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From Repression to Regulation: Proposals for Drug Policy Reform

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From Repression to Regulation: Proposals for Drug Policy Reform From Repression to Regulation: Proposals for Drug Policy Reform José Carlos Campero • Horacio Barrancos • Ricardo Vargas Eduardo Vergara • Daniel Brombacher • Heino Stöver • Maximilian Plenert Hans Mathieu • Catalina Niño Guarnizo / Editors José Carlos Campero • Horacio Barrancos • Ricardo Vargas Eduardo Vergara • Daniel Brombacher • Heino Stöver • Maximilian Plenert Hans Mathieu • Catalina Niño Guarnizo / Editors José Carlos Campero • Horacio Barrancos • Ricardo Vargas Eduardo Vergara • Daniel Brombacher • Heino Stöver • Maximilian Plenert Hans Mathieu • Catalina Niño Guarnizo / Editors From Repression to Regulation: Proposals for Drug Policy Reform Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES), Regional Security Cooperation Program Calle 71 nº 11-90 Bogota-Colombia Telephone (57 1) 347 30 77 Fax (57 1) 217 31 15 Email: [email protected] Commercial use of all media published by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) is no permitted without consent of the FES. First edition Bogota, May 2013 ISBN 978-958-8677-19-4 Editorial coordination Juan Andrés Valderrama Design and layout Ángela Lucía Vargas Cover photograph Lucas Rodríguez Translation Silvia Varela Ian Mount Matt Chesterton Printed by Mavarac The opinions expressed in this volume are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the thinking of the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. Table of Contents FOREWORD / Hans Mathieu 19 INTRODUCTION A FEW ASPECTS OF THE CURRENT SITUATION WITH ILLEGAL DRUGS Hans Mathieu / Catalina Niño The failure of prohibitionism: A growing consensus 21 The international drug control regime 23 Negative impacts of the current policies in Latin America 26 A few innovative proposals 29 Drug policy models 37 Destigmatizing the debate 38 The current situation 40 Conclusions: Our proposals 53 References 58 ALTERNATIVES TO CURRENT DRUG POLICY AT THE PRODUCTION STAGE José Carlos Campero / Horacio Barrancos Introduction 63 Background considerations related to the production and commercialization of coca and cocaine 64 5 6 | From Repression to Regulation: Proposals for Drug Policy Reform Paradigm shift: From prohibition to regulation 79 Guarantees and benefits of a regulated market 88 Critical aspects of regulation 91 Conclusions and recommendations 92 References 95 Annex. Bolivia Case Study 97 TOWARDS A MODEL FOR REGULATING DRUG SUPPLY Ricardo Vargas Meza Introduction 113 What is the purpose of a policy to regulate the supply of drugs? 114 Trafficking 121 Models for regulating drug supply 137 The non-medical use of coca/cocaine and derivatives: Scenarios and management 139 Proposals for the management of cannabis 148 Concepts and foundations for a proposal to regulate international availability 151 References 159 Appendix 1. An index ranking drugs according to risk 164 PROPOSALS TO REGULATE THE RETAIL SALE AND CONSUMPTION OF PLANT-BASED DRUGS Eduardo Vergara Introduction 171 Consumption: Costs, legislation and actors 175 Small-scale drug dealing: Costs, laws and consequences 196 Elements to be considered in proposed regulation: The importance of regional cooperation 216 Utilities for users and drug dealers 217 Table of Contents | 7 Benefits of regulation 221 Costs associated with the regulation of use 230 Governance and democracy as necessary pre-conditions 230 Recommendations: Public policies for regulating and controlling the use and retail sale of plant-based drugs 237 References 246 ILLEGAL DRUG CULTIVATION AND LEGAL REGULATORY OPTIONS IN THE UN DRUG CONTROL FRAMEWORK: COMPARING COCA AND OPIUM POPPY Daniel Brombacher Introduction 253 The status quo: Coca cultivation between legality and illegality in the Andean Region 254 More than just drugs: The impact of drug cultivation on development and security policies 266 Excursus: Legal utilisation options for opium poppy and coca 276 The fundamental conditions in Turkey and India compared with the Andean countries 281 Three approaches to drug cultivation as a fixed variable 283 Bibliography 289 POLICY OPTIONS FOR DRUG CONTROL WITH REFERENCE TO TRADE AND CONSUMPTION IN GERMANY AND EUROPE Heino Stöver / Maximilian Plenert Introduction 292 Outline 293 Fundamentals 296 The Drug-Policy Status Quo in Germany 302 Status Quo – Worldwide and Regional 329 Alternative Policy Approaches Implemented in Europe 335 8 | From Repression to Regulation: Proposals for Drug Policy Reform Framework Conditions 343 Normative Bases for Control Models in Germany 345 Drug Control Scenarios with reference to Trafficking and Consumption 349 Effects on the Other Pillars of Drug Policy 363 Recommendations for Action 365 Literature 365 ANNEX Annex 1. Public policy scenarios, differentiated by type of illicit drug: Hard and soft 373 Annex 2. Legislation on drugs in Latin America 375 Annex 3. Summary of legal frameworks for coca leaf and cocaine 380 AUTHOR BIOS 381 Índex of Tables, Figures and Maps | 9 Index of Tables, Figures and Maps INTRODUCTION A FEW ASPECTS OF THE CURRENT SITUATION WITH ILLEGAL DRUGS Figure 1. Comparative development of the number of terms used to describe penalized drug-related behaviors 27 Figure 2. Comparative development of the highest minimum sentences for drug-related offenses 28 Table 1. Average price of illicit substances in Portugal in Euros, by year and type of drug, 1998–2008 33 Figure 3. Illicit coca bush cultivation worldwide, 2001-2010 (hectares) 41 Figure 4. Potential cocaine production in the Andean region 1990-2008 (metric tons) 41 Figure 5. Potential production of oven-dried opium, 1997-2011 (tons) 42 Figure 6. Illicit poppy cultivation worldwide, 1997-2011 (hectares) 42 Figure 7. Evolution of marijuana and hashish production worldwide, 2002-2009 (tons) 43 Map 1. Cocaine trafficking worldwide, 2008 44 Map 2. Heroin trafficking worldwide 44 Figure 8. Distribution of value added along the cocaine production and trafficking chain in Colombia, 2008 45 Figure 9. Dramatic decline in domestic cocaine prices despite increasing spending for overseas drug suppression efforts by the United States, 1981 – 2009 46 Figure 10. Change in estimated heroin price and purity in the context of the increasing annual drug control budget in the United States, 1990-2002 46 Figure 11. Average estimated heroin prices in Europe, 1990-2009 47 Figure 12. Average annual wholesale price of cocaine of unknown quality in Peru’s production areas, 2005-2010 48 Figure 13. Mean harm scores for twenty substances 49 10 | From Repression to Regulation: Proposals for Drug Policy Reform Figure 14. Annual prevalence of illicit drug use at the global level as a percentage of the population aged 15-64. 50 Figure 15. Illicit drug use at the global level, late 1990s-2010/2011 50 Table 2. Dimensions of risk of psychoactive drugs: Risk of addiction 52 Table 3. Dimensions of risk of psychoactive drugs: Crime and persistence of addiction 52 Table 4. Dimensions of risk of psychoactive drugs: Risks of harm associated to drug use 53 ALTERNATIVES TO CURRENT DRUG POLICY AT THE PRODUCTION STAGE Table 1. Comparative prices in the coca-cocaine production chain 66 Figure 1. Microeconomic features of the coca leaf markets in Peru and Colombia 70 Figure 2. Microeconomic features of the coca leaf market in Bolivia 72 Figure 3. Evolution of demand for coca leaf 73 Figure 4. Evolution of price and production area for coca leaf in Bolivia, 1986-2011 74 Figure 5. Microeconomics of eradication and interdiction of coca leaf production 75 Table 2. Tax collection opportunities in the coca-cocaine chain 88 Table 3. Potential uses of new state resources 88 FIGURES IN ANNEX Figure 1. Links in the coca-cocaine production chain 100 Figure 2. Production and price of coca leaf, 1986-2010 104 Figure 3. Production value of coca leaf, 2003-2010 (thousands of USD) 104 Figure 4. Area and production of coca leaf, 2000-2010 105 Índex of Tables, Figures and Maps | 11 TOWARDS A MODEL FOR REGULATING DRUG SUPPLY Figure 1. The paradox of prohibition 117 Table 1. Laboratories with different functions in the production of paste/base/cocaine in Europe that were dismantled between 2008 and 2010 124 Map 1. Vectors linking South America and the United States in the cocaine transportation zone, 2006 125 Figure 2. Drug seizures at the Southwest border compared with those in the rest of the United States, fiscal year 2010 126 Table 2. United States: Total cocaine seizures, in kilos, fiscal years 2006-2010 127 Figure 3. Annual prevalence for cocaine use in South America (most recent data) 130 Figure 4. Modeled prevalence: Heavy users vs. occasional users 141 Figure 5. Modeled consumption: Heavy users vs. occasional users 141 Figure 6. Drug consumption in the United States among people aged 50-60, 2002-2010 142 Figure 7. Price and purity of cocaine, January 2007-September 2010 143 Figure 8. Use of drugs in the United States among people aged over 12 in the last month (in the respective poll), 2002-2011 144 Table 3. Access to cannabis: Purposes, production and regulation 149 PROPOSALS TO REGULATE THE RETAIL SALE AND CONSUMPTION OF PLANT-BASED DRUGS Figure 1. Three scenarios for cannabis purchases in Chile 179 Table 1. Prevalence of cannabis use in countries in the Americas 183 Table 2. Prevalence of youth cannabis use in various countries in the Americas 184 Table 3. Prevalence of cocaine use in some countries in the Americas 186 Table 4. Cannabis prices in various countries in the Americas 203 Table 5. Cannabis prices in Chile, January 2013 205 12 | From Repression to Regulation: Proposals for Drug Policy Reform Table 6. Cannabis prices in Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Mexico, January 2013 206 Table 7. The price of cocaine in ariousv countries in the Americas (by gram and kilo) 209 Table 8. Prices of cocaine in Chile 210 Figure 2. The elationshipr between spending on drugs and crime 213 Table 9. Maximum possession amounts for “personal and immediate” use 214 Figure 3. Utilities of drug use 218 Figure 4. Elasticity, kinds of use and demand 219 Figure 5. The decision to participate in the sale of drugs 220 Figure 6. Prohibition and drug use in the shadows 222 Figure 7.
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