In 1998 the UN declared: “a drug-free world, we can do it!”
In reality, we cannot.
The War on Drugs has failed. According to all available
indices, it is no longer defendable. Vast expenditure on drug law enforcement
has resulted in increasing levels of overall drug-use and lowered drug prices.
2011 is the 50th anniversary of the 1961 UN Convention, which lies at the root
of the criminalizing approach to drug control. Now is the perfect time to
re-evaluate our approach.
Of all regions in the world, Latin America has perhaps been
the most affected by the unintended consequences of global prohibition. Huge
criminal markets have at times turned countries such as Colombia, Guatemala and
Mexico into nigh-on war zones. Drug enforcement and eradication in one Andean
country has displaced production into neighboring countries and back in turn,
in an ongoing cycle. The criminalization of drug control has seen the numbers
of those incarcerated for drug offenses (even the possession of minor amounts
for personal consumption) rise to levels that overwhelm judicial systems.
Currently there are over 10 million people in prison worldwide.
However, Latin America, as the region that has suffered the
most, is now leading the way to an open and frank discussion of drugs. Recent
declarations from certain politicians show a much greater understanding of the
problems than those coming from some of their Western counterparts. In Peru,
former President and current presidential candidate Alejandro Toledo declared
himself open to full decriminalization. Whilst he nuanced his argument a few
days later, the declaration itself shows that Latin American governments are
becoming increasingly progressive in their nature. The Latin American
Commission on Drugs and Democracy, led by former presidents of Brazil, Colombia
and Mexico, has declared its outright opposition to a “misguided and
counter-productive war.”
A fellow Andean country, Bolivia, has recently seen more and
more countries support its proposals to reform the international prohibition of
chewing the coca leaf. Flexibility and cultural sensitivity are vital within
approaches to drug conventions. Drug control regimes should be respectful of
human rights and take account of different cultural norms in societies around
the world. There must be the freedom for individual countries to work out what
is best for them. The one-fit-all model has shown itself to be highly
destructive.
Various countries such as Portugal have shown how successful
a change in policy can be. They have demonstrated that the decriminalization of
use and a commitment to provide health and rehabilitation programs as
alternatives to incarceration, together with a sustained educational program,
can diminish the harms associated with drug-use. Both Hungary and the Czech
Republic criminalized use in 1999. However, studies showed that this policy had
been a disaster and brought more social costs than benefits. Consequently, both
countries reversed this policy (in 2003 and 2010 respectively). We cannot let
such lessons go unheeded. We must learn from these examples.
It is time for a new approach. The 1961 UN Single Convention
on Narcotic Drugs, with its zero-tolerance approach, was written in a very
different context to today, both socially and politically. A rewriting of the
UN Convention would enable us to move forward from the present impasse.
Individual countries should have more freedom to be able to decriminalize the
personal use of drugs and, should the country so wish, to legally regulate
certain substances, such as cannabis, thereby being able to control and label
their content, and tax them. This would have the advantage of saving vast sums
on the continuation of the coercive approach, as well as raising substantial
tax to implement an educational and treatment approach to drug-use. It would
also solve the problem of hundreds of billions of dollars going into the hands
of criminals each year.
The Beckley Foundation Global Initiative for Drug Policy
Reform 2011-2012 is proposing such a model.
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