THE WAR ON DRUGS HAS FAILED. NOW WE NEED A MORE HUMANE STRATEGY

Fernando Henrique Cardoso Argues the Case for a New Global
Policy

It is time to admit the obvious. The "war on drugs" has failed, at
least in the way it has been waged so far. In Latin America, the
"unintended" consequences have been disastrous. Thousands of people
have lost their lives in drug-associated violence. Drug lords have
taken over entire communities. Misery has spread. Corruption is
undermining fragile democracies.

And, after decades of over-flights, interdictions, spraying and raids
on jungle drug factories, Latin America remains the world's largest
exporter of cocaine and marijuana. It is producing more and more opium
and heroin. It is developing the capacity to mass-produce synthetic
drugs.

Continuing the drugs war with more of the same is ludicrous. What is
needed is a serious debate that will lead to the adoption of more
humane and more effective strategies to deal with the global drug
problem. Earlier this year the Latin American Commission on Drugs and
Democracy, which I co-chaired with the former president of Colombia,
Cesar Gaviria, and the former president of Mexico, Ernesto Zedillo,
released the first high-level statement ever to endorse harm-reduction
generally and decriminalisation of marijuana specifically.

The core conclusion of the statement is that a paradigm shift is
required away from repression of drug users and towards treatment and
prevention. The challenge is to reduce drastically the harm caused by
illegal narcotics to people, societies and public institutions.

To move in this direction, it is essential to differentiate between
illicit substances according to the harm they inflict. The status of
addicts must change from that of drug buyers in the illegal market to
that of patients cared for in the public health system. Police
activities can then be better focused against the drug lords and
organised crime.

The shift towards harm-reduction efforts and decriminalisation has
already begun. Recently, a landmark ruling by Argentina's supreme
court and a law passed by Mexico's Congress have for all practical
purposes removed criminal penalties in those countries for the
possession of small amounts of drugs for personal and immediate
consumption.

Colombia was the first country to take this step. A decision by its
constitutional court in 1994 scrapped penalties for private
consumption. Bolivia and Ecuador have liberalised their drug laws.
Change is also imminent in Brazil. The chief justice of our highest
court made a public appeal for clarification of the differentiation
between drug user and drug dealer. A current ambiguity in the law
effectively opens opportunities for police corruption and extortion.
Brazil's legislature is about to consider a new law to remove
penalties for the consumption of small amounts of marijuana.

This is consistent with the broader trend in Europe: the Netherlands
decriminalised years ago; Portugal followed in 2001, stressing that
criminalisation drove resources away from treatment and deterred
people from seeking help for addiction the number of people using
drugs before decriminalisation was higher than afterwards. In the
United States, backing for decriminalisation and treatment
alternatives to prison is growing, but has still not achieved a
critical mass of support and momentum behind
traditional failed punitive policies remains strong.

There is still a long way to go. The trend towards decriminalisation
for possession helps to empower a public health paradigm. It breaks
the silence about the drug problem. It enables people to think in
terms of approaching drug abuse in a way that is not first and
foremost a matter for the criminal justice system. Reducing the harm
caused by drugs goes hand in hand with reducing consumption.

Repressive policies towards drug users are firmly rooted in prejudice,
fear and ideological visions, rather than in cold and hard assessment
of the realities of drug abuse. The approach recommended in the
commission's statement does not imply complacency regarding narcotics
and their purveyors. Abuse of drugs is harmful to health. Abused drugs
undermine a user's decision-making capacity. Needle-sharing spreads
HIV/Aids and other diseases. Addiction can lead to financial ruin and
abuse of family, especially children.

To be credible and effective, decriminalisation must be combined with
robust prevention campaigns. The profound drop in tobacco consumption
in recent decades shows how public information and prevention
campaigns can be effective when they are based on messages that are
consistent with the experience of those they target.

No country has devised a comprehensive solution to the drug abuse
challenge. And a solution need not be a stark choice between
prohibition and legalisation. Alternative approaches are being tested
and must be carefully reviewed. But it is clear that the way forward
will involve a strategy of reaching out, patiently and persistently,
to the users, and not the continued waging of a misguided and
counterproductive war that makes the users, rather than the drug
lords, the primary victims.