As Latin America further establishes itself at the vanguard of the drug policy reform debate, the North American Congress on Latin America dedicated its summer 2014 Report on the Americas to the groundbreaking reforms taking place throughout the Western Hemisphere. WOLA experts John Walsh and Coletta Youngers contributed to the issue.
Reimagining Drug Policy in the Americas
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.
A Turning Point for Drug Policy
By WOLA Senior Fellow Coletta A. Youngers
At the levels of governance and civil society, Latin America has emerged as a world leader in the drug reform movement—while Washington suffers from a credibility problem.
To read the full NACLA article, please click here.
Pioneering Cannabis Regulation in Uruguay
By WOLA Senior Associate John Walsh and Hannah Hetzer (Drug Policy Alliance)
In 2013, Uruguay was the first nation in the world to legalize marijuana—not through ballot initiatives, but through deliberations within the national legislature.
