Is Crack Cocaine legal in Colombia?

Legal status

Crack is the freebase (base) form of cocaine and has no separate legal identity in Colombia: it is controlled AS cocaine under Ley 30 de 1986 (Estatuto Nacional de Estupefacientes) art. 2 lit. j; Codigo Penal art. 376; Corte Constitucional sentencia C-491 de 2012, whose scheduling of cocaine reaches its salts, preparations and therefore the base/freebase form. Crack is prohibited identically to cocaine.

Consequences if caught

Article 2(j) of Ley 30 de 1986 defines the dosis para uso personal as the quantity a person carries for their own consumption, and fixes it at up to 20 g of marihuana, 5 g of hashish, 1 g of cocaine or any cocaine-based substance, and 2 g of methaqualone; it is not a personal dose, whatever the quantity, where the purpose is distribution or sale. Sentencia C-491 de 2012 held that carrying a dosis para uso personal falls outside art. 376 of the Penal Code. Above those limits art. 376 applies: where the quantity does not exceed 2,000 g of cocaine, 10,000 g of marihuana, 4,000 g of synthetic drug or 60 g of poppy derivatives, the penalty is 96 to 144 months and a fine of 124 to 1,500 monthly minimum wages.

If prescribed or medical

Cocaine has at most narrow controlled medical use; the crack/freebase base has no medicinal preparation and cannot be prescribed. Licit narcotics circulate under the Fondo Nacional de Estupefacientes regime; a prohibited street drug has no prescribable form.

Documentation

No prescription documentation exists for this substance. Carry prescribed medicines in original packaging with the prescription; controlled medicines require Fondo Nacional de Estupefacientes authorisation.

Drug laws and enforcement change and vary within a country. This is not legal advice. Always confirm with Colombia’s embassy or official drug authority before traveling; penalties can be severe, including imprisonment.