Ecuador's new president repeals drug guidelines, vows to tackle trafficking

Less than 48 hours into his term, Ecuador President Daniel Noboa repealed controversial guidelines established by the country’s left a decade ago that eliminated penalties for people found carrying illegal drugs under certain amounts.

Noboa’s decision on Friday fulfilled a campaign promise to fight drug trafficking. Consequences of the illegal trade, particularly cocaine, have kept Ecuadorians on edge as killings, kidnappings, robberies, extortion and other crimes reached unprecedented levels.

A statement from Noboa’s office announcing the move argued that the old guidelines “encouraged micro-trafficking” and characterised them as a “harmful element for Ecuadorian society.” Noboa also directed the ministries of interior and public health to develop “coordinated information, prevention and control programs on the consumption of narcotic and psychotropic substances” and to offer treatment and rehabilitation to “habitual and problematic occasional users.”

The guidelines were adopted in 2013 during the presidency of Rafael Correa under the argument that illegal drug use was a public health problem and users should not be sent to prison. The quantities used in the guidelines attempted to differentiate drug consumption from drug trafficking.

Under the parameters, an individual could carry for personal use up to 10 grams of marijuana, 2 grams of cocaine paste, 1 gram of cocaine, 0.10 grams of heroin and 0.04 grams of amphetamine.

The guidelines were highly criticised from the start by Ecuador’s right, and in general, the country’s conservative society.

It remained unclear how Noboa’s decision would be implemented. His predecessor, President Guillermo Lasso, announced in January 2021 his own decision to eliminate the parameters, arguing that they affected “young people and children,” but it was never implemented.