Colombian President Álvaro Uribe clashed with the country’s Prosecutor
General over the Head of State’s proposal to criminalize the personal
dose of drugs.
The President has been pushing to criminalize carrying any amount of drugs, but Prosecutor General Mario Iguarán prefers the carrying of small, or personal, doses of drugs to remain decriminalized as currently established by the constitution, he said over the weekend.
Iguarán expressed his support for a number of former Latin American presidents, including former Colombian president César Gaviria, who seek to treat drug addiction not as a criminal issue, but a healthcare issue.
According to Uribe, the PG should have consulted with him first, before publicly announcing his opinion about the drug issue.
Uribe added he is not after persecuting addicts. “It seems to me he is misleading the public opinion when he says the Government will take the addicts to jail. This can not happen like that.
According to Colombian law it it not a crime to carry drugs for personal use. Uribe has been trying to push a law to criminalize this personal dose, but has found it sunk by congress four tiems already.
