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¿Is The War on Drugs on the Right Track?

The fact that 133 policemen were charged last week in Puerto Rico for corruption charges related to drug traffic and money laundering, makes us wonder if the War on Drugs is on the right track. After more than 50 years of global law enforcement, there is not a significant progress regarding the issue: consumption has not been reduced, prevention programs are not effective, and conflicts rise as the organized crime accumulate wealth and power. How should governments approach the issue after years of stale efforts?

The FBI may consider the Puerto Rican crackdown as one of the biggest victories against the drug cartels, but this one has not been the first time a ring of corruption has been dismantled and it will not be the last one either. In Colombia, the country that produces around 70% of the world’s cocaine, several kingpins and cartels have been controlled in the past, however as time passes by new crime syndicates emerge and the drug production and traffic remains active without any major changes.

When talking about the drug issue it is common to compare it with the Alcohol Prohibition Era, people usually use it as an example of how the law enforcement affects a specific aspect of society, and how it created violence and corruption in the 50s. However what people do not consider is that after prohibition ended, the alcohol consumption in most countries raised to almost a 100% of the population. The same tendency could be appreciated after drug’s legalization in different countries, for instance in Alaska the consumption doubled immediately after Cannabis was legalized in the 70s.

On the other hand in the Netherlands, where Marijuana is treated as a controlled substance the drug use remained stable over the last 20 years, by contrast in other European countries the use of Cannabis rose, and almost doubled in the same period. The approach that probably makes a difference in the Dutch society is the fact that they treat the drug consumer as an ill person and the drug issue is faced as a social health problem. A major cut of the country’s budget is destined to the prevention of drug use, and in the treatment of the addict, as a consequence locals have grown a cultural intolerance and apathy towards the use of Marijuana.

On the down side, the legalization of Marijuana in the Netherlands has brought with it the boom of synthetic drugs, and has established the country as an epicenter of drug traffic in Europe. Several smuggling conflicts have occurred at the borders, drug tourism has flourished and the use of illegal hard drugs keeps growing.

Nevertheless all Countries agree that drugs represent a threat to society, and its use should be reduced and controlled. The question is how this control can be executed effectively. Should it be imposed by force? Should it be developed by series of social programs and medical treatments? Or Maybe a proper combination of both?

The fact is that the actual approach is not working, and actions must be taken if the world doesn’t want to lose the self-proclaimed war it has waged on drugs for the last 60 years.