The pungent aroma of cannabis and the sound of dub music fill the air at a hacienda as about 150 smokers, users, growers, activists and business people gather for Mexico’s second annual Toquefest.

 – after a number of supreme court decisions 

 and deemed unconstitutional the ban on recreational use – the war on weed in Mexico is winding down and the festival is just one of 20 marijuana-related events being held 

Cannabis growers feel increasingly confident in going public and some farmers are switching crops to 

: a gram of which can be sold for more than several kilos of black beans.

“This is another revolution,” says Isidro Cisneros, a grower from the town of Cuautlixco in the state of Morelos where the Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata was born. “It’s about land and freedom, and a plant that has been criminalised for years without good reason. Growing cannabis, peasants can live and eat well.”

‘This is another revolution’: Could legalisation of cannabis transform Mexico’s economy?

If you have been following TalkingDrugs’ cover of Brazilian drug policy in these last twenty-four months, you must be well acquainted with the current government’s efforts to 

 reform and, more specifically, with its disinformation 

. From publishing primers that claim medical cannabis does not exist, to blocking the medical cannabis bill from following to the senate for final approval, the soon-to-be former president Jair Bolsonaro, his cabinet ministers and allies have not spared any efforts to complicate access to this life-restoring medicine as much as possible.

The latest attempt has been led by the Federal Council of Medicine, 

which is ideologically aligned with the current government

. Last October, the council banned physicians from prescribing CBD to adult patients, and restricted prescription to children and adolescents 

 before backfiring by generating a lot of public criticism. Physicians who prescribe CBD 

 that they would keep on prescribing the medicine despite the Federal Council’s authoritarian attempts to restrict it. In challenging the resolution, these physicians would act in civil disobedience but, nonetheless, would still be abiding by the Hippocratic Oath. Last year, Dr Carolina Nocetti, a physician who pioneered cannabis therapy in Brazil, told TalkingDrugs that it is within every physician's professional and ethical duty to relieve patients’ suffering; declining to prescribe cannabis for those who stand to benefit from the medicine goes against the profession’s ethical code. 

There’s a rising green tide in Brazil

Drugs are not the Devil, but nor are they child’s play. A drug policy that would be respectful of human rights and safeguard public health must lie at an intermediate point between full liberalization and the prohibition currently in place.

The debate about regulating cannabis for adult use is on the public agenda. In our view, the best policy on marijua-
na that a State can develop is the regulation of its cultivation, manufacture and use, focused on reducing marijuana’s comparative impact in illegal economies and drug tracking networks; protecting public health; promoting rural development in prioritized areas; and promoting reparation measures financed with the resources arising from regulation. Drugs are not the devil, but nor are they child’s play. A drug policy that would be respectful of human rights and safeguard public health must lie at an intermediate point between full liberalization and the prohibition currently in place.

In this document, based on a comparative analysis of the regulations issued in Uruguay, Canada and the United States and by applying the Principles and Guidelines for Human Rights in Fiscal Policy, we argue for the importance of a fiscal framework based on collecting taxes in the cannabis market and focused on mobilizing the maximum amount of available resources to finance the goals of reducing the illegal market, preserving public health and assisting the populations affected by drug policy, as set forth in the cannabis regulations.

Fiscal policy in the regulation of adult-use cannabis in Colombia

The war on drugs is an instrument of racism, which incites violence and hinders democratic development in Brazil. Watch our new short documentary to find out how a black civil society organization in Brazil, Iniciativa Negra, takes up the fight against this war on people.

The Black Initiative for a New Drug Policy (INNPD, 

Iniciativa Negra Por Uma Nova Política sobre Drogas

) is a black civil society organisation in Brazil which addresses the importance of drug policies on the lives of black people. The majority of the population of Brazil is black (around 53%), but coming from a racist historical process of enslavement, they were never allowed the same level of political-economic and social equality as the white population. The War on Drugs became the tool used to keep it that way. As 

, co-founder of Iniciativa Negra puts it:

Today, the War on Drugs feeds the racist system that maintains the privileges of the white population, of whiteness, over the black population in Brazil, therefore keeping power concentrated in the hands of this whiteness, preventing the mobility of the black population to access and share these spaces of power.

THE BLACK INITIATIVE: Fighting Brazil’s racist drug war

The disproportionate impact of incarceration on women creates a myriad of challenges that they are forced to overcome once they are released. Nora and Paulina, two formerly incarcerated women from Argentina, are prime examples of how motherhood adds a different layer of complexity to the survival strategies women need to develop both inside and outside of prison as a result of the failure and unwillingness of states to protect and uphold their rights.

After her parents separated, Nora began spending a lot of time on the streets in Argentina with others who engaged in drug use and gang activity. She became a single mom at the age of 16. After having had to take part in illicit activities to support herself and her daughter, she was detained and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Six years after her release, Nora still remembers what it was like to give birth while being shackled, a practice disturbingly common across the Americas.

“Justice condemns women with a double sentence for being a woman… especially as a low-income woman, you’re invisible in the system until you commit a crime. Then, they finally see you,” she says.

When her son, Santiago, was born, she began writing letters to highlight what was happening to women and their children in the prison, as well as those left behind on the other side of the prison walls. She wrote about the conditions that women were subjected to with their children. Her accounts later became a part of the “Incarcerated Girls Network” on Facebook, a page that went viral and became a vital source of information and resources to denounce the government’s treatment of women and children in prison.

When Nora finally received the news that she would be released, Santiago was no longer with her. Children in Argentina can only stay with their mothers in prison until they are four years old. Her two older daughters, who were 21 and 16 when she was released, each had continued their lives without the presence of their mother. The realization that life had gone on without her, and that she no longer felt like she belonged, tainted this newfound sense of freedom. Nora’s difficulty in transitioning to a post-prison life without any support or resources from the government became another source of motivation to help other women in similar situations, including those under house arrest.

The organization Nora helped create and currently works with, La Rama de Liberadxs y Familiares, (the Branch of Liberated People and Family Members), works to support formerly incarcerated men and women in the province of Buenos Aires, as part of the Movimiento de Trabajadores Excluidos, (Movement of Excluded Workers, MTE). The MTE is an organization where thousands of men and women that are excluded from the traditional labor market come together to create employment opportunities. They also work to support women under house arrest, most of whom have little access to employment or basic resources despite the fact that they are the sole breadwinners of the house. Many cannot leave their homes to buy food for their families, take their children to school, or do any other necessary activity outside of the home to ensure their family’s survival and well-being. Nora and her organization work tirelessly to provide food and hygiene kits to these women and their families, as once put under house arrest they are forgotten and invisibilized by the government. They also provide much-needed emotional support as these women have little to no contact with those outside of their homes. The Rama currently works with over 800 formerly incarcerated men and women, who have not fallen to recidivism as a result of their employment and support through the MTE.

This kind of organizing and support is key to women who have to adjust to an entirely different life and environment once they are released from prison. As Nora shares, “I couldn’t find a place where I belonged [after I was released]… it’s almost like I missed prison.”

Many women have this idealized vision of what life will be like once they leave prison, but according to Nora, most are forced to reckon with the fact that the world has continued while they were inside, and are now faced with the additional challenges of discrimination, stigma and trauma. Upon their release, they also have a criminal record which makes it extremely difficult for them to find stable employment and housing. If they have children, the journey to get them back is a harrowing and often disappointing one given the increased stigma surrounding them as “bad mothers.”

Paulina, another formerly incarcerated woman from Argentina, understands these dynamics all too well. After being released from prison, she began working as a cartonera, collecting cardboards and other recyclable materials to sell as a way of supporting her 7-year-old son.

“Everyone closed their doors to me because, as you can see, I’m a little bit darker, with tattoos and a record… so you can imagine that it was very difficult for me,” she explains.

After being a cartonera for some time, she connected with other formerly incarcerated women and became part of the Federación Argentina de Cartoneros, Carreros y Recicladores, a network of unions focusing on cardboard pick-up and material recycling. Her work in organizing and coordinating these unions allowed her and her colleagues to work in different shifts and make a living. They pay particular attention to those in additional situations of vulnerability, such as those who are suffering from a substance use disorder, to make sure they feel surrounded by a community and see a path forward other than prison.

These organizations and cooperatives fill the space left behind by the national and local authorities when it fails to provide adequate social support and reintegration practices for women who have been deprived of their liberty. Many come out of prison with no identity documents, little to no money, and a very limited or no support network. Paulina describes it well, highlighting that “the State is present, but with police cars, never to help us with our most basic needs.”

The lack of support most formerly incarcerated women experience from the government, society, and sometimes their own loved ones points to an urgent need to destigmatize incarceration and recognize the situations of vulnerability that lead women to come into contact with the law in the first place. Further, it also underscores the importance of implementing policies that recognize the differentiated impact of prisons on those who identify as women and the harms caused by the criminal legal system. In Argentina, there is a legislative proposal that aims to reduce recidivism through labor inclusion practices for formerly incarcerated individuals by addressing:

The difficulty in accessing work for those who have been in prison and have a criminal record.

The major gaps in education and skills of most of those in prison, as well as inadequate educational rehabilitation programs within prisons.

The lack of adequate community and social integration spaces once people are released.

The inability to access basic rights, such as securing identification documents, protection from wage theft, and reliable access to mental health services.

The challenges presented by the use of house arrest, with very restrictive conditions that specifically impact women.

The passage of this legislation in Argentina would be an important step in the right direction to begin providing the support that incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women need to have a successful transition once they are released from prison. Nevertheless, the need for this legislation highlights how those who experience incarceration are stripped of their most basic rights not only during the time of their deprivation of liberty, but also for the rest of their lives.

Moreover, the use of alternatives to incarceration can contribute to the reduction of female imprisonment in Argentina and other Latin American countries. In Colombia, for example, the implementation of a law on alternatives to incarceration for women that are heads of household and living in situations of vulnerability could significantly reduce the number of women in prison by substituting time in prison with community service in ways that can help prepare them for formal employment opportunities. Ultimately, governments across the region need to dramatically reduce the number of women behind bars, given the disproportionate impact of incarceration on women, their children and their families and communities.

How women in Argentina are resisting the damages of incarceration

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Ministry of Justice and Law present the monitoring report on territories affected by coca cultivation as of 31 December 2021, prepared by the Integrated Illicit Crop Monitoring System (SIMCI).

The first chapter highlights that potential cocaine production maintains the upward trend that has been registered since 2014, while the area planted with coca resumes the strong upward trend that had been present since 2014 and that was interrupted between 2018 and 2020. It indicates that this recovery of the trend is the result of the interaction of multiple structural factors that coincided with a reduction in the efficiency of interventions.

In contrast to the 2018-2020 period, coca did not only grow within the productive enclaves, as the increase was generalised; even departments that were showing a downward trend, such as Caquetá, Meta and Guaviare, showed an increase in coca cultivation. The consolidation of coca-free territories has not yet taken place, despite the fact that five departments have now had less than 100 hectares under cultivation for more than nine years.

The second chapter emphasises elements of change that boost the incentive system and can have an impact on the reactivation of the phenomenon in territories that had a tendency to abandon coca cultivation. These changes do not only affect coca growers; they also have an impact on the communities that interact with the production chain. The report highlights the changes in the roles and actors of power present in the territories, the new urban-rural relations that imply new alternatives for transforming illegal profits into goods and services, as well as the formation of productive enclaves not only related to the concentration and permanence of coca, but also to the development of other enclave characteristics in an economic sense.

Colombia - Monitoring of territories affected by illicit crops 2021

In recent years, more than a dozen countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) have promoted some form of regulation of the medicinal use of cannabis, following the worldwide trend of relaxing the prohibition of the plant.

Such regulations are at different stages of development and have distinct characteristics, but they are similar in their pro-profit commercial orientation, which has stimulated the structuring of a regional production and consumption chain connected to the international dynamics of this new market. According to some reports, in 2020 the global medical cannabis market was worth US$9 billion and could reach US$49 billion by 2028, with an annual growth of 24%. The Latin American medicinal cannabis market is predicted to follow the same trajectory. It is estimated that this market represented US$1.2 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach US$3.75 billion in 2027, based on the same global annual growth rate.

A growing number of transnational corporations (TNCs), especially from Canada and the US, view this new Latin American regional market as a great business opportunity. Low taxes, unprotective and undemanding labour laws, low labour costs, a favourable climate for growing cannabis, affordable land, infrastructure and inputs for the cultivation and manufacture of cannabis products have all attracted this corporate interest. Several of these corporations have made direct investments in countries across the LAC region, establishing partnerships of different types with local companies in order to obtain commercial advantages for growing cannabis at low cost to manufacture their products either for export or for expanding their consumer market.

This new context of regulations on cannabis for medicinal purposes in Latin America could be a driving force for social justice. It could guarantee a therapeutic alternative for various medical conditions, reflecting scientific research and the positive experience of patients who have used cannabis-derived products for years, particularly CBD-rich oils. It could also be an opportunity to invest in repairing some of the social harms imposed by the long period of prohibition, which focused on the repression of vulnerable social groups involved in the production, commercialisation and consumption of cannabis, and led to incarceration, exclusion, deepening inequalities, corruption, and the like.

Corporate capture of the Latin American medical cannabis market

The position paper “Drug Policy in Colombia – The Road to a Just Regulation" presents the dynamics which have maintained Colombia hostage as the longest running, and most evident examples, of failed prohibitionist drug policies. The position paper explores the context leading to the 2016 Peace Agreement, as well as the shifts in political power that resulted in uneven and unsuccessful implementation efforts of the Agreement. It puts forward recommendations to support effective and humane drug policy reforms that enhance peace, health, security and development in Colombia.

Drug policy in Colombia: The road to a just regulation

Continuing a collaboration with Proyecto Soma, TalkingDrugs has had privileged access to high figures within the Latin American drug policy world.

She mentioned that she regretted studying law in her university life. That she felt trapped in a cage due to the strict and conservative perspective of the law. But today, Paula Aguirre is the director, in Colombia, of 

), a multidisciplinary and feminist team focused on “the creation of viable legal scenarios” and political advocacy to strengthen human rights in processes of truth and reparation and, particularly, in drug policies.

It was precisely human rights that kept her in the world of law. But perhaps, above all, in a world of change, transformation and correction of laws. “Human rights allow us to play with a world of rules that are not limited only to the national,” explains Aguirre. “In our countries, we usually have legislative systems that can be strict on certain issues, but when we start working with international human rights, instruments, ways, doors, options, and alternatives appear.”

Ways, doors, options and alternatives. That is what Elementa DD.HH seeks to build to replace the failed drug policies that, in Colombia, have had 

, the paradigm of the war on drugs in that country has not only been incapable of having “effective results in dismantling drug trafficking as a political and economic system”. But also, it has added “an enormous number of victims in the frame of the internal armed conflict” and “activated narratives of criminalisation of populations and territories that justified violent operations.” This diagnosis could be applied to the entire Latin American region.

'Let's stop strategies that don't work!': Interview with Paula Aguirre, Director of Elementa

Many people, myself included, were sure that President Jair Bolsonaro’s misrule would end in Brazil’s first round of elections, held on October 2. Polls had Workers’ Party opponent and former president Lula da Silva consistently well ahead, and just about on course to exceed the 50 percent of the vote required to take the presidency without the need for a runoff. Bolsonaro was shown running 14 points behind “Lula,” but the polls had significantly underestimated the far-right president’s support. It was a shock to nearly all when Bolsonaro won 43 percent to Lula’s 48 percent—taking them both to a second round of elections set for October 30.

As we brace for the outcome, we must also reckon with the fact that that a president who openly promotes state violence against people who use drugs has not been rejected by the public, and that harm reduction in Brazil faces an uphill battle no matter who prevails.

Brazil harm reduction faces an uphill battle, even if Bolsonaro is ousted

: Oct 27, 10am - 12pm ET / 27 de oct 9am-11am Bogotá

Isabel Pereira, Deputy Director, Dejusticia; @Dejusticia_en @Dejusticia 

Santiago Tobón, Visiting Professor, University of Chicago; Professor, Economics, EAFIT; @SantiagoTobon @EAFIT 

María Alejandra Vélez, Director, Center for the Study of Security and Drugs, Universidad de los Andes; @MajaVelez @CesedUniandes 

Ana Arjona, Associate Professor, Northwestern University; @anamarjona @PoliSciatNU @redesdal 

Ken Frankel, President, Canadian Council for the Americas; @knfrankel @CCACANADA

Colombia drug policy reform: a suggested roadmap

Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s push for a major overhaul of the “war on drugs” is likely to cause tensions with Washington, but both sides appear to be proceeding with caution. Like its predecessors, the Biden Administration is reluctant to acknowledge the failure of the old tactics, but the burden will be on Petro to make the case that new approaches will work better.

Colombia has agreed with the United States on drug policies since the 1970s, with a focus on the Colombian Police and, later, the National Army. In 1996, the U.S. State Department said that the 

Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia

 (FARC) were directly engaged in narco-trafficking, which opened the door for deeper cooperation. With “Plan Colombia” in the 2000s, Bogotá made the war on drugs a central element of its counterinsurgency – and Washington became deeply involved despite the implications for human rights in affected regions.

The two countries put aerial eradication of coca crops and extradition of traffickers at the center of the relationship, even though the initiatives did not significantly reduce the production or flows of the narcotic into the United States. The cartels fragmented and grew more violent as they fought for control of the trade.

President Petro’s proposed reform is not the first challenge to the decades-old approach. A peace agreement between President Juan Manuel Santos and the FARC in 2016 challenged the nature and depth of cooperation. The accord included commitments in four areas: incentivizing coca growers to change crops (through agrarian reform and secure access to markets); stopping the traffic (through interdiction); eliminating money-laundering; and getting transit and consumer countries to do more to reduce demand. The goal was to reduce the trade and demand more than to criminalize the production of raw material.