Pubdate: Mon, 01 Apr 2013
Source: Washington Diplomat, The (US)
Copyright: 2013 The Washington Diplomat
Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/gfboH816
Website: http://www.washdiplomat.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5431
Author: Larry Luxner

DEBATE OVER LEGALIZING DRUGS GROWS LOUDER IN LATIN AMERICA

A proposal by FARC rebels in Colombia to legalize the cultivation of 
coca, poppy and marijuana for medicinal and cultural reasons was only 
the latest salvo in an increasingly vocal debate on drug policy 
reform taking place throughout Latin America.

FARC's proposal is unlikely to gain much traction in a nation whose 
government has vowed to wipe out the drug trade, with significant 
military backing from the United States. But increasingly, countries 
from Colombia to Mexico to Uruguay are questioning the U.S. model of 
uncompromising drug enforcement.

There's also been a dramatic shift among Americans, with a December 
2012 Quinnipiac poll showing that a majority of U.S. voters (51 
percent versus 44 percent) support legalizing marijuana possession. 
Two U.S. states - Colorado and Washington - recently chose to do just 
that, legalizing it for recreational purposes and not just medical 
purposes (as 18 states plus the District of Columbia already do). The 
moves echo a growing chorus of politicians and lobbyists urging 
governments throughout the region to change what was once seen as a 
sacrosanct approach to the possession and sale of illicit drugs.

Critics of America's war on drugs say it's a losing battle, draining 
billions of dollars and incarcerating millions of people, including 
many low-level offenders (the United States has the highest prison 
population in the world) - all while doing little to stem the flow of 
illegal drugs over the last four decades. They argue that money would 
be better spent treating drug addiction as a public health issue, 
freeing up resources to focus on violent crime - not to mention 
generating much-needed tax revenues for state governments that 
regulate the sale of marijuana.

Tim Lynch, director of the Criminal Justice Project at the CATO 
Institute - a libertarian think tank that has studied drug 
legalization for years - said the past decade has seen a "rethinking 
of drug policy" around the world, but especially in this hemisphere.

"
For many years, Washington, D.C., wanted to maintain a united front, 
taking a hard-line criminal approach," Lynch said. "The policy was 
simply how much more money should we put into the program next year. 
That's what's beginning to change. More and more, government 
officials here at home and abroad are rethinking that approach. 
That's why we're seeing some countries actually taking steps to turn 
away from the drug war."

Former Mexican President Vicente Fox publicly called the global war 
on drugs "an absolute failure." In 2009, the Mexican Congress 
approved legislation decriminalizing possession of small amounts of 
narcotics, including marijuana. America's neighbor to the south has 
long argued that the United States needs to focus more on the demand 
side of the drug equation to curb the profits of violent crime 
syndicates that have wreaked havoc on the region.

Even Fox's security-oriented successor, Felipe Calderon, who 
spearheaded a tough U.S.-backed military crackdown against drug 
cartels, has urged the adoption of "market alternatives" to stanch 
the growing level of drug-related violence in Mexico and along the U.S. border.

Calderon along with leaders from Honduras, Belize and Costa Rica have 
been pushing the United Nations General Assembly to hold a special 
session on drug prohibition by 2015. Meanwhile, the Organization of 
American States is studying the impact of current drug policy on 
Latin America; an OAS review is expected to be finished by this June.

Christopher Sabatini, senior director of policy at the Americas 
Society/Council of the Americas, said he's surprised at how quickly 
the debate has shifted on this issue.

"Five years ago, and certainly 10 years ago, not a lot of mainstream 
political leaders were talking seriously about this," he told The 
Diplomat. "Now, the former presidents of Colombia, Mexico and Brazil 
said governments should explore the possibility of decriminalization. 
They didn't actually say legalization."

Whatever you call it though, Sabatini suggested it won't have as big 
of an impact as people think. For one thing, the U.S. government 
hasn't shown any inkling to reverse its longstanding drug policy, 
with Vice President Joe Biden saying last year that legalization 
creates more problems than it solves (including possibly a new 
generation of addicts).

Moreover, Sabatini argues that legalizing small amounts of pot in a 
few U.S. states won't deter sophisticated - and creative - 
drug-running operations that peddle everything from cocaine to sex slaves.

"It's unclear to what extent Mexican or Colombian marijuana will come 
to be the main source of consumption in Washington and Colorado," he 
said. "My understanding is that a lot of it is grown locally. So I'm 
not sure it's going to put much of a dent in trafficking or profits. 
And most of the narcotics production in Colombia is cocaine. In 
Mexico, 60 to 70 percent of criminal syndicates' profits come from 
cocaine, not marijuana. And no one is talking about legalizing 
cocaine, a far more serious drug."

A recent study, however, suggested that the new laws enacted by 
Colorado and Washington voters would slash Mexican drug cartels' 
profits by up to 30 percent, given the likely emergence of cheaper, 
U.S.-produced marijuana. But Sabatini disputes those findings.

"The effect it'll probably have is to stop the arrest and punishment 
of kids for relatively minor drugs. I don't think it'll change the 
nature of the drug wars in these countries."

E
duardo Vergara, the founder of Asuntos del Sur, an influential 
Chilean think tank that supports the decriminalization of marijuana 
possession, adamantly disagrees. He says the war on drugs has become 
one of the biggest obstacles to development in Latin America.

"Prohibition, along with a war on producers, sellers and mainly 
users, has had irreversible negative effects on the region. Thousands 
have died and millions have suffered, while organized crime continues 
to gain enormous profits that serve to finance terror," Vergara told 
The Diplomat in an email from Santiago. "Yet above all, drug use has 
increased in quantity and diversity, while prisons all over the 
region are overcrowded with small-scale drug law offenders. There is 
no doubt that prohibition will be remembered as the most inefficient 
and expensive policy in modern history."

Asuntos del Sur recently conducted a survey that it says reveals that 
"younger generations of Latin Americans are breaking from traditional 
views and are much more open" to changing their government's current 
approach to drug policy.

The lowest level of support for legalization and regulation of 
marijuana was found in El Salvador (23 percent), while the highest 
was in Argentina (80 percent) and Chile (79 percent). Seven out of 10 
people polled in those two countries said recreational use is an 
individual right. Meanwhile, respondents across the region expressed 
low opinions of the effectiveness of government campaigns aimed at 
reducing drug use; 52 percent of Chileans and 46 percent of Mexicans 
disapproved of these campaigns.

In Chile, senators have submitted a bill to decriminalize marijuana 
use, growth and possession. Meanwhile, small amounts of marijuana for 
personal use have been legalized in both Colombia and Mexico.

Mexico's former ambassador in D.C., Arturo Sarukhan, says similar 
moves by Colorado and Washington to legalize marijuana for 
recreational purposes have muddied the drug-fighting waters. He told 
an Inter-American Dialogue discussion last year that the United 
States cannot push his country into waging all-out war against 
cannabis producers while individual states have themselves legalized 
marijuana consumption.

But Sarukhan also cautions that legalization is a complex issue that 
needs to be studied more. He points out that even if cartels are shut 
out of the marijuana trade, they will simply "muscle into other 
illicit activities."

Carlos Urrutia, Colombia's ambassador to the United States, agrees 
that legalization should be examined carefully and says only a 
cohesive approach can tackle a transnational scourge like drug smuggling.

"The time has come to reconsider drug policy, not in a unilateral 
exercise by one government, but in the context of a global problem. 
This is something that requires a consensus," he told The Diplomat. 
"We've achieved significant results in diminishing the area of coca 
under cultivation, and we've had record drug seizures by our security 
forces. The problem is that once a country is successful, the drug 
business goes elsewhere."

But not everyone is waiting for consensus on the issue. Guatemalan 
President Otto Perez Molina, a military veteran who's no slouch when 
it comes to strong security measures, has been outspoken in calling 
for the wholesale regulation and taxation of drugs, saying that 
today's drug policy is based on the "false premise" that global drug 
markets can be eradicated.

But the most ambitious legislation of all comes from Uruguay.

Marijuana is already legal for personal use in the small country of 
3.4 million wedged in between Argentina and Brazil, but a bill 
proposed by Uruguay's Congress would legalize growing and selling the 
drug within certain restrictions.

Among other things, it would establish a government office to issue 
licenses for the production, distribution and sale of marijuana. 
Adults would have to register with that office to buy up to 40 grams 
of pot per month. Uruguayans would also be allowed to grow cannabis 
at home, but would be limited to six plants per household. In other 
words, the government would become the first in the world to sell 
marijuana directly to its citizens.

Pollsters say the legalization bill would easily pass Congress if put 
to a vote, but 64 percent of Uruguayans oppose the current plan. 
That's why President Jose Mujica told the bill's supporters in 
December to slow things down.

"There is no reason to vote on a law just because it has the majority 
in parliament," said Mujica, an ardent supporter of 
decriminalization. "The majority has to come from the streets. The 
people have to understand that with violence and putting people in 
prison, the only thing we are doing is helping the drug trafficking market."

That reasoning by Uruguay's 77-year-old head of state earns kudos 
from Vergara, who calls the decriminalization bill "the most advanced 
and honest proposal" ever made by a Latin American head of state on 
the drug issue.

"President Mujica's pragmatism surprised us all. He had the courage 
to promote a bold reform to regulate cannabis use in his country," 
Vergara said. "Mujica decided to slow down his proposal, looking to 
get broader public opinion support, which is a good thing. Public 
opinion needs to be supportive of these measures, but above all, it 
needs to understand what regulation means and what it will imply for 
the future of the country."

About the Author

Larry Luxner is news editor of the Washington Diplomat.
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