International Panel: “End the War on Drugs”

This probably won’t change anything. For decades, prominent American politicians — including conservatives — have called for an end to the war on drugs. It falls on deaf ears every time. The multi-trillion-dollar Prison Industrial Complex is perfectly happy with our drug laws just the way they are. Case closed.

Now an international panel, commissioned by the Global Commission on Drug Policy, is calling for an end to the war on drugs. This commission includes the Prime Minister of Greece; the former presidents of Brazil, Mexico and Colombia; former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan; and George Schultz and Paul Volcker.

The panel issued a statement saying:

“Political leaders and public figures should have the courage to articulate publicly what many of them acknowledge privately: that the evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates that repressive strategies will not solve the drug problem, and that the war on drugs has not, and cannot, be won.”

The former president of Brazil, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, said:

“The fact is that the war on drugs is a failure. Being a failure is not saying that you have nothing to do with drugs. You have to act. The drug are infiltrating the local power in several parts of the world. Corruption is increasing and the consumption of drugs is also increasing.”

The former president of Colombia said:

“We hope the U.S. at least starts to think there are alternatives. We don't see the U.S. evolving in a way that is compatible with our countries’ long-term interests.”

In a related story: Mexico’s violent crime rate is through the roof; and not just in Juarez and other border cities. Monterray, an industrial powerhouse and one of Mexico’s wealthiest cities, is being swallowed up by drug-related gang killings and kidnappings. Monterray has already had as many drug-related murders so far this year as it had in all of 2010.

Imagine the outrage in the U.S. if a law in Mexico was causing tens of thousands of Americans to be kidnapped and murdered every year. Mexico has some of the highest anti-American sentiment in the world. We can thank the war on drugs for that.