regulates the use of narcotics and psychotropic substances, allows personal consumption, and accepts their therapeutic application, but criminalises all access to these compounds, criminalising consumers with the same sentences as for drug dealers. Although the government has allowed the import of drugs which compounds are derived from cannabis, the protocol is a cumbersome and very costly preparation, so it continues to be difficult to access to them.

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