Pubdate: Wed, 18 Mar 2009 Source: Winnipeg Free Press (CN MB) Copyright: 2009 Winnipeg Free Press Contact: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/info/letters/index.html Website: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/ Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/ungass.htm (UN Declaration on Drugs) ADDICTED TO FAILURE The United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) is meeting in Vienna this week, seeking a new course for the international war on drugs. A strategy session was held last week and will continue at lower levels until the end of this week as envoys try to work out a document that would replace a 10-year program adopted in 1988 aiming at eradicating all illegal drugs, from marijuana to heroin, under the slogan "A Drug-Free World -- We Can Do It." Apparently not, at least not the UN way. The campaign was a resounding failure when it wound up in 2008. There has been no overall decline in the worldwide use of illegal drugs and the industry has grown into a $300-billion business, equivalent to the narco lords being the 21st-largest economy in the world if they constituted one nation. The CND's response to this failure seems to be to continue the increasingly discredited war on drugs rather than looking at ways to eliminate criminals from the trade, control the drugs and alleviate the suffering of drug users. The idea of using more of what doesn't work is a common UN solution to difficult problems, but it is meeting now with increasing opposition. The European Commission ushered in the Vienna conference with a critical report arguing that CND's accomplishments are all negative. It has driven dealers into safe havens, created lawless and unstable states, resulted in the spread of needle-related diseases around the world, including North American cities, and has had no effect on curbing drug sales or use. The EU is joined in this by Latin American nations, including Mexico, which saw 8,000 drug-related murders last year and is in danger of collapsing into a narco state that will feed the U.S. and Canadian markets. Already, the influence of Mexican drug cartels can be seen in gang violence in Vancouver. It is clear from the opening days of the meeting that the UN cannot be counted on to take the logical path, the only effective way to win the drug war, by legalizing and regulating the use and sale of drugs such as marijuana and cocaine. It will not do it for this 10-year go-round because of intense opposition from the United States, Russia and China Instead, it will try to find some kind of harm-reduction program such as Vancouver's needle exchange and safe sites. But even that seems unlikely when nations such as Canada are conflicted about the very value of reducing harm to drug users. Without an unlikely change of heart in Vienna by nations such as Canada on this issue, the program can only inflict more misery and disease on drug users and give more wealth and power to drug dealers. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom