Pubdate: Thu, 17 Nov 2011 Source: Ledger-Enquirer (Columbus, GA) Copyright: 2011 Ledger-Enquirer Contact: http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/237 Author: Vera Leone TOO MUCH AT STAKE In your recent "Red Ribbon Week" article " Colombian army colonel says war against cocaine changing," Colombian Col. William Galindo said the impact of cocaine has declined due to the presence of the police force and law enforcement. He could not be more wrong. It's shameful that the Ledger-Enquirer spouts WHINSEC lies without a bit of fact-checking. Despite more than 10 years and $8 billion of U.S. military aid, Colombia is still the number one cocaine producer in the world. Stopping drugs via interdiction efforts and military repression at the source does not work, which we've known for too long. Almost 20 years ago, the Rand Corporation published a study showing treatment and demand reduction 23 times more cost effective at reducing cocaine consumption than trying to control the source. The Global Commission on Drug Policy, a group of high-level government and U.N. officials, just released a report unequivocally stating money spent on targeting producers and traffickers has "clearly failed to effectively curtail supply or consumption." They call for an end to ideologically-driven drug policies and the beginning of reasoned debate on effective reforms. Last year, 45 percent of 12th graders in the U.S. reported that crack cocaine was "fairly easy" or "very easy" to obtain. Our children, here and around the hemisphere, are at stake. The time has come for those of us who want actual solutions to step forward and look at what really works. Vera Leone Washington - --- MAP posted-by: Matt