Pubdate: Thu, 19 Apr 2012 Source: Edmonton Journal (CN AB) Copyright: 2012 The Edmonton Journal Contact: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/opinion/letters/letters-to-the-editor.html Website: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/134 DRUG WAR LOST, NEW TACK NEEDED Like so many major conflicts, the war on drugs has created such devastating collateral damage that even now, should there be a sudden turning of the tide in favour of law enforcement and government, there is no real victory to be celebrated. And since the prospects for a momentum shift are negligible, there is instead a crucial reckoning dead ahead, one that demands a complete rethink on the calamitous issues of transnational drug production, distribution and consumption. Forget winning, forget escalation; the war on drugs that then U.S. president Richard Nixon declared in 1971 cannot and should not be fought a moment longer using only current strategies. Cartels are still operating with impunity in Latin America - aided as they are by government and police corruption - and drugs are still flowing north to the United States and Canada where their abuse further marginalizes already downtrodden segments of society. It is nearly impossible to reconcile the current state of the global problem with the estimated trillion dollars and 40 years that various governments have spent fighting the enemy. More money must be spent, but differently. And until the voices at both ends of the supply chain are united in a two-pronged strategy that works to regulate rather than restrict supply and control rather than prohibit demand, the 40-year war on drugs will continue to claim victims, both criminal and innocent. Last year the Global Commission on Drug Policy concluded "the war on drugs has failed, with devastating consequences for individuals and societies around the world." The esteemed panel included UN envoy Kofi Annan, as well as the former leaders of Poland, Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, Greece and Switzerland. Since that report was made public, the tone of high-level political conversation has undergone a gentle metamorphosis. A softening was evident at the just-completed Summit of the Americas in Cartagena, Colombia, a fitting backdrop for dialogue given that South American country's prominence in the cocaine trade. Positioned as they are in countries at the other end of the supply chain, and mindful of shifting opinion, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and U.S. President Barack Obama expressed a willingness in Cartagena to open dialogue on a new policy tack through a panel of experts convened by the Organization of American States. However, neither is about to endorse decriminalization or legalization of narcotics. "They're illegal because they quickly and totally, with many of the drugs, destroy people's lives and people are willing to make lots of money out of selling those products," said Harper. "I don't mind a debate around issues like decriminalization," Obama said. "I personally don't agree that's a solution to the problem. I don't think that legalization of drugs is going to be the answer." But there are two answers, one for the consuming nations and another for the producing countries, and both Obama and Harper must invite and explore solutions reflecting that dual reality. For now, admitting the war has been lost is a politically expedient first step for many world leaders, and even those who dare voice a specific new proposal are loath to wander beyond the tilled ground of decriminalizing marijuana possession, which has been done with success in The Netherlands. Tolerance for that initiative is spreading, though slowly. Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina is a rare exception: a sitting leader who has called for the legalization and government regulation of illicit drugs as a means of putting murderous, moneyed drug cartels out of business. Some Central American leaders as well as those from Mexico and Colombia fell in behind Perez Molina, happy to have their positions fostered. While the co-operation of American, Canadian and European governments is still seen as a necessary component of any new strategy, Latin American leadership won't wait forever; their drug problem is far more graphic and grave than ours. In Mexico, it is estimated that 50,000 people have died during the six years of outgoing President Felipe Calderon's military crackdown on half a dozen cartels. If only violent criminals were dying, the outcry would be muted. If the socio-economic toll wasn't so high, the politicians could sidestep the issue for years to come. But a 2011 report from the Congressional Research Service in the U.S. stated "criminality related to drug trafficking has replaced political and regional conflicts as the primary source of citizen insecurity in the Americas." The global market for illicit drugs is worth $300 billion U.S. annually. An unlimited supply of money and a culture of corruption allows cartels to buy police protection and wield political power over entire regions of some Latin American countries. Though some cartel leaders have been captured and others killed, there are always willing replacements in an organized criminal enterprise. As a result, the war on drugs has not substantially reduced the production or distribution capabilities of those syndicates in Latin America. Worse, the drug trade is burgeoning in the most unstable regions of Africa. The war is unwinnable and spreading to new fronts. The rules of engagement must change. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom