Colombia's mental-health and substance-use policies: from Res. 4886 de 2018 and Res. 089 de 2019 to Decreto 729 de 2025 and Res. 2100 de 2025, with Ley 1566 de 2012
- Law
Colombia's mental-health policy is now Decreto 729 de 2025 and its substance-use policy Res. 2100 de 2025; both replaced the 2018–2019 resolutions.
What it is
Ley 1616 de 2013 ordered a national mental-health policy. The first was adopted by Resolución 4886 de 2018, with five axes: promotion, prevention, integrated care, rehabilitation and inclusion, and sector coordination. Decreto 729 de 2025 adopted the Política Nacional de Salud Mental 2025–2034, added to Decreto 780 de 2016, and repealed Resolución 4886 de 2018. For psychoactive substances, Ley 1566 de 2012 recognises use, abuse and addiction as a public-health matter to be treated as an illness with integrated care. Resolución 089 de 2019 adopted the first integral policy on substance use; Resolución 2100 de 2025 replaced it with the 2025–2033 policy, which adds risk and harm reduction and a Sistema Nacional de Atención al consumo.
Key articles
- Decreto 729 de 2025, art. 2.8.15.1: adopts the Política Nacional de Salud Mental 2025–2034, in its technical annex.
- Art. 2.8.15.3: five strategic axes (promotion; prevention of problems, disorders and epilepsy; integrated care; rehabilitation and inclusion; governance).
- Art. 2.8.15.5: creates the Red Mixta Nacional y Territorial en Salud Mental, a governance body, not a care service.
- Art. 2.8.15.7–2.8.15.8: links mental health to primary care and organises services in a network with national and regional reference centres.
- Art. 2.8.15.18: in force from publication; repeals Resolución 4886 de 2018.
- Ley 1566 de 2012, arts. 1–2: substance use, abuse and addiction are a public-health issue; anyone with a related disorder has the right to integrated care in the health system.
- Ley 1566 de 2012, art. 4: before treatment the person is informed about the treatment, risks, benefits, alternatives, length, restrictions and rights; consent can be withdrawn at any time.
- Res. 2100 de 2025, art. 7: five axes, including risk and harm reduction associated with use.
- Res. 2100 de 2025, arts. 9–10: creates the Sistema Nacional de Atención al consumo de sustancias psicoactivas, with low-threshold and community services.
- Res. 2100 de 2025, art. 17: in force from issue; repeals Resolución 089 de 2019.
What it covers
- Mental health: Ley 1616 de 2013 → Res. 4886 de 2018 (repealed) → Decreto 729 de 2025.
- Substance use: Ley 1566 de 2012 → Res. 089 de 2019 (repealed) → Res. 2100 de 2025.
- Implementation: territorial plans, primary care, integrated care routes and the Plan Decenal de Salud Pública 2022–2031.
In nursing practice
- Promotion and prevention are part of everyday nursing: teaching, early detection and referral.
- Harm reduction is accepted in policy: care for people who use substances also covers those not ready to stop.
- Integrated care includes physical illnesses linked to substance use and mental disorders.
- Community-based rehabilitation and inclusion are goals of care, not optional extras.
Status and official text
- Texto oficial verificado el 2026-11-13 en minsalud.gov.co (Res. 4886 de 2018, Res. 089 de 2019, Res. 2100 de 2025 and the 2026 guidelines that cite Decreto 729 de 2025) and in secretariasenado.gov.co (Ley 1566 de 2012).
- Res. 4886 de 2018 was repealed by art. 2.8.15.18 of Decreto 729 de 2025 (25 June 2025, Diario Oficial 53.162), which added Title 15 to Part 8 of Book 2 of Decreto 780 de 2016.
- Res. 089 de 2019 was repealed by art. 17 of Res. 2100 de 2025 (14 October 2025).
- The secretariasenado.gov.co text of Ley 1566 de 2012 shows no repeal notes; its art. 10 created the specialised body that Ley 1616 de 2013 (art. 29) renamed Consejo Nacional de Salud Mental.
- MinSalud published the guidelines for adopting and monitoring the 2025–2034 policy in June 2026; check minsalud.gov.co for later rules before quoting.
Test yourself
Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.
Which norm holds Colombia's current national mental-health policy, and what did it repeal?
Decreto 729 de 2025, which adopted the Política Nacional de Salud Mental 2025–2034 and repealed Resolución 4886 de 2018.
Which resolution replaced Resolución 089 de 2019 on psychoactive substances?
Resolución 2100 de 2025, which adopted the integral policy for prevention, risk and harm reduction and care of substance use, 2025–2033.
How does Ley 1566 de 2012 treat substance use, abuse and addiction?
As a public-health issue, treated as an illness that requires integrated care from the health system, with informed consent that the person can withdraw.
What are the five axes of the 2025–2034 mental-health policy?
Promotion; prevention of problems, disorders and epilepsy; integrated care; rehabilitation and social inclusion; and governance and sector coordination.
Connections
Educational content for students; it does not replace your institution's protocols, supervised clinical training or a prescriber's order. Dose-calculation examples use made-up numbers: they are educational, not a clinical order.
Sources: Lineamientos para la adopción, implementación y seguimiento de la Política Nacional de Salud Mental 2025-2034 (Decreto 0729 de 2025) (Ministerio de Salud y Protección Social (MinSalud), Colombia, 2026); Resolución 4886 de 2018, por la cual se adopta la Política Nacional de Salud Mental (derogada) (Ministerio de Salud y Protección Social (MinSalud), Colombia, 2018); Resolución 2100 de 2025, Política integral para la prevención, la reducción de riesgos y daños y la atención del consumo de sustancias psicoactivas (Ministerio de Salud y Protección Social (MinSalud), Colombia, 2025); Ley 1566 de 2012, atención integral a personas que consumen sustancias psicoactivas (Secretaría General del Senado de la República de Colombia, 2012).
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