Latin America Rethinks Drug Policies in Welcome Break with Failed Traditional Tactics The New York Times
go to original May 30, 2015

A demonstration this month for the legalization of marijuana in Medellin, Colombia. (Raul Arboleda/Agence France-Presse)

During the 1980s and 1990s, as the United States battled the scourge of cocaine throughout the hemisphere, Washington did most of the talking. Latin American governments were forced to listen and fall in line. The American government had the most money to throw at the problem, the toughest justice system and the biggest bully pulpit.

In recent years, that top-bottom approach has been upended as countries in the region have begun to develop new strategies to fight drug trafficking and discourage the use of narcotics. The initiatives that are being discussed and applied represent a welcome break with the largely failed traditional approach, which has emphasized prohibition and punishment. A special United Nations General Assembly meeting next April on drug policy has provided an added incentive to develop fresh approaches to the problem, including sentencing reforms and legalization.

“There is near unanimity that the focus needs to be on health and public health,” John Walsh, a drug policy expert at the Washington Office on Latin America said in an interview. “That is very significant, considering most of the policy remains focused on enforcement and interdiction.”

While a broadly accepted regional approach remains a distant goal in a politically diverse hemisphere with many strained relationships, the present conversations offer considerable hope. Washington has started doing more listening than lecturing, in large part as a result of the domestic debate about the legalization of marijuana and sentencing reform for drug crimes.

Read the rest at The New York Times

Related: The Drug War Is the New Pork (San Antonio Express-News)

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