There seems to be an attitude among visitors that buying cocaine in Colombia is somehow more acceptable than elsewhere, and consequently it is all too common for travellers to find out the hard way that this is simply not the case. While possession of very small amounts of cocaine carries no penalty, the punishment for being caught buying or consuming it can be swift and strong, and those caught can easily end up in jail.
While this can sometimes be the case, Colombia is currently taking steps to crack down on corruption, and attempting to bribe a member of the police or armed forces is a crime. It is also illegal for police to solicit bribes over police were removed from their posts over corruption charges in the first three months of , so consider reporting any officer who tries to shake you down.
As one of the worlds most biodiverse countries, Colombia faces a massive battle against animal trafficking, with police arresting over 5, traffickers in the first nine months of alone. Thankfully, the overwhelming majority of travellers would never dream of engaging in this activity; however, it is also important to be vigilant and to report any signs of child exploitation to the police.
While prostitution might be legal in Colombia, pimping or organizing sexual tourism is not: Medellin recently began a crackdown, with the arrest of a foreign sex-tourism provider. There are many laws and decrees forbidding selling, purchasing, or removing antiquities from the country. The punishment for possessing these items might not be long jail terms, but avoid the risk and say no. The laws regarding public alcohol consumption in Colombia can often be confusing for travellers: it is common to see people drinking beer in public in certain squares in large cities, often in front of the police.
However, strictly speaking, drinking in public is illegal, and the decision about whether to enforce the law is entirely at the discretion of the officers in question. This is a weird one, but since their failure to register formally as a taxi company, Uber is illegal in Colombia. It can be confusing for travellers when their Uber arrives and the driver insists that they sit in the front seat or, in more extreme cases, jumps out to hug them. This is a common way for the drivers to avoid being detected by the police by making it appear that they are a friend of the passenger, helping them out with a lift to the airport.
