Puerto Rico Calls for Legal Cannabis
In his most recent public address, the Governor of Puerto Rico called for legal cannabis in the U.S. territory.
According to Fox News, Alejandro Garcia Padilla, the territory’s governor, publicly stated at the beginning of this month that legalizing cannabis would help attack crime and get rid of the hypocrisy of outdated drug laws. He referenced a bill filed in 2013 that aimed at decriminalizing cannabis, stating that this bill should be passed by legislators as a first step to fix current legislation.
This is not a surprising move, considering that Puerto Rico recently legalized medical cannabis. The medical law allows for cultivation, manufacturing and distribution, and was adopted by the Puerto Rican Health Department.
In addition to discussing cannabis, Padilla also talked about the economic crisis and debt, admitting that new measures need to be taken to deal with the $69 million worth of public debt the territory has currently accrued. While he need not explicitly link the two things in his speech, it seems clear that due to the financial success of legal cannabis, adding this boost to the economy would help with the debt as well. Padilla is also not seeking re-election, and as such probably feels freer to be honest about touchier issues.
It’s not clear if this rousing speech will lead to any actual change, but so far Puerto Rico has shown a lot of cannabis friendliness and willingness to legalize. Combining legal cannabis with the appeals of this lovely island would certainly help with their worsening economic crisis.
