Our colleagues from PGTV also spoke with another farmer from the village of San Pedro, Colombia, and he recounted his experiences with the police.
He expressed his frustration that although he pointed out to the cops that they didn't bring a warrant to search his private property, the officers still insisted that they must do their job:
Alfonso Paredes - Farmer, San Pedro Colombia
"My concern is well we have certain police operations happening within the village."
Wil Maheia - PG TV
"When did this operation take place?"
Alfonso Paredes
"Yesterday, that was September 30, Friday? Yes, Friday. It was around between 8:30 - 9, thereabouts."
Wil Maheia
"So what happened?"
Alfonso Paredes
"Well, what actually happened is that they had these two mobiles that went into the community and stopped at my house for a search. But what I am really concerned about is that when they entered, they didn't even have a search warrant to produce so that they can claim for a search. And when I asked them about warrants, they said they don't want to hear anything about warrants. So they just going to do their search. Well, I said I'm no criminal, so I have nothing here. So, you can do your search."
"And that happened between the time that happened, they even said that they want marijuana. They want weed. So I tell them I'm a smoker. I won't lie. I really - to be honest, I wouldn't lie about it because this plant is a medicinal plant. I told them that I use it for my sickness, which is asthma. So they conducted their search - they did a search in which they found nothing incriminating, and everything was all right."
Wil Maheia
"Were you the only one in Colombia that was searched?"
Alfonso Paredes
"No, I don't think so, because they had other people searching as well. So I don't think it's only me."
At the end of their statement, in protest of the police raids on San Pedro, Colombia, the Colombia River Cooperative called for the passage of the marijuana legalization bills that were passed in both the House and the Senate.
Their statement says, quote, "We implore our elected officials to make good on their campaign promise: legalize [marijuana] so [that] our farmers can find legal means to support our families." End quote.
As viewers will remember, it's not so simple for the government just flip a switch and turn on marijuana legalization. That's because the churches interrupted the passage of those bills into enforced law by successfully triggering a national referendum on this topic. The government has agreed with the churches that for marijuana legalization to take full effect, the matter would have to be put to a costly referendum to find out if the voting public truly wants this change.
