Pubdate: Fri, 07 Jun 2013
Source: Christian Science Monitor (US)
Copyright: 2013 The Christian Science Publishing Society
Contact:  http://www.csmonitor.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/83

The Monitor's View

OBAMA HELPS NIP POT LEGALIZATION IN LATIN AMERICA. HOW ABOUT IN US?

President Obama helped prevent a move toward pot legalization by
some Latin American leaders. But will he be as bold against Colorado,
Washington state?

Peter Bensinger, a former Drug Enforcement Administration chief, was
one of eight former DEA chiefs who recently spoke out in favor of the
federal government needing to nullify Colorado and Washington's laws
legalizing recreational marijuana use. They said the Obama
administration has reacted too slowly and should immediately sue to
force the states to rescind the legislation.

For all the political flak that President Obama is receiving for
digital surveillance of Americans, he deserves some praise for
protecting Americans on another front. His administration has helped
dampen moves by some Latin American leaders to legalize marijuana in
the Western Hemisphere.

The Christian Science Monitor

A meeting of the Organization of the American States ended Thursday in
Guatemala without the expected "serious" discussion among the 34
nations to legalize pot. Just last month, an OAS report recommended
legalization as one alternative to the current anti-drug approaches.

The report, which called for "flexibility," came as quite a shock to
many in the region. Polls in most of Latin America, unlike in the
United States, show legalization to be unpopular.

Leaders in a few states, such as Uruguay and Guatemala, favor
legalization. Others, such as in Brazil and Peru, decidedly do not.
Yet with two states in the US (Washington and Colorado) having
legalized recreational use of pot last year, some in Latin America saw
an opening to push Mr. Obama to bend.

Fortunately, his secretary of State, John Kerry, did not accommodate
such voices at the OAS assembly. "These challenges simply defy any
simple, one-shot, Band-Aid" approach, he said. "Drug abuse destroys
lives, tears at communities of all of our countries." Other
administration officials have been working for months to squash the
region's legalization efforts.

A few Latin American leaders were more explicit than Mr. Kerry. "We
need a policy that is anti-crime and not pro-drug," said Alva
Baptiste, St. Lucia's foreign minister. And Nicaragua's OAS envoy,
Denis Moncada, said, "Replacing and weakening the public policies and
strategies now in use to combat the hemispheric drug problem would end
up creating dangerous voids and jeopardize the security and well-being
of our citizens." Many of the region's drug experts say countries need
to focus on rule of law, addiction treatment, and gang
suppression.

Obama does need to be plain about federal intentions toward
legalization in the US. His embattled attorney general, Eric Holder,
must uphold federal law by cracking down on the selling of
recreational marijuana in Washington and Colorado. If he doesn't, the
president can hardly complain about states defying aspects of his
Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare").

Drug-producing countries such as Mexico, Colombia, and Peru that have
suffered from a military approach in the struggle against trafficking
cannot be faulted for seeking different approaches. They are right to
point to the US, which is the world's largest consumer of illicit
drugs, as a major cause of their woes. But drug trafficking is also a
sign that such countries need fundamental reform to root out
corruption and raise social indicators. Both Mexico and Colombia are
well along that path.

The uncertainties of legalizing pot, let alone the moral arguments
against government promoting its use, call for Obama to be vigilant
against legalization. He has now done that strongly abroad. He must do
much better at home.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Matt