SEMINAR: New Winds in Latin American Drug Policies

– Latin American drug policies
Pien Metaal, Transnational Institute
– The Peruvian case
Ricardo Soberón Garrido, Centro de Investigación Drogas y Derechos Humanos
(CIDDH), Lima, Peru
– The Mexican case
Jorge Hernández Tinajero, Colectivo por una Política Integral hacia las Drogas (CuPIHD)
Remarkable developments around drug policies are taking place in Latin America. This is not only at the level of political discourse and debate, but is also reflected in actual legislative changes in a number of Latin American countries. All in all there is a clear regional trend of moving away from the ‘war on drugs’. The dominant paradigm of the past decades focused on repressive policies is gradually being replaced by policies that emphasize public health.

Since the 2013-OAS Summit decided to evaluate the effectiveness of existing drug policies, and called upon the member states to prepare a report on the issue, a series of events and debates have evolved.  Due to Latin American pressure, the UN Special Session on Drugs (UNGASS) was moved forward two years.  Pien Metaal from the Transnational Institute (TNI) will dedicate her lecture on these developments.

The cannabis legislation approved by Uruguay in 2013 is one clear example of the shifting panorama. In most countries changes are less swift, and debates are stalled and or contentious. The most obvious example may be Colombia, but the debate is taking place everywhere. This seminar will focus on two Latin American countries: Peru and Mexico.

Ricardo Soberón Garrido is currently director of the Centro de Investigación Drogas y Derechos Humanos (CIDDH) in Lima, Perú. He has been involved in drug policy analyses for more than two decades, and briefly headed the National Drug Agency DEVIDA. Jorge Hernández Tinajero is director of the Colectivo por una Política Integral hacia las Drogas (CuPIHD), and will share his longstanding experience and views on the Mexican situation and the potential for policy reforms in his country.