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Santiago, Chile, August 27 2009 (EFE).- The Chilean government is assessing the possibility to decriminalize the collective use of marijuana in private locations, official sources informed today.
"We are studying a proposal to make private use no longer a violation, so that these private matters will no longer be subject to the courts", said today María Teresa Chadwick, director of the Chilean National Drugs Control Council (Conace, in Spanish).
"With this initiative, the decriminalization will apply to use and not drugs per se, which remain illegal", Chadwick highlighted in her statements to the electronic edition of the "La Tercera" newspaper.
In Chile, the Drug Law does not punish private use of marijuana and, since 2005, considers that those who use drugs in private locations commit a violation and not a crime, but as long as such use is individual.
Last Tuesday, Argentina’s high court decriminalized partial consumption of drugs and declared the punishment of an adult for such use unconstitutional, if no third parties are harmed.
"It is good to know that countries change their laws to ensure users are not jailed, as it is necessary to separate users from dealers", Conace’s director stated.
The National Study on Drugs in the Population promoted by Conace every two years revealed a four percent increase in the supply of marijuana in Chile between 2006 and 2008, adding 25%, that is, one in four Chilean youths has already received offers to use the drug.
In Chile, because of the laws, if someone is caught possessing or using marijuana at a public place, the police often accuses the individual of drug trafficking, regardless of the quantity of illegal substance seized.
For small quantities of drugs, judges usually consider the occurrence as a violation and not a crime. The violator is punished with the payment of a fine, but sometimes the lengthy process of Justice complicates the lives of the defendants for a long time.
It is the case of the Peruvian soccer referee Georges Buckley [story on link],who should have refereed the game between Unión Española (CHI) and La Equidad (COL) for the South-American Cup in Santiago last Tuesday and was unable to participate because he was detained at the airport.
Buckley had a arrest warrant issued against him, pending before a Santiago Court since 1997, when he studied Commercial Engineering in Chile and was caught with a joint at a rock concert.
Although it was considered a light-weight violation, the fact never disappeared from the records and caused a lot of distress to Buckley. And despite his appearance before the Chilean Court only lasted five minutes, he was unable to referee the game. EFE
"We are studying a proposal to make private use no longer a violation, so that these private matters will no longer be subject to the courts", said today María Teresa Chadwick, director of the Chilean National Drugs Control Council (Conace, in Spanish).
"With this initiative, the decriminalization will apply to use and not drugs per se, which remain illegal", Chadwick highlighted in her statements to the electronic edition of the "La Tercera" newspaper.
In Chile, the Drug Law does not punish private use of marijuana and, since 2005, considers that those who use drugs in private locations commit a violation and not a crime, but as long as such use is individual.
Last Tuesday, Argentina’s high court decriminalized partial consumption of drugs and declared the punishment of an adult for such use unconstitutional, if no third parties are harmed.
"It is good to know that countries change their laws to ensure users are not jailed, as it is necessary to separate users from dealers", Conace’s director stated.
The National Study on Drugs in the Population promoted by Conace every two years revealed a four percent increase in the supply of marijuana in Chile between 2006 and 2008, adding 25%, that is, one in four Chilean youths has already received offers to use the drug.
In Chile, because of the laws, if someone is caught possessing or using marijuana at a public place, the police often accuses the individual of drug trafficking, regardless of the quantity of illegal substance seized.
For small quantities of drugs, judges usually consider the occurrence as a violation and not a crime. The violator is punished with the payment of a fine, but sometimes the lengthy process of Justice complicates the lives of the defendants for a long time.
It is the case of the Peruvian soccer referee Georges Buckley [story on link],who should have refereed the game between Unión Española (CHI) and La Equidad (COL) for the South-American Cup in Santiago last Tuesday and was unable to participate because he was detained at the airport.
Buckley had a arrest warrant issued against him, pending before a Santiago Court since 1997, when he studied Commercial Engineering in Chile and was caught with a joint at a rock concert.
Although it was considered a light-weight violation, the fact never disappeared from the records and caused a lot of distress to Buckley. And despite his appearance before the Chilean Court only lasted five minutes, he was unable to referee the game. EFE
