REAL WORLD EVENT DISCUSSIONS

No more drug war in Latin America? Report explores new ways to fight drugs

POSTED BY: NIKI2
UPDATED: Sunday, May 19, 2013 05:14
SHORT URL:
VIEWED: 519
PAGE 1 of 1

Sunday, May 19, 2013 5:14 AM

NIKI2

Gettin' old, but still a hippie at heart...


Quote:

A new OAS report looks at alternatives to prohibiting the drug trade, including legal market regulation, reform of the UN drug convention, and smarter policing.

In the global fight against drug trafficking, it’s high time countries experiment with “nontraditional” approaches.

That’s the advice given to the United States and Latin America in a sweeping new report by the Organization of American States on the region's drug problem. The 190-page document explores a range of potential pathways for dealing with the illicit drug trade, including legal market regulation, reform of the United Nations drug convention, and smarter policing.

“It clearly acknowledges that the current state of affairs is not acceptable and there is really a need to look forward,” says Kasia Malinowska, director of the Open Society Foundations’ Global Drug Policy Program. “Countries have to decide what level of experimentation is right for them. This is clearly a door opener.”

The report is the fruit of a proposal made last year by leaders of OAS member countries who, frustrated with prohibitionist policies, requested greater analysis of the problem and possible solutions.

It’s also the latest sign that the tide may be slowly turning against the US-led war on drugs.

Two years ago, the Global Commission on Drug Policy – whose members include former presidents of Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia, and a former US secretary of State – challenged the status quo of 40 years of “drug war” by recommending the decriminalization of users and experimenting with legal regulation.

Since then, several leaders in Latin America have come out against a militarized approach to fighting drug production and trafficking. Guatemalan President Otto Pérez Molina has favored decriminalizing drug production, transit, and consumption, while Uruguay’s José Mujica has floated the idea of creating a government-run market for marijuana.

In Mexico, President Enrique Peña Nieto has said he doesn’t believe legalization is the solution, although the growing number of US states that have voted for a legally regulated marijuana market complicate Mexico’s choices. Mexico is believed to supply about half of the marijuana consumed in the US, according to the OAS report, and is a top producer of methamphetamines and heroin.

Latin America suffers the brunt of consequences of the drug war. In Mexico alone, upwards of 70,000 people have died in drug-related violence over the past six years. Drug-related violence has plagued Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador as traffickers have increasingly infiltrated Central America.

The latest report envisions a future in which countries “pursue a path of gradual, evidence-based experimentation and reform.”

“A good outlook would be an acceptance that prohibition has failed, that experimentation with new policy frameworks should be encouraged,” the report notes. “This could involve legalization, harm reduction, investing more in treatment regimes. The precise formula should vary according to the democratic decisions of each country.” http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2013/0517/No-more-drug-war-in-
Latin-America-Report-explores-new-ways-to-fight-drugs?nav=87-frontpage-entryNineItem


Whaddya think?

NOTIFY: Y   |  REPLY  |  REPLY WITH QUOTE  |  TOP  |  HOME  

YOUR OPTIONS

NEW POSTS TODAY

USERPOST DATE

OTHER TOPICS

DISCUSSIONS
In the garden, and RAIN!!! (2)
Wed, July 23, 2025 23:32 - 5691 posts
Moscow Burns / Coup In Progress
Wed, July 23, 2025 22:53 - 100 posts
Midterms 2026
Wed, July 23, 2025 22:45 - 179 posts
Trump Lied More Than 30,000 Times During His Presidency. No Wonder We’re Exhausted.
Wed, July 23, 2025 21:30 - 14 posts
Do you feel like the winds of change are blowing today too?
Wed, July 23, 2025 21:13 - 2612 posts
The Hunter Biden interview shows Democrats are party only for elites
Wed, July 23, 2025 21:08 - 3 posts
QAnons' representatives here
Wed, July 23, 2025 21:03 - 807 posts
TRUMP???????????????
Wed, July 23, 2025 19:57 - 20 posts
Trump Is Destroying Everything He Touches
Wed, July 23, 2025 17:58 - 479 posts
Russia Invades Ukraine. Again
Wed, July 23, 2025 15:21 - 8655 posts
Boy sex ring/ties to Bush administration& Gunderson report Pt 2
Wed, July 23, 2025 15:04 - 41 posts
Boeing 737 Max
Wed, July 23, 2025 14:53 - 218 posts

FFF.NET SOCIAL