20/11/2007 00:00:00
Smoking cannabis in public to remain a serious offence in Spain
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Smoking cannabis in public to remain a serious offence in Spain
A Congress committee voted against a motion to depenalise possession or
use of small amounts of cannabis in public
A parliamentary commission in Congress has turned down a proposal under
debate to depenalise possession of small amounts of cannabis. It was
presented by Izquierda Unida, who placed the only vote in favour of the
motion at a meeting of the Interior and Justice Committee in Congress on
Tuesday: 35 voted against.
The current public safety law makes it a serious infraction to be caught
in possession of, or using, small quantities of cannabis in public, and
Tuesday’s vote was the third time since the law was brought in in 1992
that Congress has rejected a proposal to withdraw that particular
article of the law.
The IU-ICV representative on the committee, Isaura Navarro, argued that
legislation has proved to be ineffective, and said the state was being
hypocritical in allowing consumption of other drugs such as alcohol and
tobacco. She reminded the governing Socialist Party that they voted in
favour of a similar proposal in 1992.
The FAC Cannabis Associations Federation presented an 18,000-signature
petition in Congress on Tuesday in support of the motion. Their
President, Martín Barriuso, described the legislation as unjust and
repressive, and said the FAC will continue to collect signatures in
support of the political initiative to decriminalise cannabis.
http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_13726.shtml
Source:
http://www.ukcia.org/news/shownewsarticle.php?articleid=13024
Author:
Typically Spanish via UKCIA
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