Despite efforts by governments in Latin America, illicit drugs continue to provide one of the largest incomes for criminal organizations, enabling them to penetrate and corrupt political and social institutions.

Remarkable drug policy developments are taking place in Latin America. This is not only at the level of political debate, but is also reflected in actual legislative changes in a number of countries. All in all there is an undeniable regional trend of moving away from the ‘war on drugs’. This briefing ex­plains the background to the opening of the drug policy debate in the region, summa­rises the most relevant aspects of the on­going drug law reforms in some countries, and makes a series of recommendations that could help to move the debate forward in a productive manner.

El debate político sobre las drogas en Amé­rica Latina está dando pasos notorios. Los cambios legislativos que están introdu­ciendo varios de los países de la región revelan tam­bién una tendencia innegable a alejarse de la “guerra contra las drogas”. Este informe ex­plica los antecedentes de la apertura del de­bate sobre las políticas de drogas en la región, resume los aspectos más relevantes de las reformas a las leyes de drogas que actual­mente cursan en algunos países y propone una serie de recomenda­ciones de políticas que podrían ayudar a avanzar el debate de manera productiva.

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Latin America is now at the vanguard of international efforts to promote drug policy reform: Bolivia has rewritten its constitution to recognize the right to use the coca leaf for traditional and legal purposes, Uruguay has become the first nation in the world to adopt a legal, regulated Cannabis market, and Colombia, Mexico, Guatemala, and Ecuador are openly critiquing the prevailing international drug control paradigm at the UN. And now with the United States itself relaxing its marijuana laws state by state, the U.S. prohibitionist drug war strategies are losing credibility in the region.

Apesar dos esforços dos governos latino-americanos, as drogas ilícitas continuam a representar uma das maiores fontes de receita para as organizações criminosas, lhes permitindo penetrar instituições políticas e sociais corruptas. As organizações criminosas exploram as vulnerabilidades do Estado e tiram proveito da incapacidade dos governos de garantir a segurança de seus cidadãos. Com poucas exceções, a fraca capacidade dos governos latino-americanos se reflete em altos índices de homicídios, níveis notórios de impunidade, e o sentimento de desconfiança que os cidadãos alimentam sobre as instituições judiciárias e policiais.