Why Is the United States Formally Objecting to Bolivia's Request to the UN to Allow Its Ancestral Practice of Coca Leaf Chewing? Last week the United States formally objected to Bolivia's request to the United Nations to allow the ancestral practice of coca leaf chewing. In doing so, it revealed the corruption, hypocrisy and futility of the global war on drugs, which it clearly values over the rights of indigenous peoples. Bolivia's proposal is modest. It would strike two clauses from the 1961 U.N. Single Convention on Narcotics Drugs, which require that coca chewing "be abolished within twenty-five years" after taking effect. The existing system of cocaine prohibition would remain. [continues 601 words]
Mexico's violence and institutional corruption reveal how misguided and futile the recently approved $1.4 billion U.S. military aid package -- known as the Merida Initiative -- is. Pouring more money and guns into Mexico will only exacerbate the violence and corruption that are fueled by drug profits and further deepen a conflict that increasingly has civilian casualties. Instead, the U.S. should focus on reducing its own demand for drugs. Treatment has repeatedly been shown to be far more successful and cost-effective than supply-side approaches like military aid, eradication and incarceration. More fundamentally, the U.S. must finally consider alternatives to its failed war on drugs. Daniel Ernesto Robelo Drug Policy Alliance Berkeley, Calif. [end]
