Academics Submit Cannabis, Coca Policy Proposals to Colombia Government

Policy Documents Delivered to Transition Team

The academic working group delivered two separate policy frameworks to the presidential transition office on June 12, 2026. The cannabis proposal addresses licensing, taxation, and cultivation zoning for adult-use markets. The coca-leaf document proposes controlled cultivation zones for traditional use and pharmaceutical extraction, separating legal coca from narcotics production.

The submissions don't carry binding authority. But they represent the first comprehensive reform blueprints presented to the new government. The transition team hasn't publicly acknowledged receipt or indicated whether the proposals will inform legislative drafting.

Cannabis Framework Proposes Tiered Licensing

The cannabis proposal recommends a three-tier license structure separating cultivation, processing, and retail operations. Cultivation licenses would be capped at 5,000 square meters for the first two years to prevent market consolidation. Processing facilities would require separate permits with mandatory third-party lab testing for potency and contaminants.

Retail sales would face an initial 19% excise tax, mirroring Colombia's standard VAT rate. Local municipalities would retain authority to impose additional taxes up to 5%. Home cultivation? Not addressed. Social-consumption sites? Also absent from the framework.

Researchers estimate the regulated market could generate $120 million in annual tax revenue by year three, based on Uruguay's per-capita consumption data adjusted for Colombia's population of 52 million.

Coca Proposal Targets Traditional and Pharmaceutical Use

The coca-leaf framework establishes controlled cultivation zones in three departments—Cauca, Nariño, and Putumayo—where indigenous communities hold land titles. Growers would register with a new National Coca Authority and sell exclusively to licensed processors for tea, flour, and alkaloid extraction for pharmaceutical export.

Cultivation outside designated zones remains prohibited, with criminal penalties for unauthorized production intact. Registered growers would face annual inspections and mandatory GPS tracking of harvest volumes. The framework doesn't decriminalize cocaine or intermediate coca paste.

Colombia's Constitutional Court ruled in 1994 that coca-leaf possession for personal use is constitutionally protected, but no regulatory structure was enacted. The academic proposal attempts to operationalize that precedent without expanding it.

Authorship and Institutional Backing

The proposals were drafted by a 12-member working group from Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Universidad de los Andes, and Universidad del Rosario. The team includes economists, public-health researchers, and legal scholars specializing in drug policy. No government officials participated in the drafting process.

No public funding supported the project. Two international NGOs—the Drug Policy Alliance and the Washington Office on Latin America—provided logistical support but didn't co-author the documents. The full text of both proposals hasn't been released publicly.

Political Context and Legislative Outlook

The incoming administration campaigned on drug-policy reform but hasn't specified legislative timelines or priorities. The president-elect's transition team includes two former health ministers who publicly supported medical-cannabis expansion in 2020. No cabinet nominees have endorsed adult-use legalization on the record.

Colombia's Congress attempted cannabis legalization in 2023, but the bill stalled in committee after objections from the Ministry of Justice. A revised bill introduced in 2025 passed first debate in the Senate but died when the legislative session ended. The new Congress convenes on July 20, 2026.

For full background on this story, see the CannIntel topic hub on Colombia Cannabis Policy.

Regional Precedents and Divergence

Uruguay legalized adult-use cannabis in 2013 and Mexico enacted legalization in 2021, but neither country has implemented coca-leaf regulation. Bolivia permits coca cultivation for traditional use under a 2013 law that caps acreage at 22,000 hectares and restricts sales to domestic markets. Peru allows coca for traditional use but doesn't license commercial processing.

The Colombian proposal differs from Bolivia's model by requiring GPS tracking and limiting cultivation to titled indigenous lands. It differs from Uruguay's cannabis framework by excluding home cultivation and capping initial license size to prevent foreign investment dominance.

What to Watch

The transition team hasn't set a deadline for responding to the proposals. The new administration's first 100-day agenda, expected to be published by June 20, will signal whether drug-policy reform ranks among early legislative priorities. Congressional allies of the president-elect haven't introduced companion bills matching the academic frameworks. The next concrete signal will be the composition of the Ministry of Justice leadership team, announced no later than July 1.