Peru

Overview of drug laws and legislative trends in Peru

Trend

In Peru, coca leaf consumption has never been criminalized and a state-controlled licensing system exists for its cultivation and distribution.

With regard to other drugs, in 1982, Decree 122 established that dependent users shall no longer be punished for possession of drugs for immediate personal consumption, but only when a medical certification is provided to prove the dependency. Subsequently, in 2003 Law 28002 modified the Penal Code for drug offences, decriminalizing possession for personal use and establishing quantity thresholds such as 2 gr of cocaine and 8 gr of marihuana.

High sentences are in place for even the lowest levels of trade. Minimum sentences of 2 years, for example, were introduced in 1982 for distributing “small quantities directly to individual consumers”. The 2003 modification increased this even further to a minimum of 3 years. “Microtrade and microproduction” was defined by quantities below 50 gr of coca paste, 25 gr of cocaine, 100 gr of marihuana, and only 1 gr of heroin.

Law

1982, Law on Illicit Drug Trafficking, Decree No 122, Article 56:

“A person who, without medical authorization, possesses drugs in personal doses for his own immediate use is not punishable. Certification of dependency shall be required for immunity from punishment to apply.”

Legislative Decree 635, Penal Code, Article 299°, modified by Law 28002 (2003):

“Nonpunishable possession
Possession of drugs for personal and immediate consumption is not punishable, in quantities not exceeding five grams of coca base paste, two grams of cocaine hydrochloride, eight grams of marihuana or two grams of its derivatives, one gram of opium gum or two hundred milligrams of its derivatives.
Possession of two or more types of drugs is excluded from the reach of the preceding paragraph.”

Drug Laws and Prisons in Peru

Peru is a major world producer of coca leaf and its derivatives. Since the year 2000, successive Peruvian administrations have followed a drug policy focused on supply reduction through interdiction and eradication strategies. The law on drugs does not punish drug use or drug possession for personal use by imprisonment. Nonetheless, the Peruvian authorities treat drug use as if it were criminal conduct. As a result, the police are overwhelmed, trials are delayed, and the prisons are filled.

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