Echoes of the Past in the Present: The Political Uses and Abuses of History in Contemporary Cannabis Debates in Latin America

History is not only written and read but used in contemporary cannabis debates. Legislative debates in Uruguay and Mexico have invoked purported precedents, previous presidents and policy precursors. Yet, the past is not invariably used in the present. In Chile, historical referents have not featured prominently in contemporary debates. By investigating such differences and the similarities in the uses of the past in present-day cannabis reform debates in Latin America, the article unearths not only whether but how the past gets politically used, misused and remains unused. Building on an original analytical framework of different uses of the past, the article compares and contrasts the political uses and abuses of historical precedents, examples and anecdotes in contemporary public and political debates about recreational cannabis reform in Uruguay, Mexico, and Chile. The article finds variation between countries in the prevalence and prominence of uses of history in contemporary debates. While some past experiences, notably alcohol Prohibition, have been invoked throughout, others
depend on specific contexts and legacies. Moreover, the article shows that the past is sometimes not used at all and often misused by advocates sacrificing historical accuracy for political expediency. Uses of the past in the present are neither uniform nor unproblematic. Employing history in contemporary debates is an active, selective, and politicized process, in which historical precedents are exaggerated, historical anecdotes are overlooked, and historical nuances are lost.