A new chapter has begun for Chilean politics. After defeating candidate Jeannette Jara in the runoff election by 58% to 41%, President José Antonio Kast now governs at another milestone in the country’s political back-and-forth: a society seemingly unafraid to swing from right to left, and back again. But what about the future of progressive policy agendas under the new government? What is its historical stance on cannabis and the struggles surrounding it? Are heated debates, such as those that cannabis regulation could generate, indefinitely on hold, or are new opportunities on the horizon?
In his first week in office, Kast has described Chile as needing an “emergency government”, and his first visible moves have centered on security, border control, immigration, and organized crime, not cannabis reform. That early emphasis has only reinforced the sense that weed is far from the top of the administration’s agenda.
Over time, José Antonio Kast’s statements have revealed a profoundly ambiguous position regarding cannabis. In 2016, Kast stated that “legalizing marijuana would be a social catastrophe.” A year later, in 2017, he stated that he had no problem with medicinal cannabis, as long as it was strictly controlled by the Public Health Institute. During that same period, he even went so far as to say that anyone over 23 could “do whatever they wanted.”
However, in 2019, he maintained that “marijuana is a drug that destroys lives, families, and our society.” “This lack of consistency is not a minor detail: when someone governs, ambiguity translates into legal uncertainty and decisions that directly affect the lives of patients and users. Beyond the statements, what is concerning is the lack of a clear vision for regulation based on scientific evidence and human rights,” argues Congresswoman Ana María Gazmuri, an activist for legal therapeutic cannabis, now that Kast is in …
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Author: Hernán Panessi / High Times
