Pablo Iglesias: "Cannabis Is No More Damaging for Health than Many Alcoholic Drinks"

In the Podemos page on Facebook, the secretary general Pablo Iglesias stated that cannabis is no more harmful for health than many alcoholic drinks. He argued that, after travelling to Uruguay and talking to Mujica, it seems to him that the legislation applied by the Latin American country, similar to that in the state in Colorado, is “very reasonable”. 

After many users insisted, Iglesias responded to a question from 'Sinotoca Nohayvoto', (A play on words suggesting ‘If you don’t tackle the matter then there will be no vote’). He asked the politician if he considered the millions of Spanish citizens who consume cannabis to be “underprivileged socio-economic citizens” to whom the party leader responded: "absolutely not". The member of European Parliament added that “given the situation in the country, it is true that the issue has not been one our priorities but we will have to work on it".

The user put the question to him in reference to a tweet published in 2013 in which the politician said:

Rojo y melenudo sí, pero yo soy de Macallan en vaso corto sin hielo, nada de porros ni lumpendrugs ;) @dany_cfh

— Pablo Iglesias (@Pablo_Iglesias_) agosto 4, 2013

Translation of tweet: “Red and long-haired guy yes, but I like Macallan in a short whisky glass, no joints or underclass-drugs”. [Red as referred to left-wing in Spain]

‘Sinotoca Nohayvoto’, a name that emerged as an initiative on social networks asking people not to vote for politicians who do not fight stereotypes around cannabis, added: "Why don’t Podemos want to tackle the issue of a fair drugs policy? Don’t you know #SINOTOCAnohayvoto?" Many other users added to the comments, explaining the need to talk about a medicine such as marijuana which helps a lot of patients, and about which they believe more information is needed.

Podemos is a Spanish political party, founded at the beginning of 2014. It managed to win five seats in the European Parliament in the last elections that took place in June that year. Its success in Spain has been emphatic and has led it to becoming a clear source of opposition to the parties that have traditionally been in power.