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Tuesday, June 7th, 2011

War on Drugs has Failed, say Former Leaders

Author:    
Source:     Agence France-Presse (France)
Publication Date:     02 June 2011 - 18H58
 Link: War on Drugs has Failed, say Former Leaders
Stephan:   This activity on the part of the government, has cost billions of dollars, and ruined the lives of hundreds of thousands of otherwise law-abiding Americans. It has been an obvious failure for decades. But it is almost impossible to stop this 'war' because the budgets of so many bureaucracies, and the profits of so many corporations who service and largely control those agencies depend upon its continuance. 'The War on Drugs' is, and always has been, just another way to tap the public treasury and get access to your money.

The global war on drugs has failed and decriminalizing narcotics such as marijuana could finally help weaken organized gangs, former world leaders said Thursday in a controversial report.

Arguing for a new approach to national and global drug control policies, the Global Commission on Drug Policy called for nations to ‘break the taboo on debate and reform.’

‘The global war on drugs has failed, with devastating consequences for individuals and societies around the world,’ the members of the commission said in the report released in New York.

‘Fifty years after the initiation of the UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, and 40 years after President (Richard) Nixon launched the US government’s war on drugs, fundamental reforms in national and global drug control policies are urgently needed.’

The commission includes former Brazilian president Fernando Cardoso, former Colombian president Cesar Gaviria, Mexico’s former president Ernesto Zedillo as well as ex-UN chief Kofi Annan.

It also includes noted writers such as Mexico’s Carlos Fuentes and Peruvian Nobel laureate Mario Vargas Llosa.

The millions of dollars poured into the fight against drug producers and traffickers over the past decades ‘have clearly failed to effectively curtail supply or consumption,’ the report said.

‘Apparent victories in eliminating one source or trafficking organization are […]

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