Change from Above or Pressure from Below? The Diffusion of Cannabis Reform in Latin America

Abstract

What explains variation in the adoption of cannabis regulation reforms, both for medical and recreational purposes, across Latin America? This article argues that social mobilisation is essential to understand where debates for reform emerge and become stronger. Yet it further contends that policy adoption depends on the existence of pro-reform elite political coalitions. These coalitions in turn depend on whether drug policy becomes a legislative priority and on specific conditions of the party system. The article compares four countries that show variation in the timing and content of reform: Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay.