ATTEMPTS AT DRUG-CONTROL IN COLOMBIA, PERU AND BOLIVIA

The paper analyzes as part of a broader study the drug-control policy of the cocacocaine producing countries of Colombia, Peru and Bolivia, beginning with a short introduction of the political framework. The le gal and political emphasis of this policy lies in the area of 'control and repression', which therefore is analysed in more detail. One can recognize a (substantial) tendency towards 'overcriminalisation' linke d to easier (procedural) possibilities of criminal prosecution and pun ishment (II). However, this questionable policy, when examined from a civil rights standpoint, proves to be of limited efficacy: given the c ontinuing flow of cocaine to the US and the expanding trade to Europe, the policy can hardly pass a qualitative test considering the quantit ative evidence (III). There are basically two alternatives from the vi ewpoint of the producing countries: the international commercialisatio n of coca and ''alternative development''; from the viewpoint of the c onsumer countries the controlled legalisation (IV).