News (Media Awareness Project) - US MS: Editorial: Colombia's Drug War Will Be Won In U.S. |
| Title: | US MS: Editorial: Colombia's Drug War Will Be Won In U.S. |
| Published On: | 2000-09-08 |
| Source: | Sun Herald (MS) |
| Fetched On: | 2008-09-03 09:27:05 |
COLOMBIA'S DRUG WAR WILL BE WON IN U.S. PREVENTION CLINICS
Sending U.S. dollars to help fight Colombia's war on drug lords will help fight the battle on cocaine, but it won't win the war.
Eliminating U.S. demand for cocaine will.
Every community, the Coast included, has houses and dark street corners that are well-known drug havens. And as long as demand continues, the drug dealers and, by extension, cocaine growers - in Colombia or elsewhere - will continue to supply the deadly product.
Essentially, it is a simple industry. Kill the demand, and the suppliers will have to find another job.
The wisdom of that strategy has not eluded Colombian President Andres Pastrana. While President Clinton was visiting the South American country last week with a $1.3 billion aid package, Pastrana told reporters: "Colombia can put a stop to drugs here at some point, but if the demand continues, somebody else somewhere in the world is going to produce them."
Colombia is the world's leading producer of cocaine. It exports 400 tons of the drug each year. It supplies 90 percent of the cocaine that comes into the United States.
A White House survey released the week of Clinton's Colombia trip said 18.8 percent of Americans between the ages of 18 and 25 used illegal drugs last year, compared with 14.7 percent in 1997.
Two years ago, cocaine was used by 3.8 million Americans, or 1.7 percent of the household population age 12 and over. Estimates of the current number of those who use cocaine regularly vary, but the federal Drug Enforcement Agency says 1.75 million is a widely accepted figure within the research community.
The number of first-time users increased 56 percent, from 469,000 in 1991 to 730,000 in 1997.
Although cocaine use is significantly less prevalent than it was during the early 1980s, it is still a major source of property theft, violent crime and neighborhood blight.
No doubt, Pastrana has seen similar statistics. Certainly, cocaine barons know them by heart, and rejoice. For these are the numbers that describe the outcome of the war on drugs.
It won't be won with guns and attack helicopters in the remote mountains of Colombia. It will be won in treatment and prevention programs in the United States.
Kill the craving, bankrupt the supplier. Only when we decrease demand will we begin to gain ground in the war on drugs.
Sending U.S. dollars to help fight Colombia's war on drug lords will help fight the battle on cocaine, but it won't win the war.
Eliminating U.S. demand for cocaine will.
Every community, the Coast included, has houses and dark street corners that are well-known drug havens. And as long as demand continues, the drug dealers and, by extension, cocaine growers - in Colombia or elsewhere - will continue to supply the deadly product.
Essentially, it is a simple industry. Kill the demand, and the suppliers will have to find another job.
The wisdom of that strategy has not eluded Colombian President Andres Pastrana. While President Clinton was visiting the South American country last week with a $1.3 billion aid package, Pastrana told reporters: "Colombia can put a stop to drugs here at some point, but if the demand continues, somebody else somewhere in the world is going to produce them."
Colombia is the world's leading producer of cocaine. It exports 400 tons of the drug each year. It supplies 90 percent of the cocaine that comes into the United States.
A White House survey released the week of Clinton's Colombia trip said 18.8 percent of Americans between the ages of 18 and 25 used illegal drugs last year, compared with 14.7 percent in 1997.
Two years ago, cocaine was used by 3.8 million Americans, or 1.7 percent of the household population age 12 and over. Estimates of the current number of those who use cocaine regularly vary, but the federal Drug Enforcement Agency says 1.75 million is a widely accepted figure within the research community.
The number of first-time users increased 56 percent, from 469,000 in 1991 to 730,000 in 1997.
Although cocaine use is significantly less prevalent than it was during the early 1980s, it is still a major source of property theft, violent crime and neighborhood blight.
No doubt, Pastrana has seen similar statistics. Certainly, cocaine barons know them by heart, and rejoice. For these are the numbers that describe the outcome of the war on drugs.
It won't be won with guns and attack helicopters in the remote mountains of Colombia. It will be won in treatment and prevention programs in the United States.
Kill the craving, bankrupt the supplier. Only when we decrease demand will we begin to gain ground in the war on drugs.
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