Drugs and the Law (CEDD)

The Research Consortium on Drugs and the Law (CEDD)

The Research Consortium on Drugs and the Law (Colectivo de Estudios Drogas y Derecho, CEDD) brings together researchers from seven Latin American countries with the goal of analyzing the impact of criminal law and legal practice surrounding illicit drugs. The CEDD seeks to foster a debate about the effectiveness of the current drug policies and recommends policy alternatives that are more balanced and effective.
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People deprived of their liberty for drug offenses: The social costs of drug policy

New studies reveal increase in incarceration for drug offenses in the Americas

Research Consortium on Drugs and the Law (CEDD)
November 2015

The Research Consortium on Drugs and the Law (Colectivo de Estudios Drogas y Derecho, CEDD) released a series of new studies showing that despite the current debate in Latin America on the need to rethink drug policy, mass incarceration for nonviolent drug offenses has increased across the region. The five thematic reports analyze the gap between discourse and reality, the criminalization of consumption, alternatives to incarceration, women imprisoned for drug offenses, and minors imprisoned for drugs in Latin America.

Download the reports (Outside link)
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In Search of Rights

Drug Users and State Responses in Latin America

Colectivo de Estudios Drogas y Derecho (CEDD)

July 9, 2014

The Research Consortium on Drugs and the Law (Colectivo de Estudios Drogas y Derecho, CEDD) has published a new study that assesses state responses to illicitly-used drugs in eight countries in Latin America: Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay. The study found that Latin American governments’ approach to drug use continues to be predominantly through the criminal justice system, not health institutions. Even in countries where consumption is not a crime, persistent criminalization of drug users is common.

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Addicted to punishment

Penalties in the war on drugs more severe than for murder and rape

Rodrigo Uprimny

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Over the past several decades, Latin America has seen penalties for drug crimes—even low-level selling—skyrocket. And in many Latin American countries, non-violent drug offenses receive significantly longer sentences than many violent crimes, such as homicide and rape. A new study of criminal legislation explores this phenomenon in seven Latin American countries (Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, Colombia, Bolivia, and Argentina).
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Addicted to punishment

The disproportionality of drug laws in Latin America

Rodrigo Uprimny Diana Esther Guzmán Jorge Parra Norato

DeJusticia
January 2013

In Latin America, trafficking cocaine so it can be sold to someone who wants to use it is more serious than raping a woman or deliberately killing your neighbor. While it may seem incredible, that is the conclusion of a rigorous study of the evolution of criminal legislation in the region, which shows that countries’ judicial systems mete out harsher penalties for trafficking even modest amounts of drugs than for acts as heinous as sexual assault or murder.

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Disproportionate penalties for drug offenses in Mexico

Study shows that federal resources are dedicated to the investigation, prosecution, and conviction of minor drug-related cases

Catalina Pérez Correa Kristel Mucino

Monday, November 12, 2012

The story of the Mexican drug war has generally focused on the violence perpetrated by drug cartels and the apparent inability to bring so many criminals to justice. Unfortunately—while it’s true many have evaded justice—there remain many more people who use drugs and those with very low levels of involvement in the drug trade, who have been swept up in recent crackdowns.
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Disproportionate penalties for drug offenses in Mexico