Colombia: out of the eye of the hurricane, but still close

Abstract

Colombia is not the same country of the 80s and 90s of last century. The bigdrug cartels disappeared, but their heirs diversified their activities, createdalliances with guerrillas and paramilitaries, and increased the number ofminors associated with criminal behaviours.The country has not been systematic in its drug abuse data collection, andthere is a remarkable imbalance in the investments made on drug supplyand drug demand: 98% and 2%, respectively. However, the official reportsassert that there are at least 300.000 people in need of treatment.Regarding drug abuse, Colombia is in the “middle range” in LatinAmerica, together with Peru and Mexico; Chile, Argentina and Uruguayare above them, and Ecuador and Bolivia below. Drug consumption wasdecriminalized in 1994, and the implication was that those involved in drugabuse problems had to find their way out by themselves; this implicationcontributed to the poor development of the state treatment system. In spiteof a new law imposing the obligation of free treatment to everyone askingfor it, the health system is on the border of collapse and won’t be able toface those requirements.