Newsgroups: alt.drugs
From: [catalyst remailer] at [netcom.com]
Subject: Columbia Legalized Drugs !!!!! :-) :-) !!!!!!
Date: Fri, 6 May 1994 20:54:24 -0700

        BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- In a surprise ruling, a high court has
legalized drug use in Colombia, the world's main supplier of
cocaine and site of a drug war that has killed thousands of people.
        The ruling puts Colombia on a collision course with Washington,
which has already accused the Bogota government of leniency toward
drug traffickers and halted evidence-sharing in drug cases.
        The Constitutional Court ruling late Thursday legalized
possession and use of small amounts of cocaine, marijuana, hashish
and hallucinogens. The production, trafficking and sale of drugs
remain illegal.
        The ruling angered President Cesar Gaviria, who called it
``absurd.''
        But he responded defiantly when asked by reporters about
reaction from Washington. ``I think that's irrelevant. It's an
internal issue,'' Gaviria said.
        The Bogota government has grown increasingly defensive about
what it considers Washington's meddling in Colombian affairs, and
complains the United States has not done enough to halt U.S. drug
consumption and money laundering.
        After the ruling, Constitutional Court President Carlos Arango
told reporters the court ``does not judge laws based on the opinion
of the United States.''
        Earlier this year, prosecutor-general Gustavo de Greiff drew
criticism from Washington by negotiating lenient sentences with
drug traffickers and advocating legalization of the entire drug
trade.
        ``I suffer from a rare illness of the spine which prevents me
from bowing before the powerful,'' de Greiff told Congress this
week.
        De Greiff led the battle against the Medellin cocaine cartel and
its leader Pablo Escobar, who was slain by security forces Dec. 2.
But Washington now accuses him of being lax with the less violent
but more powerful Cali cocaine cartel.
        De Greiff advocates legalization and partial government control
over the drug trade to lower prices and reduce its profitability.
        A handful of other countries, mostly in Europe, have
decriminalized use of certain drugs or don't enforce laws against
them.
        ``I'm all for it,'' said Margarita de Perdomo, owner of a dress
shop that was reduced to rubble by a car bomb planted by the drug
cartel 13 months ago. Eleven people were killed and 218 wounded in
the attack.
        ``It's exactly like Prohibition in the United States. They
legalized liquor and the mobsters got out of the business because
it wasn't profitable anymore,'' she said.
        Gaviria, who was elected president after the candidate he served
as campaign manager was assassinated by drug traffickers, firmly
opposes legalization.
        He said he would examine whether the constitution should be
rewritten to set limits on drug use and consider holding a national
referendum on the issue.