Argentina steps towards decriminalising drug use

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Argentina steps towards decriminalising drug use

15 August 2014

Argentina's president has endorsed the idea of developing more lenient drug legislation, marking the country's first step towards joining a regional push for alternative solutions to the illegal drug problem and raising the question of whether it could follow a similar path as Uruguay.

Following President Cristina Kirchner's approval, government officials began drafting proposals to decriminalize drug consumption, reported La Nacion. Officials hope to present the initiative -- which is being led by Argentina's Secretariat for Programming for the Prevention of Drug Addiction and the Fight Against Drug Trafficking (Sedronar) -- to the Argentine Congress by the end of the year.

According to La Nacion, the reforms will be based on two previous proposals, including one that advocates for the legalization of all drugs for personal consumption and decriminalizes growing marijuana for personal use.

Juan Carlos Molina, the head of Sedronar, said the idea behind the initiative was to use government resources to combat drug trafficking, rather than drug users.

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