TAMIU Faculty Member Co-Authors Publication on Drug Policies in South America, Europe

A recently co-authored publication by a Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) faculty member focuses on the experiences of Argentina, Portugal, and Uruguay in their efforts at depenalization, decriminalization, and legalization/regulation of recreational drugs.

The publication, Drug Policy Revolutions: Scenarios, Impacts, and Trajectories was written by TAMIU assistant professor in Social Sciences Dr. Nilda M. García, in collaboration with Dr. Sebastián A. Cutrona, senior lecturer in Criminology at Liverpool Hope University.

Their work presents the successes and challenges involved in approaching the impact on drug use, public health, and security, while also debunking various myths surrounding flexible drug policies, noted García.

“The findings in our book debunk some myths around the adoption and implementation of more flexible drug policies. We observe that softening or removing criminal penalties did not transform any of the three country case studies of this book into a ‘drug paradise,’ as prohibitionists often contend. By contrast, based on the evidence, we see that drug liberalization helped instead to better target problematic use while also reducing the burden on the criminal justice system by allowing law enforcement to redirect their resources,” García said. 

The publication, instead, offers policy recommendations and lessons learned from the historical trajectories and policy reforms in addressing drug consumption and its associated harms, García emphasized.

“Through the journeys of these cases, our book shows that the outcomes of drug policy revolutions are not a one-size-fits-all solution, but it is highly dependent upon each country’s political, economic, and social trajectories…” said García.

She continued, “The nonlinear nature of the impacts of these liberalization reforms lies in the complex interplay of regional drug market dynamics and other relevant contextual forces outside the legal domain such as variations in the scope of the welfare state, the strength of domestic institutions, and the presence (or not) of harm reduction policies accompanying the reforms.”

Garcia is the author of Mexico’s Drug War and Criminal Networks: The Dark Side of Social Media, and other peer-reviewed publications featured in academic journals including the Latin American Politics and Society, the Howard Journal of Communications, The International Trade Journal, and more. She has taught various courses at the University focusing on Drug Trafficking, International Politics, American Foreign Policy, among others.

She earned her Ph.D. in International Studies at the University of Miami, and a Master of Business Administration at TAMIU.

Cutrona’s work has been published in several academic journals, including Latin American Politics and Society, Trends in Organized Crime, and more. His forthcoming co-authored book is Cocaine: The Global Reach of the World’s Most Lucrative Illicit Drug.

He earned his Ph.D. in International Affairs at the University of Miami and a Master of Arts in International Relations from the Universidad Nacional de Cordoba, Argentina.

For more information, contact Garcia via email at nilda.garcia@tamiu.edu.

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