Chile opens debate on marijuana bill

The bill now moves to the full Chamber of Deputies before passing to the Senate, a legislative process that could take years
Agence France Presse (AFP)
Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Chile's congressional health committee approved a bill that would legalize the cultivation of marijuana for private recreational or medicinal use, sending it to the floor for a full debate. The bill would take marijuana off the list of hard drugs and make it a soft drug like alcohol. It would allow people over the age of 18 to grow up to six cannabis plants for their own use, or for use by minors if they use the substance as part of a prescribed treatment. But it would maintain the country's ban on using marijuana in public and limit the amount a person can possess to 10 grams.