We have to ask ourselves, what has been achieved during 50 years of pursuing this criminal, inhumane and barbaric "war"? When Prohibition was trumpeted as the panacea to society ‘oldest vice’, its goal was to allow us to live in a drug-free world. Well, fifty years later we are still waiting for the utopia to materialise. Meanwhile, all Prohibition and the War on Drugs have delivered is utterly dystopia: massive incarceration, corruption, destruction of democratic institutions, thousands upon thousands of killings, intimidation and execution of journalists, judges, politicians and anybody brave enough to question the corrupting and murderous practices of the drug trafficking gangs that control the US$320,000 millions the illegal drug market generates in revenue every year, that's right, EVERY YEAR.
Unfortunately, what this protracted war also shows is how ineffective, isolated and submissive the position of drug producing countries has been throughout the many decades the Prohibition regime and the so-called War on Drugs policies have been in place.
There is no doubt that rejecting or opposing them will carry huge costs in term of retaliations by the "international community", i.e. the USA, the largest consumer of drugs in the world and the most belligerent war on drugs warrior. But make no mistake, no price can be higher than the one drug producing countries have already paid and will continue to pay as long as this insane and irrational regime continues.
What is urgent for Colombia and other Latin American countries is to unite with both drug producing and drug distributing countries all over the world to put an end to Prohibition and the War on Drugs — unquestionably, UNASUR would be a good starting point. They should reject, or at least denounce, “en masse” the current international conventions on drugs.
In order to counterbalance the USA opposition to such a stance, producing and distributing countries should DEMAND that net drug consuming countries that have “legalised” the demand (via harm reduction, depenalisation or decriminalisation) talk the talk and walk the walk: these countries, the likes of Germany, Holland, Portugal, Spain, etc., have the MORAL OBLIGATION to introduce, support and promote changes in national and international laws seeking the decriminalisation or depenalisation of the supply, too. Not to do so is hypocritical, cynical and frankly speaking, criminal.
We have to ask ourselves, what has been achieved during 50 years of pursuing this criminal, inhumane and barbaric "war"? When Prohibition was trumpeted as the panacea to society ‘oldest vice’, its goal was to allow us to live in a drug-free world. Well, fifty years later we are still waiting for the utopia to materialise. Meanwhile, all Prohibition and the War on Drugs have delivered is utterly dystopia: massive incarceration, corruption, destruction of democratic institutions, thousands upon thousands of killings, intimidation and execution of journalists, judges, politicians and anybody brave enough to question the corrupting and murderous practices of the drug trafficking gangs that control the US$320,000 millions the illegal drug market generates in revenue every year, that's right, EVERY YEAR.
ResponderEliminarUnfortunately, what this protracted war also shows is how ineffective, isolated and submissive the position of drug producing countries has been throughout the many decades the Prohibition regime and the so-called War on Drugs policies have been in place.
There is no doubt that rejecting or opposing them will carry huge costs in term of retaliations by the "international community", i.e. the USA, the largest consumer of drugs in the world and the most belligerent war on drugs warrior. But make no mistake, no price can be higher than the one drug producing countries have already paid and will continue to pay as long as this insane and irrational regime continues.
What is urgent for Colombia and other Latin American countries is to unite with both drug producing and drug distributing countries all over the world to put an end to Prohibition and the War on Drugs — unquestionably, UNASUR would be a good starting point. They should reject, or at least denounce, “en masse” the current international conventions on drugs.
In order to counterbalance the USA opposition to such a stance, producing and distributing countries should DEMAND that net drug consuming countries that have “legalised” the demand (via harm reduction, depenalisation or decriminalisation) talk the talk and walk the walk: these countries, the likes of Germany, Holland, Portugal, Spain, etc., have the MORAL OBLIGATION to introduce, support and promote changes in national and international laws seeking the decriminalisation or depenalisation of the supply, too. Not to do so is hypocritical, cynical and frankly speaking, criminal.
Gart Valenc
http://www.stopthewarondrugs.