Latin America Leads Way in Decriminalizing Drugs

Even as Latin American countries are at the forefront of the war against narcotraffickers, they are also pushing alternative strategies including the legalization of drugs, particularly marijuana

HECTOR GUERRERO / AFP / Getty Images

A Mexican soldier pulls up marijuana plants found in a field of blue agave in Hostotipaquillo, Jalisco state, on Sept. 27, 2012. Members of the Mexican military conducted an operation in the area, where so far they have destroyed 40 hectares of marijuana plantations and burned more than 50 tons of plants

Guatemalan President Otto Prez Molina has never been soft on crime. The 30-year military veteran rose to power last year on the wings of his law-and-order platform, crystallized in his campaign slogan: Iron fist, head and heart. And he recently approved the creation of two military bases, outfitted with 2,500 soldiers, to guard against the growing presence of drug cartels that have turned Guatemala into a trafficking corridor and fueled some of the worlds highest murder rates.

Since February, though, Prez has coupled his tough talk on crime with calls for a drastic change in crime-fighting tactics centered on the legalization and decriminalization of drugs. Legalization, he insists, should supplement military buildup to stem drug-related violence in Latin America. In September, Prez proposed drug legalization at the U.N. General Assembly. The move angered Washington but was championed by the Presidents of Mexico and Colombia, who appealed to the General Assembly with a similar message. And last week, Prez repeated calls for a shift in the global war on drugs during a U.N.-sponsored gathering of regional leaders in Antigua, Guatemala. The current plan, he told the press, is not going to give us results.

(MORE: Uruguays Plan to Legalize Marijuana Sales: Should the Rest of the World Follow?)

In the past few months, Latin American Presidents across the political spectrum have joined Prez in spearheading a hemispheric debate on drug legalization unprecedented for sitting heads of state. Traditional drug policy focused solely on prohibition a method dictated by the U.S. since Richard Nixon created the Drug Enforcement Administration 40 years ago has run its course, they argue. In its place, Latin America has proposed a series of measures focusing on alternative strategies, emerging as the key player in the global reform movement.

The genie has escaped from the bottle and it isnt going away, Hannah Hetzer tells TIME. Hetzer, Latin America coordinator for the U.S.-based Drug Policy Alliance, recently returned from Uruguay, where she addressed members of parliament on the drug-legalization movement in the U.S. More and more countries in Latin America are following their own diverse set of drug-policy reforms.

(MORE: Legalizing Marijuana: Why Joe Biden Should Listen to Latin Americas Case)

While no Latin American nation has legalized drugs yet, several have taken steps to decriminalize narcotics. Argentina introduced a measure in Congress this year that would decriminalize the possession of all drugs for personal use. Chiles Congress, meanwhile, is contemplating a bill that would decriminalize the cultivation of marijuana for personal use. And a Colombian court recently upheld a law that decriminalizes the possession of small amounts of cocaine. Like Mexico, Colombia has also decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana.

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Latin America Leads Way in Decriminalizing Drugs