Colombia's Santos says backs marijuana use for medical purposes

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Colombia's Santos says backs marijuana use for medical purposes

By Luis Jaime Acosta BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos said on Thursday he supported the use of marijuana for medical use as a means to ease the suffering of terminally ill patients and deprive criminals of profits from the illegal trade in the drug. The battle against drugs has failed because of its high cost in human lives and economic impact for countries like Colombia and Mexico, calling for an alternative expert-led and evidence-based approach, Santos told a forum on illegal drugs in Bogota. "We look favorably upon your initiative over medicinal and therapeutic use of marijuana," said Santos, referring to a congressional bill by Liberal party Senator Juan Manuel Galan to legalize it. The president said Galan's bill was a compassionate measure for the terminally ill but also as a way to "remove criminals from being the intermediary between the patient and a substance that will ease their suffering." In April, Uruguay legalized marijuana at every stage from production to consumption.

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