At talks, Colombian rebels urge regulated drug production

Colombia's FARC rebels called today in peace talks with the government for the cultivation and sale of illegal crops like coca leaf, opium poppies and marijuana to be brought under official regulation.
Rebel negotiator Pablo Catatumbo unveiled the proposal before the start of a negotiating session dealing with drug trafficking, the industry that has long fuelled Colombia's brutal civil war.
He said the proposal would "regulate the production and marketing of coca leaf, poppies and marijuana, in recognition of their nutritional, medicinal, therapeutic and cultural qualities... As well as their artisanal and industrial possibilities."
He called for the de-militarization of areas where small farmers would be allowed to grow the crops under international supervision.

Under the FARC's proposal, the program would be funded by the government with the savings that would come from eliminating the military presence in those areas.
There was no immediate reaction to the proposal from the government of President Juan Manuel Santos.