Cannabis
''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: ''Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternatively ...
in Chile is illegal for all production and public consumption, though private at-home consumption, grow and selling is allowed for medical use. It is widely consumed, with the highest per-capita use in Latin America.
In 2014 Chile began clinical trials on
medical marijuana
Medical cannabis, or medical marijuana (MMJ), is cannabis and cannabinoids that are prescribed by physicians for their patients. The use of cannabis as medicine has not been rigorously tested due to production and governmental restrictions ...
, and in 2015 a decriminalization bill successfully passed the lower house of the
Chilean Congress
The National Congress of Chile ( es, Congreso Nacional de Chile) is the legislative branch of the government of the Republic of Chile.
The National Congress of Chile was founded on July 4, 1811. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Ch ...
.
History
Cannabis has a long history in Chile, possibly the longest in the New World, as hemp production for fiber was introduced in the Quillota Valley as early as 1545,
to support the army and shipping.
Similar attempts were made in Peru, Colombia, and Mexico, but only in Chile did the crop find success.
In the 1940s, cannabis was used by American sailors in the brothels of the port towns of
Antofagasta
Antofagasta () is a port city in northern Chile, about north of Santiago. It is the capital of Antofagasta Province and Antofagasta Region. According to the 2015 census, the city has a population of 402,669.
After the Spanish American wars ...
and
Tocopilla
Tocopilla is a city and commune in the Antofagasta Region, in the north of Chile. It is the capital of the province that bears the same name.
Every year Tocopilla celebrates its anniversary on 29 September with a big show the day before, which ...
.
The expanding use of cannabis in Chile in the 1960-1970s was associated with its popularization by foreign sailors, and later by hippies arrived in Chile from the United States or other Latin American nations.
By the early 1970s, a Ministry of Education report stated that 60% of Chilean high school students had tried cannabis.
Terminology
According to the ''Dictionary of Chilean Slang'', terms used for cannabis in Chile include: marihuana, papelillo, volarse, cogoyo, paraguayo, mota, macoña and yerba.
Statistics
According to a study by the University of London and the Universidad Andrés Bello, 40% of Chileans have used cannabis and 48.2% of Chileans support its legalization, the highest rates in the 9 South American countries included in the study. Only 6.2% believe there are serious risks associated with its use, which is less than any of the other countries included in the study.
Chile also has an earlier than average age of first cannabis usage, at age 12 compared to the global average of 14–15.
Economy
While Chile has some local production, a large amount of its cannabis is imported from neighbors, particularly Paraguay and Peru.
Legality
![Primer Congreso Nacional del Cannabis (Concepción 2012)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Primer_Congreso_Nacional_del_Cannabis_%28Concepci%C3%B3n_2012%29.jpg)
The current overarching drug law of Chile is the 2005 ''
Ley de drogas''. Further, in 2008 Chile toughened its cannabis trafficking laws, with punishments equivalent to those for cocaine and heroin, in reaction to the increasing consumption and presence of imported Paraguayan cannabis.
In 2012, Socialist Party senator
Fulvio Rossi
Fulvio Fabrizio Rossi Ciocca (born 30 September 1970) is a Chilean politician and physician
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who p ...
publicly admitted that he used cannabis, leading to some public outcry, while Rossi took the occasion to propose major changes to Chile's cannabis laws and policies.
Cannabis became an issue in the
2021 Chilean presidential election
General elections were held in Chile on 21 November 2021, including presidential, parliamentary and regional elections. Voters went to the polls to elect the President of the Republic to serve a four-year term, 27 of 50 members of the Senate t ...
cycle, with multiple presidential candidates endorsing legalization.
Daniel Jadue
Óscar Daniel Jadue Jadue (born 28 June 1967) is a Chilean architect, sociologist and Marxist politician. A member of the Communist Party of Chile (PCCh), Jadue has served as Mayor of Recoleta since 2012.
A Chilean of Palestinian Christian de ...
of the
Communist Party
A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...
and
Paula Narváez
Paula Narváez Ojeda (born 22 May 1972) is a Chilean politician and psychologist who is the Chile ambassador to the United Nations under President Gabriel Boric.
She served as Minister Secretary General of Government during the second administ ...
of the
Socialist Party
Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...
, the presidential nominees of their respective parties, have both endorsed legalization.
Medical cannabis
In 2014, cultivators with government permission began planting cannabis in Chile, including a location in Santiago to produce oil for cancer patients.
Decriminalization
A Chilean organization holds annual protests each April 20, since 2005 in support legalization of cannabis.
In 2015, a bill allowing Chileans to grow up to six plants per home for "medical, recreational or spiritual reasons" passed the lower house of Congress, 68–39, and next goes to the Chilean Senate for vote.
It is widely used, considered now almost as part of Chilean culture. It is quite common to see people smoking or rolling in the streets and parks, and growshops everywhere.
References
{{Cannabis by country
Cannabis by country
Chilean culture
Drugs in Chile