Drug use is prohibited by the constitution, and there are laws banning it in certain specific circumstances, but it is not a criminal offence. Possession of the quantity of a drug permitted for personal use is not a crime. Law 30 of 1986, article 2, clause j says that “The dose for personal use is defined as a quantity of marijuana not exceeding twenty (20) grams; a quantity of hashish not exceeding five (5) grams; a quantity of cocaine or any cocaine-based substance not exceeding one (1) gram, and a quantity of methaqualone not exceeding two (2) grams.” (See also this CEDD infographic).
The drug courts that are being set up in other Latin American countries with OAS support as an alternative to imprisonment do not exist in Colombia. The current feeling is that treatment should be voluntary, but the subject of drug courts is being explored.
Some figures – According to the most recent national study on drug use published by the Colombian government in 2013, “consumption of alcohol and illicit substances increased in Colombia between 2008 and 2013, with marijuana being the substance whose use was found to have increased the most.” The study also reported increases in cocaine, crack, ecstasy and heroin use. Drug use in general rose from 8.8 per cent in 2008 to 12.2 per cent in 2013. Read an official summary of the report here. Also according to this study, marijuana is the most popular drug among Colombians. 11.5 per cent stated that they had used it at some time in their lives, and 3.3 per cent said they had used it in the last year. In second place is cocaine, with 3.2 per cent of people saying they had used it at some time in their lives. There are also the so-called “emerging drugs”. Surveys reveal the appearance of certain inhalants (which are the most commonly used drug after marijuana among schoolchildren) and LSD, whose use by university students has increased. For some observers, this increase shows that current policies have failed. This article also looks at the increase in domestic demand. This article also looks at the increase in domestic demand.
For more information on drug use, visit the Observatorio de Drogas de Colombia website. See also the 2012 Colombia Report on an epidemiological study of drug use among university students in 2012.
With regard to drug use, one commentator said recently in the press: “With the 2012 study of drug use among university students, it was all about the increase in the use of ecstasy and LSD. With the 2011 study of drug use in schools, it was all about the increase in drug use in private schools. But in the new 2013 National Study on the Use of Psychoactive Substances, although the use of various drugs has increased, there’s no hiding the fact that the main problem in Colombia is alcohol.”
On the substances most used in Colombia, see this infographic in Semana magazine.
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6. What measures are being implemented to address problem drug use?