ARGENTINA AND Mexico have taken significant steps towards decriminalising drugs amid a growing Latin American backlash against the US-sponsored “war on drugs”.
Argentina’s supreme court has ruled it unconstitutional to punish people for using marijuana for personal consumption, a judgment that gave the government the green light to push for further liberalisation.
It followed Mexico’s decision to stop prosecuting people for possession of relatively small quantities of marijuana, cocaine, heroin and other drugs. Instead, they will be referred to clinics and treated as patients, not criminals. Brazil and Ecuador are also considering partial decriminalisation as part of a regional swing away from a decades-old policy of crackdowns still favoured by Washington.
“The tide is clearly turning. The ‘war on drugs’ strategy has failed,” Fernando Henrique Cardoso, a former Brazilian president, said.
Earlier this year, he and two former presidents of Colombia and Mexico published a report calling for a new departure.
“The report of the Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy has certainly helped to open up the debate about more humane and efficient policies. But, most of all, the facts are speaking by themselves.” said Mr Cardoso.
Reform campaigners have long argued criminalisation enriched drug cartels, fuelled savage turf wars, corrupted state institutions and filled prisons with addicts who present no real threat to society.
The US used its influence to keep Latin America and the UN wedded to hardline policies which kept the focus on jail sentences for consumers as well as dealers. The economic and social cost of the “war” – first declared by the Nixon administration – plus European moves towards liberalisation have emboldened some Latin American states to try new approaches.
Argentina’s supreme court, presented with a case about youths arrested with a few joints, ruled last week that such behaviour did not violate the constitution.
The government, which favours decriminalisation, is expected to amend laws in light of the ruling.
The court stressed it was not approving complete decriminalisation, which would be resisted by the Catholic Church and other groups.
The previous week the government of Mexico made it no longer an offence to possess 0.5g of cocaine (the equivalent of about four lines), 5g of marijuana (about four joints), 50mg of heroin and 40mg of methamphetamine.
Washington did not protest against the announcement, which was kept deliberately low-key. – (Guardian service)