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Bluelight Crew
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Stephen Harper is flying to a weekend summit in Colombia where his hard line on drugs will put him at odds with some Latin American leaders who are calling for a debate over whether drug use should be decriminalized.
The issue of illicit drugs is top of mind for some leaders. The escalating violence connected to warring drug cartels in Latin America has some nations insisting it's time for a new approach: softer penalties for drug use or perhaps even a decriminalized system in which governments regulate how the drugs are sold.
To varying degrees, the leaders of Guatemala, Colombia, Mexico and Costa Rica have spoken out in favour of exploring approaches other than the criminal to the problem of illegal drug use.
But on Thursday, Harper's director of communications said Canada will argue strenuously against decriminalization of illegal drugs.
"The prime minister would be a strong voice in that debate," said Andrew MacDougall. "The government's strategy is, in fact, completely in the opposite direction.
"A key priority for us is to fight illicit drugs, particularly the transnational organizations that are behind the drug smuggling. Here at home, we have put in place tough new laws to crack down on these groups, to put drug dealers behind bars where they belong."
Critics of the so-called 'war on drugs' approach note that Latin American drug cartels have grown more powerful as violence spreads throughout the region — claiming more than 50,000 lives in Mexico alone — and that drug use has only increased in rich nations such as Canada and the United States.
Suddenly, some leaders are looking to this weekend's summit in Cartagena, Colombia as a perfect opportunity to begin debate on a question that was once taboo: Why not remove the profits of the cartels by making the drug trade a legal — but highly regulated — business?
That's not an option being welcomed either by the Harper government, or by U.S. President Barack Obama's administration.
The Obama administration says it is open to a debate on the issue — if only to "demystify" decriminalization as an option and show that such a move would backfire and make matters worse.
Among those speaking most bluntly for decriminalization is Guatemala's president Otto Perez Molina, who was the former head of his country's intelligence service.
In an opinion article that appeared earlier this week in the British newspaper the Guardian, he outlined the merits of ending prohibition.
"We all agree that drugs are bad for our health and that therefore we have to concentrate on impeding their consumption, just as we combat alcoholism and tobacco addiction," he wrote.
"However, nobody in the world has ever suggested eradicating sugarcane plantations, or potatoes and barley production, in spite of these being raw materials in the production of the likes of rum, beer and vodka. And we all know that alcoholism and tobacco addiction cause thousands of deaths every year all over the world."
Molina added that "mainstream global drug policy today is based on a false premise: that the global drug markets can be eradicated."
Guatemala is pushing for countries to drop "ideological" considerations and explore a "realistic approach."
Read more: http://www.canada.com/news/Harper+drug+stance+outs+Summit+Americas/6449301/story.html#ixzz1rwZQ7l6n
The issue of illicit drugs is top of mind for some leaders. The escalating violence connected to warring drug cartels in Latin America has some nations insisting it's time for a new approach: softer penalties for drug use or perhaps even a decriminalized system in which governments regulate how the drugs are sold.
To varying degrees, the leaders of Guatemala, Colombia, Mexico and Costa Rica have spoken out in favour of exploring approaches other than the criminal to the problem of illegal drug use.
But on Thursday, Harper's director of communications said Canada will argue strenuously against decriminalization of illegal drugs.
"The prime minister would be a strong voice in that debate," said Andrew MacDougall. "The government's strategy is, in fact, completely in the opposite direction.
"A key priority for us is to fight illicit drugs, particularly the transnational organizations that are behind the drug smuggling. Here at home, we have put in place tough new laws to crack down on these groups, to put drug dealers behind bars where they belong."
Critics of the so-called 'war on drugs' approach note that Latin American drug cartels have grown more powerful as violence spreads throughout the region — claiming more than 50,000 lives in Mexico alone — and that drug use has only increased in rich nations such as Canada and the United States.
Suddenly, some leaders are looking to this weekend's summit in Cartagena, Colombia as a perfect opportunity to begin debate on a question that was once taboo: Why not remove the profits of the cartels by making the drug trade a legal — but highly regulated — business?
That's not an option being welcomed either by the Harper government, or by U.S. President Barack Obama's administration.
The Obama administration says it is open to a debate on the issue — if only to "demystify" decriminalization as an option and show that such a move would backfire and make matters worse.
Among those speaking most bluntly for decriminalization is Guatemala's president Otto Perez Molina, who was the former head of his country's intelligence service.
In an opinion article that appeared earlier this week in the British newspaper the Guardian, he outlined the merits of ending prohibition.
"We all agree that drugs are bad for our health and that therefore we have to concentrate on impeding their consumption, just as we combat alcoholism and tobacco addiction," he wrote.
"However, nobody in the world has ever suggested eradicating sugarcane plantations, or potatoes and barley production, in spite of these being raw materials in the production of the likes of rum, beer and vodka. And we all know that alcoholism and tobacco addiction cause thousands of deaths every year all over the world."
Molina added that "mainstream global drug policy today is based on a false premise: that the global drug markets can be eradicated."
Guatemala is pushing for countries to drop "ideological" considerations and explore a "realistic approach."
Read more: http://www.canada.com/news/Harper+drug+stance+outs+Summit+Americas/6449301/story.html#ixzz1rwZQ7l6n
![:\](https://bluelight.org/xf/BL_Images/Orig_Emoji/wrygrin.gif "wry grin :\")
