Addicted to punishment: The disproportionality of drug laws in Latin America

From Mexico to Argentina, non violent offenders receive significantly longer penalties than many violent criminals. This comparative study of criminal legislation explores this phenomenon across time and between seven Latin American countries (Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, Colombia, Bolivia, and Argentina).

It finds that penalties for many drug crimes have grown in recent decades to be disproportionately more severe than the harms they because especially when compared to penalties for the more violent crimes of murder, rape, and aggravated assault. Drug laws and sentencing guidelines throughout the region fail to distinguish between the severity of different crimes. The implications of these trends are far reaching; not only is disproportionate sentencing unjust, but it also overloads prison systems and draws funds and focus away from legitimate regional concerns.

This research forms part of a collection of studies by the Research Consortium on Drugs and the Law (Colectivo de Estudios Drogas y Derecho, CEDD), which seek to quantify and analyze trends in disproportionate sentencing for drug related crimes throughout Latin America.

Keep up-to-date with drug policy developments by subscribing to the IDPC Monthly Alert.