Drug trafficking and drug consumption in Argentina (2017)

Demand for greater border control in the fight against drug trafficking is increasing.

The Social Research Centre (CIS) UADE – Voices! in collaboration with OPRENAR, conducted a new national public opinion study with the objective of continuing to monitor the perception of citizens on different aspects related to drug trafficking and drug consumption in our country. This research has been active since 2015.

Some findings of the study:

• For the majority of citizens the problem of drug trafficking in Argentina is very serious, although in relation to 2015 this perception has dropped from 78% to 66% today.
• For almost the entire population (97%) our country is essentially a "consumer" country. Almost 8 out of 10 see Argentina as a "transit" country (76%) and another 7 out of 10 (72%) consider Argentina as a "drug producing" country.
• While most disagree with the legalization of marijuana, the level of acceptance of its use for medicinal purposes is increasing.
• 3 out of 10 interviewees (30%) stated that they knew any person or place where drugs are sold, compared to 27% in 2015.
• Drugs and lack of work were chosen as the main triggers of violence in society. They are followed by poverty and lack of education.
• There is a broad consensus that it is very harmful to use paco (93%), ecstasy (89%), cocaine (89%), inhalants (87%) and hallucinogens (85%). Less emphasis was placed on cigarette consumption (68%), which is seen as more harmful than marijuana (61%).