The threat posed by drugs and organized crime is one of the most serious challenges the five Andean democracies face today.

Drug policy has dominated the diplomatic and economic agendas between the countries, contributing to tensions among the governments and impeding cooperation on other priorities.

The Carter Center and International IDEA have supported a unique dialogue forum among prominent citizens from the five countries and the United States, and two members of the group have developed this report to contribute to an open debate.

The report draws on the dialogue and on in-depth interviews with a wide variety of actors in all five countries, as well as existing research.