‘20 marijuana plants is not a crime’

The recent Supreme Court ruling could have great consequences for home growers.

Supreme Court acquit a man arrested for carrying 124g of freshly cut marijuana


On August 11, the Supreme Court ordered the immediate release from house arrest of a man who had been held since December 2014. He was originally charged with trafficking, manufacturing and possession of narcotics and sentenced to 64 months in prison.

However, the court noted a 1986 National Narcotics Statute that only penalises the farming of more than 20 plants.

Colombia decriminalised the possession of small amounts of marijuana in 2012, when the Constitutional Court approved legislation that said anyone caught with less than 20 grams of marijuana could not be prosecuted or detained.

In November last year, a bill to legalise marijuana for medical purposes passed its first debate in the senate. It was due to be debated in Congress in July 2015, but the deliberations have been delayed.

bogotapost: