Attempts at Drug Control in Colombia, Peru and Bolivia

Abstract

The paper analyzes as part of a broader study the drug-control policy of the cocacocaine producing countries of Colombia, Perti and Bolivia, beginning with a short introduction of the political framework. The legal and political emphasis of this policy lies in the area of 'control and repression', which therefore is analysed in more detail. One can recognize a (substantial) tendency towards 'overcriminalisation' linked to easier (procedural) possibilities of criminal prosecution and punishment (II). However, this questionable policy, when examined from a civil rights standpoint, proves to be of limited efficacy: given the continuing flow of cocaine to the US and the expanding trade to Europe, the policy can hardly pass a qualitative test considering the quantitative evidence (III). There are basically two alternatives from the viewpoint of the producing countries: the international commercialisation of coca and 'alternative development'; from the viewpoint of the consumer countries the controlled legalisation (IV).