The War on Drugs was lost a long time ago. The fact that most people don't see the relationship between the war on drugs and alcohol prohibition is one of the greatest marketing feats of the 20th century.
Prohibition doesn't work. Millions of taxpayer dollars are wasted every year arresting and imprisoning drug users. One of the results is this shameful statistic: The United States has less than 5 percent of the world's population, but it has almost a quarter of the world's prisoners, according the New York Times.
Like some grim “Groundhog Day,” people are ignore the unpopular law (like the first prohibition) and become criminals. Jail follows. Soon the jails are overcrowded.
Now, there's a growing worldwide reform movement challenging current drug laws. Several countries are looking at drug legalization as an alternative to their failed drug policies, despite threats from the U.S. to retaliate.
The reason is no secret. America has been imposing its failed Drug War laws on the rest of the world through economic intimidation. Things are changing, however. Now, world leaders are speaking up to support legal control of all drugs.
Despite U.S. reprisals, some countries have been meeting more frequently, even looking at regional coalitions to strengthen their growing reform movement. Latin American and Caribbean leaders met last December and discussed a regional coalition for drug legalization in what is known as the Tuxtla System for
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Dialogue.
Last week, representatives from law enforcementagencies around the world met in Vienna at the 55th United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs.
The International Drug Policy Consortium, a global network promoting objective and open debates on drug policy has a Web page (www.idpc.net) with information about last week's events.
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition -- an American organization comprised of active and retired police officers, judges, prosecutors and other criminal justice professionals -- sent representatives Maria Lucia Karam, Jim Gierach, Annie Machon, and Richard Van Wickler, a currently-serving jail superintendent.
In an exclusive interview with Van Wickler, I asked him a few questions about the meetings he attended and his impressions of what happened, or didn't happen:
As It Stands: Can you tell me what significant recommendations came out of the March 11th meeting where a drug control framework was discussed?
Van Wickler: Our sense is that every member state of the U.N. is calling for a continuation of the current path of drug-prohibition policy, evidenced by their bland and uninspired discussions of the U.S-introduced draft resolution that would reaffirm the three UN prohibition drug treaties and commemorate the centenary of the Hague Opium Convention.
People will little note nor long remember what has been said in Vienna this week, because the thought and content of the conversation avoided the heart of the world's drug policy problem -- prohibition. Seeing the United Nations and the Member States delegates in action for the first time, it is stunning to see the complete avoidance of the central issue of drug policy.
Were any changes made to the IDPC Drug Policy Guide that you found to be particularly noteworthy?
Van Wickler: Because these guides are so comprehensive I wanted to ask the question of Mike Trace who is the chair of the IDPC responsible for this annual report. Mike is also the former drug czar of the UK.
The 2010 report raised a lot of questions regarding the need for reform. Since the publication of that report, things are moving fast with respect to changes in the prohibition debate.
The 2012 report contains a lot of changes, most notably that it provides for specific and radical proposals and “steps to take” for member states to consider in the drug policy reform movement.
On a personal note, how much has your advocacy for drug legalization affected your career?
Van Wickler: Since I have been a member of LEAP (Dec. 2007), my advocacy for drug legalization and drug policy reform has enhanced my career. Unlike most LEAP members, I am not retired, but still on the job. My superiors are very supportive of my position with the need for drug policy reform.
To read the entire text of this interview, go to www.davesblogcentral.com.
Surprisingly, it's not just liberals calling for an end to this losing war on drugs. Pat Robertson, a provocative voice of the right wing, recently said, “I really believe we should treat marijuana the way we treat beverage alcohol. This war on drugs just hasn't succeeded.”
As It Stands, the global war on drug prohibition is underway, but U.S. activists for legalization need to continue to lead the way by educating the public, and the rest of the world.
Dave Stancliff is a retired newspaper editor and publisher who writes this column for The Times-Standard. Comments can be sent to richstan1@suddenlink.net or www.davesblogcentral.com.