Pubdate: Fri, 13 Apr 2012
Source: Montreal Gazette (CN QU)
Copyright: 2012 Canwest Publishing Inc.
Contact: http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/letters.html
Website: http://www.montrealgazette.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/274
Author: Mark Kennedy

HARPER AT ODDS ON DRUG POLICY

Decriminalization debate likely at Summit of Americas as Latin leaders
rethink issue

OTTAWA - Prime Minister Stephen Harper is flying to a weekend summit
in Colombia where his hard line on drugs will put him at odds with
some Latin American leaders who are calling for a debate over whether
drug use should be decriminalized.

Harper's position on Cuba also could run afoul of a possible consensus
by countries in central and South America.

Harper is attending the Summit of the Americas, a conference of
leaders from 34 nations that is held every three years. The talks this
year will include such issues as trade expansion, and Harper will meet
with senior business executives from Canada and elsewhere who are
attending the summit to discuss investment in the Western Hemisphere.

As well, it's expected many Latin American leaders will argue the time
has come, after decades of being barred from the summit, for Cuba to
be invited to the next gathering. That will run counter to the firm
positions of Canada and the United States, which insist Cuba should
not be permitted to attend the next summit until the communist regime
initiates democratic reforms.

Meanwhile, another issue - illicit drugs - is top of mind for some
leaders. The escalating violence connected to warring drug cartels in
Latin America has some nations insisting it's time for a new approach:
softer penalties for drug use or perhaps even a decriminalized system
in which governments regulate how the drugs are sold.

To varying degrees, the leaders of Guatemala, Colombia, Mexico and
Costa Rica have spoken in favour of exploring approaches other than
the criminal to the problem of illegal drug use.

But on Thursday, Harper's director of communications said Canada will
argue strenuously against decriminalization of illegal drugs.

"The prime minister would be a strong voice in that debate," said
Andrew MacDougall.

"The government's strategy is, in fact, completely in the opposite
direction.

"A key priority for us is to fight illicit drugs, particularly the
transnational organizations that are behind the drug smuggling. Here
at home, we have put in place tough new laws to crack down on these
groups, to put drug dealers behind bars where they belong."

Critics of the so-called 'war on drugs' approach note that Latin
American drug cartels have grown more powerful as violence spreads
throughout the region - claiming more than 50,000 lives in Mexico
alone - and that drug use has only increased in rich nations such as
Canada and the United States.

Suddenly, some leaders are looking to this weekend's summit in
Cartagena, Colombia as a perfect opportunity to begin debate on a
question that was once taboo: Why not remove the profits of the
cartels by making the drug trade a legal - but highly regulated -
business? That's not an option being welcomed either by the Harper
government, or by U.S. President Barack Obama's administration.

Among those speaking bluntly for decriminalization is Guatemala's
president Otto Perez Molina, who was the former head of his country's
intelligence service. In an opinion article in the British newspaper
the Guardian, he outlined the merits of ending prohibition. "We all
agree that drugs are bad for our health and that therefore we have to
concentrate on impeding their consumption, just as we combat
alcoholism and tobacco addiction."
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