Colombia's government plans to legalize the cultivation and sale of marijuana for medicinal and scientific purposes, officials said Thursday in a surprise shift by the longtime U.S. ally in the war on drugs.

The change is coming in an executive decree that President Juan Manuel Santos will soon sign into law. It will regulate regulating everything from licensing for growers to the eventual export of products made from marijuana, Justice Minister Yesid Reyes said.

Colombia plans to legalise the cultivation and sale of marijuana for medicinal purposes.

Regulating products with a marijuana or coca base compliments another bill currently being debated in congress to legalize medical marijuana.

Colombia is hoping to get one step further in the legalization of medical marijuana, with the Health Ministry pushing to legalize all products that contain the narcotic as its base.

Health Minister Alejandro Gaviria said Wednesday that the ministry will expediting a decree that will regulate those medical products that contain marijuana, coca, and poppy as a base. The regulations will allow these substances to be legally cultivated, produced and commercialized under controlled conditions.

The Government does not seek to bypass the proposed bill for the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes in Colombia.

Any discussion about transnational organized crime almost inevitably includes the trade in illicit drugs. A 2011 analysis by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) found that illicit drugs constitute the largest income source for transnational crime, accounting for about half of transnational crime proceeds, and one-fifth of all crime proceeds. The UNODC has estimated the value of the 2003 global illicit drugs market to be US$322 billion— higher than the GDP that year of 88 percent of the world’s countries.

MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF STATE

SUBJECT:       Presidential Determination on Major Drug Transit or Major Illicit Drug Producing Countries for Fiscal Year 2016

Pursuant to section 706(1) of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2003 (Public Law 107-228) (FRAA), I hereby identify the following countries as major drug transit and/or major illicit drug producing countries:  Afghanistan, The Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Burma, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela.

A side effect of a federal drug law has left legal pot farmers without any approved pesticides—and as a result, many have turned to harmful chemicals to protect their crops.

Growing marijuana takes vigilance, even when it’s legal. Like any crop, cannabis plants are prone to pests and disease—from tiny leaf-sucking spider mites, which can spawn a new generation in less than a week, to powdery mildew, a fungus that forms a talcum-like coating on leaves and spreads rapidly through greenhouses. For every other agricultural product, there is a relatively clear solution: Find a pesticide labeled for the specific plant or setting, and apply it according to the instructions.

Growing marijuana takes vigilance, even when it’s legal. Like any crop, cannabis plants are prone to pests and disease—from tiny leaf-sucking spider mites, which can spawn a new generation in less than a week, to powdery mildew, a fungus that forms a talcum-like coating on leaves and spreads rapidly through greenhouses. For every other agricultural product, there is a relatively clear solution: Find a pesticide labeled for the specific plant or setting, and apply it according to the instructions.

Colombia’s Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that growing up to 20 plants of marijuana is not a crime. The possession of small amounts of the drug had already been decriminalized.

The court ruled on the private cultivation of marijuana in an appeal filed by a man who had been sentenced to more than five years in prison after he had been caught by police with a recently cut plant weighing 124 grams.

The maximum amount of marijuana that can legally be carried is 20 grams in Colombia.

However, because the plant was meant for personal consumption, the court confirmed that there is no crime unless a person cultivates more than 20 plants.

The court ruling further decriminalizes the cultivation and possession of the drug for personal use.

Colombia’s Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that growing up to 20 plants of marijuana is not a crime. The possession of small amounts of the drug had already been decriminalized.

The court ruled on the private cultivation of marijuana in an appeal filed by a man who had been sentenced to more than five years in prison after he had been caught by police with a recently cut plant weighing 124 grams.

The maximum amount of marijuana that can legally be carried is 20 grams in Colombia.

However, because the plant was meant for personal consumption, the court confirmed that there is no crime unless a person cultivates more than 20 plants.

The court ruling further decriminalizes the cultivation and possession of the drug for personal use.