Giving Compass' Take:

• Food Tank interviews La Finca Interacviva founder and agricultural expert Dr. Rafael Latorre about how the drug trade impacts the indigenous people of Colombia, and the variables legal medical marijuana brings to the equation.

• Policymakers on both sides of the aisle should examine supply chains for medical marijuana and whether reforms might mitigate the exploitation of low-wage workers in Latin America.

• This leads to a larger question: Can the legal marijuana industry undo the damage of the drug wars?

New York’s Arachna-med and Colombia’s La Finca Interacviva promote sustainable and socially inclusive agricultural practices among the indigenous peoples of Colombia. As a joint-venture advocacy, research, and support organization, they strive to help reduce the production and consumption of illegal drugs such as cocaine and heroin, and focus on the health benefits of medical marijuana.

Historically, medical and recreational use of marijuana has been a controversial global issue. Under the Controlled Substance Act of 1970, the United States classifies marijuana or cannabis as Scheduled I drugs — drugs with no currently accepted medical use with high potential for abuse — while countries such as Colombia have seen the negative impacts of the production of illegal crops such as drug trafficking.

However, various states in the U.S are now permitting the use of marijuana for medical and recreational purposes. Similarly, a peace treaty signed between the rebel groups and Colombian government hopes to address the illegal drug production issues, among many other issues, according to La Finca Interacviva’s founder, Dr. Rafael Latorre.

"I realized that in Colombia, as in most of Latin America, those working the land and producing food are usually paid below the established legal minimum wage, lacking access to medical services and retirement benefits," says Dr. Latorre. "These realities motivated me to find a solution to some of the problems indigenous and small farmers in Colombia face today."

Read the full article about medical marijuana and Colombian farmers by Swathi Chaganty at Food Tank.