Benito Díaz
Gabriel Boric won the Chilean elections on December 19, 2021. During the presidential campaign, Boric was asked about the regularization of cannabis. He shared some views that, although contradictory, made his position seem closer to anti-prohibitionism. With his entry into the Palacio de la Moneda, the possibility of establishing a different legislation increases.
Boric participated in the founding of the Frente Amplio (Broad Front) party, a conglomerate of different left-wing political parties that jumped into the political arena in the 2017 elections. In conjunction with another coalition, Apruebo Dignidad (I Approve Dignity), Boric obtained 8.3 million votes, a 55 .8% of the votes, a historic result in the history of Chilean democracy. Previously, he had been active in student organizations such as Izquierda Autónoma and later in the presidency of the Federation of Students of the University of Chile, while he was studying Law. At 36, he will be the world’s youngest sitting ruler, promising to bring an ideological renewal to traditional positions on the Latin American left.
Campaign statements
Boric’s position on drug policy has been somewhat contradictory at times. That has propelled the attacks from the neoconservative right. During an interview on the television program If I were President, Boric assured that he does not consume cannabis. “I believe in science, it doesn’t matter what I think personally”, he explained. “Marijuana is harmful to health, although it is less harmful than tobacco and alcohol”. On the other hand, he was in favour of legalization, since “by decriminalizing self-cultivation, we want to free marijuana consumers from the drug trafficking rings. We would do this to prevent contact with other hard drugs such as cocaine or cocaine base”. On other occasions, the then deputy stated that his government would opt for a drug policy that includes a Human Rights and gender approach. “A new Drug Law that does not persecute the personal use or any related actions. We will develop a more specific handling that differentiates between micro-trafficking and drug trafficking”, stated Boric.
In contrast, we can revisit the tweets issued by Boric in which he acknowledges his occasional use of cannabis, published in 2015 during a vote on the regulation of self-cultivation. This contradiction, together with the decision to carry out drug tests on deputies in the Chilean congress, convinced neoconservative José Antonio Kast, Boric’s main rival, to challenge the politician to show the result of the test.
Legislation in Chile
The previous legislature of the neoconservative Sebastián Piñera was marked by the persecution of groups of people who consume Therapeutic Cannabis, self-cultivators and “grown-up” cannabis users.
The current law, operative since 2005 and known as Law 20,000, establishes that “illicit trafficking of narcotics and psychotropic substances is punished.” Also, “drug use is a misdemeanour and not a crime, so prison sentences are not contemplated. In its article 50, the law applies sanctions to those who consume substances in public places or open to the public, such as streets, bars, or squares. Even in private places, unless they have the necessary authorization.
The penalties resulting from each infraction range from fines, compulsory attendance at programs of prevention, treatment, or rehabilitation, in addition to the forced imposition of community work. Driver’s license suspension can also be forced on offenders for a maximum period of six months, that could extend to two years for reoffenders. Boric’s desire to regulate self-cultivation and micro-drug trafficking could come from cases in which a user has been confused with a small trafficker and has thus been prosecuted with the law’s full force, even as a result of a mistake.
The information published in these same pages blames the current legislation of creating “85,000 detainees a year, half of the total of arrests for any crimes in Chile. 75% of those arrested are caught in possession or consumption on public road. These numbers show how consumers are being persecuted and not drug traffickers, who only make up 16% of these arrests.” Also, “about 44% of those same detainees carried less than one gram of illicit substances, which does not represent any type of trafficking. This leads to enormous social costs: acts of no criminal relevance are prosecuted, consumers are stigmatized, state budgets on this issue rise (judges, police, etc…)”.
Cannabis fight
The history of the country has been linked to the cannabis culture since the introduction of hemp in 1545. Despite this long road, the treatment of the plant and of the consumers has always been that of persecution and stigmatization, when not criminalisation and imprisonment.
The vote to which we earlier referred established in 2015 the possibility of cultivating cannabis up to six plants per household for “medical, recreational or spiritual reasons”. This project arose from different voices that had been fighting for the legalisation of home cultivation for some time, including Kenneth Giorgio Jackson, Boric’s campaign manager, or Ana María Gazmurri, president of the Daya Foundation, a non-profit group that represents consumers of therapeutic cannabis that has had great relevance in proposing legislation for self-cultivation.
María Gazmurri was elected deputy for Boric’s party, Apruebo Dignidad, in the constituency of District 12, which includes La Florida, La Pintana, Puente Alto, Pirque and San José de Maipo, as we also published in these pages. Despite her political success, she has reportedly had several disagreements with the core of the party regarding the regularisation of cannabis. The actress presented her resignation to her party, Revolución Democrática, part of the Frente Amplio. According to her statements, the home-growing regulation project clashed with other members of the party’s interests. This conflict also led to other resignations in RD, like those of Pablo Padilla and Felipe Pávez.
The content of the possible reform is not yet known, but it is hoped that this will change next March, when Boric takes office.
Cannabis to the Constitution
Chile is in the process of drafting a new Constitution and Gazmuri herself, together with the cannabis collective Activismo Cannábico Chile, promoted a people’s constituent initiative for “the right to free development of personality, personal sovereignty and well-being” that received 44,000 signatures. Only 15,000 are necessary for the initiative to be debated, and approved or rejected by the designated members of the pertinent constituent commission.
She tweeted: “I am thankful for the big support to our proposal ‘Cannabis in the Constitution Now’. 44.332 signatures that allow this initiative to be amongst the three with the most support in the process”. From pensions to cannabis, the Convención Constitucional will debate 77 people’s initiatives.