Quick Facts on Drug Policy in Latin America

06/05/13
Sarah Kinosian
Latin America and the Caribbean
U.S. Policy, Drug Trade, Drug Policy

This week delegations from Latin American countries and the United States are gathering in Guatemala to debate drug policy and other regional issues at the Organization of American States' (OAS) 43rd annual General Assembly.

The meeting, titled "For a comprehensive policy to fight the global drug problem in the Americas," comes just two weeks after the OAS released a 400-page report that suggested countries consider decriminalizing some drug use as one of many methods to combat the drug trade and to view consumption as a public health issue. Given continued high levels of drug use and addiction, incarceration, and violence, many Latin American leaders are looking for alternatives to the drug war and are expected to urge the U.S. to change its prohibitionist approach.

Secretary of State John Kerry is leading the U.S. delegation and plans to uphold the Obama administration's view that legalization is not the "magic solution" and reiterate the U.S.' opposition to marijuana legalization at the national level.

While leaders discuss alternatives to prohibition in the region today and tomorrow, here are some quick facts about current drug policy in the region:

U.S. funding for the drug war

  • Since 2000, the United States has spent approximately $12.5 billion in Latin America to stem the flow of drugs. Over the past decade, U.S. funding for counternarcotics operations has increased almost 30 percent, from $644 million in 2002 to $833 million in 2012. In 2012, about 90% of all U.S. law enforcement and military aid spent in the region went to counternarcotics operations. For FY2013, that number is expected to drop to about $808 million.

Coca cultivation and profits

  • A kilo of cocaine in Colombia's interior sells for around $2000, according to InSight Crime. At the border, the same kilo increases in worth to $3000. Once it reaches Mexico, it will have increased in worth to about $12,000-$15,000. Once it reaches the U.S. mainland the same kilo will sell for at least $25,000 and in the UK for about $60,000. Experts have argued that decriminalization (particularly of marijuana) might not curb violence as cartels have diversified their income, including extortion, human trafficking and illegal mining.
  • Since the late 1980s, when the U.S. first started estimating coca production in the Andean region, the number of hectares of coca under cultivation in Colombia, Peru and Bolivia has decreased by only 8 percent (from 176,000 hectares in 1987 to 153,700 hectares in 2011). Yet, in 2012, the U.S. spent $48 million on eradication efforts in Colombia alone. There has been a slow decline in coca cultivation over the past few years, however, since 2003 the total number of hectares under cultivation in the Andean region has stayed right around 150,000.
  • According to numbers from the U.S. government, Peruvian drug producers were able to extract the most cocaine from a hectare of coca in 2010, producing 6.1 kilograms per hectare. In Bolivia, a hectare produced 5.7 kilograms of cocaine, and in Colombia 2.7 kilograms of cocaine. According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime however, a hectare of coca in 2010 in Colombia produced 5.4 kilograms, almost double what the U.S. reported. There were no numbers for Peru or Bolivia.

Moves toward legalization

  • Six countries in South America -- Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico and Uruguay -- have passed laws decriminalizing drug possession for personal consumption as part of a growing movement to shift away from criminalization for personal use and towards prevention and treatment programs. Last November, two U.S. states, Colorado and Washington, followed suit.
  • A new bill in Uruguay would permit adults to purchase up to 40 grams of marijuana each month and allow for domestic growth of no more than six plants, while national cultivation would be capped at 30,000 hectares. The bill was stalled after a poll found about 60% of Uruguayans opposed the measure. This week, however, the ruling Frente Amplio party got support for the legislation after tightening up language on education and prevention programs. It will likely pass in Congress' lower house next week, according to the Pan-American Post.

Punishment

  • In Latin America, 48% of women in prisons are convicted of drug trafficking compared to only 15% of all incarcerated men. In Mexico, 80% of all jailed women are there for drug trafficking charges compared with 57% of men.
  • Incarceration rates have increased about 40 percent in Mexico and South America over the past 10 years. A recent study found that in three of seven countries surveyed -- Mexico, Bolivia, and Ecuador -- drug trafficking carried longer maximum and minimum penalties than murder. In all the countries studied the maximum penalty for drug trafficking was greater than or equal to the penalties for rape.